Best Day of My Career (So Far)

This post will be short and sweet because it's the middle of the night and I'm tired, but I need to write it now or I never will.  (I'm leaving in the morning to go "off the grid" for a week - more on that in a  future post.)

I don't love being a corporate worker.  Executing on someone else's agenda to earn investors profits just isn't fulfilling.  There are exceptions to every rule though, and some days on the job are actually pretty sweet.  Case in point; Thursday 7/23/2015.

I had spend the last several weeks boning up on web application security principles and practices, and Thursday was the day I presented the newfound knowledge to my team.  I learned a lot of attack patterns and defense techniques, and explored their impact on our site.  I was able to identify several vulnerabilities, and I even patched one just before the presentation.  This was a big deal for me, as I knew next to nothing about web security before being assigned to become an 'expert.'

I was nervous about presenting security topics to a room full of more experienced engineers.  Surely in my hours of research I had missed some things they had spent years developing.  Ultimately, though, the presentation went off without a hitch.  Discussion was lively and everyone left the room feeling more informed about security on the web in general, or in our app specifically.  A great weight was lifted off my shoulders.  There was actually a meaningful result to my month-long self guided journey.  (I'd love to share some technical details about the things I learned, but I have an obligation to do exactly the opposite!  If you want to learn about web security in general, this is the book I started with: http://www.amazon.com/Web-Application-Security-Beginners-Guide/dp/0071776168/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437812466&sr=8-1&keywords=web+security )

I got that "business high" that comes from a job well done.  As I was riding it out, I read on the news that Amazon's stock had skyrocketed 20% after hours due to a strong quarterly earnings report.  It's actually doubled from when I started two years ago!  Stock is a pretty big deal for Amazon employees because it's a big part of our compensation packages.  Needless to say I was happy about that too.

I got a buzz that comes from making some surprise money, and when it mixed with my business high from the presentation I became corporate cross faded.  It felt good, and I finally understood why some people choose to devote their lives to long hours in the office.  Of all the addictions to have, this one at least puts money in your pocket instead of the other way around.

The best was still yet to come.  It just so happens that not only was this quarterly earnings day, but it was also Amazon's 20th birthday!  To celebrate, all employees and their +1's were invited to a private Macklemore & Ryan Lewis concert at Century Link Field.  Amazon must have splurged book a private show from an A-list act in an NFL stadium, which is impressive for a company that preaches frugality.  Felicia and I had an awesome dinner after work, then we headed down to the show.

I had never seen Macklemore live before, but I've been to my fair share of rap concerts and I was worried this one was going to be wack.  A stadium full of software engineers isn't the most exciting crowd...Can they provide any artist with the right kind of energy?

image from http://www.geekwire.com/2015/a-good-day-macklemore-performs-for-amazon-employees-after-company-crushes-earnings/

It turns out yes they can.  Either that or Macklemore was just being a good sport.  Maybe a little of column A and a little of column B.  Either way, the show was a blast!  I forgot how much I liked The Heist.  They put on an amazing live performance as well, and it's easy to tell Macklemore had fun just being himself on stage in front of 15,000 people.

While I've had a good experience at work lately I still think it's smoke & mirrors compared to what I ultimately want out of life, which is just to "do me."  If I can win grammys on go on world tours in the process, like Macklemore and Ryan Lewis when they just "do them," then even better :)

Until next time!

TGIB

The Perfect Storm

Have you ever seen that movie (or read the book) The Perfect Storm? Three hurricanes and tropical storms collide and a helpless fishing boat is caught in the middle.  June was like the exact opposite of that for me.  My storm was a mix of weddings, birthdays, and anniversaries which formed a month-long super celebration.  The only downside was that I don’t like to drink a lot, but I found myself partying hard every weekend.  Woe is me :P  The heavy hitters were the weddings on back-to-back weekends.  2 bachelor parties, 2 weddings, 2 receptions, 2 after parties, and 2 much booze.

