Cog worthy
A few entries ago Cory weighed in on music that appeals while toiling away, as a cog in the machine. It's a subject I recently haven't had to deal with very much. I've been spending my days getting the home renovations started, instead of looking very hard for actual work. I'm lucky not having had to sweat that.
But not working isn't as much of a cake walk as I expected. I find my makeup still includes 'what I do' as part of my personal self-realization. The challenging thing, for me, is separating my personal measure of myself, in the workplace, from what I perceive everyone else expects, or sees, in me. It's an old habit, perhaps a bad one; but it's still part of my makeup.
I also have this strong sense that every new job should be building, evolving, on what I've learned in the past. If it's not moving onward & upward in some logical progression, I worry. It's not about financial growth, per se. Although I still live in the material world, I feel the real issue is just doing something really well - and doing something interesting. Best of all is having some meaningful impact. Everyone probably has similar personal aspirations, I know that. But it's been strange for me, living in the current economic climate where I didn't have all sorts of opportunities to pick from. I admit I've been tempted to take anything, just to be ...working. Thankfully, something has come up that looks to be much more than that.
For all of my 'adult' work-life, I've primarily existed in a technical environment. Starting out of college with a physics degree, it was the logical path. As I mentioned at the time of the Columbia disaster, I first worked at Johnson Space Center, in the space sciences division. It was satisying, on an intellectual level. But working in a huge governmental enterprise is not unlike academia in more than one way. Growth isn't as vibrant as it is in the open marketplace. It didn't take long for me to feel kind of stifled.
So I moved into the semiconductor industry. The 80's were an interesting time for that. Now, some consider it almost a rust industry, which is a bit harsh, but not totally without some truth. I also found myself gravitating away from being a techie and into being a sales puke. Say what you will about marketing, but you are exposed daily to challenges that require personal initiative and creativity. I liked that.
But the travel was brutal. I was overseas 50% of the time. I loved the international experience - I must have, doing it for 12+ years. But it eventually caught up with me. I still vividly recall waking up one Sunday morning in an Osaka hotel, wondering where I was and what the hell was I doing. Was this really living - not being with my wife, whom I love dearly? That was the beginning of another change in my work life.
Right on cue, the Internet/dotcom explosion materialized. After a few mostly exciting, but with mixed success, new business attempts, I almost grew disenchanted with parts of that game. That is, until recently. Hand me those dice again.
It's not technical, although it has a significant component of e-commerce. And I do get to call on all those techie pals I've made, over the years. I think it's going to be a lot of fun and the challenges are meaningful. I'll be heading up the corporate sales effort for wineglobe.com. They're operating in the black already and the brick and mortar retail component has been in existence since '89. A lifetime. Mo bettah, it's located right here in San Mateo. No commute! And I guess I'll be getting a good deal on stocking the wine refrigerator in our new kitchen - whenever that gets finished! I guess it's time to start a new cog-worthy chapter.
A few entries ago Cory weighed in on music that appeals while toiling away, as a cog in the machine. It's a subject I recently haven't had to deal with very much. I've been spending my days getting the home renovations started, instead of looking very hard for actual work. I'm lucky not having had to sweat that.
But not working isn't as much of a cake walk as I expected. I find my makeup still includes 'what I do' as part of my personal self-realization. The challenging thing, for me, is separating my personal measure of myself, in the workplace, from what I perceive everyone else expects, or sees, in me. It's an old habit, perhaps a bad one; but it's still part of my makeup.
I also have this strong sense that every new job should be building, evolving, on what I've learned in the past. If it's not moving onward & upward in some logical progression, I worry. It's not about financial growth, per se. Although I still live in the material world, I feel the real issue is just doing something really well - and doing something interesting. Best of all is having some meaningful impact. Everyone probably has similar personal aspirations, I know that. But it's been strange for me, living in the current economic climate where I didn't have all sorts of opportunities to pick from. I admit I've been tempted to take anything, just to be ...working. Thankfully, something has come up that looks to be much more than that.
For all of my 'adult' work-life, I've primarily existed in a technical environment. Starting out of college with a physics degree, it was the logical path. As I mentioned at the time of the Columbia disaster, I first worked at Johnson Space Center, in the space sciences division. It was satisying, on an intellectual level. But working in a huge governmental enterprise is not unlike academia in more than one way. Growth isn't as vibrant as it is in the open marketplace. It didn't take long for me to feel kind of stifled.
So I moved into the semiconductor industry. The 80's were an interesting time for that. Now, some consider it almost a rust industry, which is a bit harsh, but not totally without some truth. I also found myself gravitating away from being a techie and into being a sales puke. Say what you will about marketing, but you are exposed daily to challenges that require personal initiative and creativity. I liked that.
But the travel was brutal. I was overseas 50% of the time. I loved the international experience - I must have, doing it for 12+ years. But it eventually caught up with me. I still vividly recall waking up one Sunday morning in an Osaka hotel, wondering where I was and what the hell was I doing. Was this really living - not being with my wife, whom I love dearly? That was the beginning of another change in my work life.
Right on cue, the Internet/dotcom explosion materialized. After a few mostly exciting, but with mixed success, new business attempts, I almost grew disenchanted with parts of that game. That is, until recently. Hand me those dice again.
It's not technical, although it has a significant component of e-commerce. And I do get to call on all those techie pals I've made, over the years. I think it's going to be a lot of fun and the challenges are meaningful. I'll be heading up the corporate sales effort for wineglobe.com. They're operating in the black already and the brick and mortar retail component has been in existence since '89. A lifetime. Mo bettah, it's located right here in San Mateo. No commute! And I guess I'll be getting a good deal on stocking the wine refrigerator in our new kitchen - whenever that gets finished! I guess it's time to start a new cog-worthy chapter.
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