myWhidbey because we don't live under the rock.

The following is a true story; only the names of the innocent and retarded have been concealed in order to protect their identity.

This past Sunday I received an e-mail from a Microsoft recruiter. They found my profile online and were very interested in talking to me about a "high level" position with awesome benefits and lots of potential for growth and blah blah blah...

*** Spam Alert! Spam Alert! ***

Deleting message in three... two... one... STOP!

I'm about to delete the e-mail, when I notice that it was also sent carbon copy to a recruiter who I happen to know. This is odd enough to make me reconsider the e-mail, and after some hesitation, I decide to reply to the recruiter and ask for more information. At the very least, I get to see what Microsoft is looking for in a candidate...

Mistake!

By Monday morning, the recruiter is calling me out of thin air and sending me e-mails, trying to convince me that Microsoft loves me more than my mother and that I want to leave Google faster than a convict wants to leave prison. She tells me that I "would be awesome at Microsoft."

Barf!

I'm now definitely not interested, and I tell her so. I send her an e-mail saying that I'm committed to my current project and don't want to jeopardize its success, blah blah, stop bugging me.

And then, she throws a curve ball. One of her buddies calls me on her behalf and leaves a voicemail telling me that the hiring manager at Microsoft is "so excited" about my profile, he's willing to hold the position for me until my current project is done.

Wow! that's a first! A manager at Microsoft willing to wait for me... willing to wait for a die-hard Apple fanboy. I think I'd like to meet this manager...

After all the pantomimes from the recruiter, I decide to e-mail back and lay out my demands. I'm willing to meet with the manager, but only for coffee and only for an informal chat. No interviews, no phone screens, no resumes... just coffee.

Enter: the wonders of computers and the dorks who use them.

The Microsoft recruiter intended to forward my reply to that other recruiter who I happen to know; instead, she sent it back to me, with the following comment at the top of the e-mail:

"John Doe – this is an FYI – I got him to go from no to this. I guess the gun under his chin helped. Do you think the hiring manager will just talk with him without me doing a PS?"

WTF? ROTFL!

If accepting to meet with a manager at Microsoft is like putting a gun under my chin, is accepting a job with them equivalent to death by hanging?

Your brother brought me silver,
Your sister warmed my soul,
But now I laugh and pull so hard
And see you swinging on the gallows pole


As dependable as a Swiss watch, jaws drop every time I reveal to a mainlander that I live on Whidbey Island.

I know the reaction full well. I still have flashbacks to my days at Apple, when my commute was around ten minutes; a leisurely ten minute walk, that is. Back then, any distance longer than 45 minutes was for the birds, and I was going to have nothing to do with it. I would listen dumbfounded to the tales of co-workers and their long and tiring commutes; fighting traffic, spending endless hours trapped in metal cages on wheels. I remember one co-worker in particular who had a three hour train ride, each way!.

"How ridiculous!" I thought. "Not me. Not in my lifetime!"

Well, here's a toast to my new lifetime. I commute now, and unlike my days at Apple, it's is no walk in the park anymore. I am an islander, and I work at Google.

Let me repeat. I work for Google, the second most awesome company in the world, and I live on an island. Yeah, yeah, there's a commute tucked somewhere in between, but who cares about a commute when when one destination is Google and the other is an island. Really, life can't get any better.

I know most people don't see it this way though; and it's not just mainlanders that freak out either. Some islanders who work on Whidbey can't fathom a commute off the island, let alone a 90+ minute trek each way. I'm sure many people think I'm nuts, but I guess one needs to appreciate how lucky I am to work for a terrific company, and have such a paradisiacal place to call home.

Consequently, and by way of an introduction, I would like to present my new blog:

"round trip" -- demystifying an islander's commute to Google

For my first post, I'll tell you about Supertramp.

There are three things I generally do in the course of my commute to and from work:

I listen to music on my iPhone,
I listen to podcasts on my iPhone,
and I talk to people... on my iPhone.

When I am not using my iPhone, I take time to reflect on my day, or to think about my beautiful children and my amazing wife. Sometimes, I even look at photos of them... on my iPhone.

This morning was a Supertramp kinda music day. Until very recently, I thought Supertramp meant something radically different. Then, while flipping through some music that I... uh... "borrowed" from some friends, I came across "Breakfast in America" and "The Logical Song". I was immediately hooked.

So, on my way to work this morning, I had a Supertramp bash in my car; loud, head bopping, and singing all the way:

I'm a winner, I'm a sinner
Do you want my autograph
I'm a loser, what a joker
I'm playing my jokes upon you
While theres nothing better to do


When was the last time you had 90+ minutes of uninterrupted Supertramp bash?

I like music. Kudos to whoever invented it.