First up was Miguel’s bachelor party.  The theme of the party was Shirts vs Skins.  The precursor was a 1-rep max weight lifting session, and the main event was a poker tournament.  As players were eliminated, they had to give their shirts up to the person that knocked them out.  It started innocently enough, but with a little help from Fireball it quickly devolved into a bunch of drunken naked savages twerking and doing yardwork.  Eventually dudes started wrasselin and climbing around on the roof.  As things settled down we spewed our liquor onto Miguel’s neighbor’s yard and went home.  I’m pretty happy with all the Canadian cousins I made that day. *

This is what it looked like before things got out of hand.

Next was my wife’s birthday.  We kept this one low key because of all the other events going on.  In fact, she was hosting a bachelorette party for Shaniqua that same night!  I got her a mini-fridge as a present.  It wasn’t the most romantic gift, but it was practical.  I guess that’s marriage in a nutshell.  She’s not a diva at all, so she’s not upset that her b-day was overshadowed.  Still, I think she deserves the best so I’ll have to find a way to make it up to her.

The next day was Tyrese’s bachelor party.  This one was pretty last-minute, but it came together just fine.  It was day one of a three day bonanza.  We had some beers, and played mini-golf and Cards Against Humanity.  If you think that game is already racy, try it out at a bachelor party.  It was an appropriately fun night.  My Canadian family got pretty intertwined at this one, which I wouldn’t be surprised to find out is some kind of Canadian tradition.

The rest of the weekend was at Tyrese and Shaniqua’s wedding.  It was a couple hours out of town, so we wound up renting some houses onsite for a group of about 20.  Between the rehearsal dinner and the wedding reception there was lots of good food, classy fun, and small talk.  Both nights back at the house were pretty wild.  With bros icing bros and more fireball it felt like living with my college roommates again.  Shout out to my new Polynesian cousins for the successful weekend bash.*

Felicia and I at one of the weddings.

The Wednesday after the wedding was Pierre’s 30^th birthday.  It was also my grandfather’s 86^th birthday (He had a heart attack in his 60s, and was told he’d be lucky to live another 10 years.  So, to me, every birthday for him is a big deal) and my two year anniversary at Amazon.  Again, due to the timing this one was hard to celebrate.  At least, that’s what we told Pierre… more on that later.

A couple days later was Miguel and Guadalupe’s wedding.  It was magical.  Everyone was looking G’d up from the feet up.  The ceremony was beautiful and emotional.  We wound up getting pretty smashed on wine at the reception and the after party.  I’m not sure what hit me so hard – maybe it was the alcohol mixing with my allergy meds or just the fact that I had two glasses of six different wines, but I was a unique kind of intoxicated that night.  I spent about an hour lobotomized in a lawn chair while some of the other fellas spewed into the neighbor’s yard again (this time it was Tyrese’s neighbor).  This wasn’t anyone’s proudest moment, but Miguel and Guadalupe deserved it.

Now, back to Pierre.  He’s one of my best buds.  A lot of other people would claim that he’s one of their best buds as well.  He’s a good guy.  And 30 is a big milestone.  We weren’t going to let him fly under the radar on this one – regardless of being sandwiched between two weddings.  Penelope planned a Pokémon-themed surprise party for him months in advance.  The weekend after the weddings worked out best, since that’s when his brother Jacque was in town.  It was a blast.  Team Rocket was there, Pikachu, Charizard, Dragonite, and others were all in the house.  We had 8 “gym leaders” that Pierre could challenge for badges throughout the day.  He had to best them in feats of athleticism, wit, and drinking.  By the end of the night Pierre was the Pokémon league champion.  It wasn’t easy, but we all had a blast making him earn every badge.

So, that’s June 2015 for me.

When it was all said and done, I partook in some amazing festivities, felt some deep emotions, and made some great memories.  I’m #blessed to have so many people in my life who are worth celebrating, and so full of energy.  I’m also exhausted, and ready to get back in my routine :)

TGIB

*Canadian cousins is a term like “Eskimo brothers.”  It means you attended the same bachelor party.  Polynesian cousins is a similar term.  It means you had the same wedding officiant.

**fake names used to protect the innocent.