Once upon a time, I used to write. Most of that writing wasn’t particularly interesting. I was just translating thoughts into words; archiving problems that I found solutions to and sharing the things I was working on. Many of those posts just disappeared into the ether with no comments, validation or rebuttals. Sometimes though, the things I wrote got noticed. Maybe it was because the project was interesting, the problem was a common one, or perhaps I just made people laugh…
Culture Over Everything
Voluntarily hitting the reset button on your life isn’t something I’d recommend doing mid-career, but boy have I learned a lot about myself over the last 3 months. After reaching out to many of my industry friends and quietly applying to dozens of positions, I’ve finally chosen my next adventure. On Monday, I’ll be joining the talented and passionate team at PowerDMS as a UX Designer.
Moving to Orlando
Amy and I grew up in the beautiful, quiet little beach town of Vero Beach, Florida. It’s a small enough city that you’re likely to run into someone you know every time you leave the house. Most of our family still lives in Vero and each visit makes us miss life in Florida. As Amy was finishing her PhD at South Carolina in 2010, we agreed that we would move close to home when we were ready to start a family of our own. Somehow though, here we are in Atlanta with a 4 year old, a 2 year old and 2 crazy cats. We spend most of our vacation time making the 9+ hour drive to visit family and we ask ourselves, “Well, how did we get here?”
The Pulley House: Before & After
When Amy and I moved into Decatur 5 years ago, the house we chose was filthy and neglected with an awkward galley kitchen, no working shower, a dying HVAC unit, an old roof and several broken windows. We dubbed it “The Pulley House” because there were climbing ropes hanging from pulleys mounted around a skylight that dangled from the 3rd floor loft all the way down to the 1st floor living room. Supposedly, they were for hanging plants. Supposedly.
The (Initially) Reluctant Manager
It’s hard to believe, but today is officially my 4th anniversary working at MailChimp HQ here in Atlanta. Before that, I spent a year working remote, so I’ve actually been with the company for over 5 years now. In that time, MailChimp has more than septupled in size, we’ve been through 3 major redesigns, and we just moved into a rad new office at Ponce City Market. Until recently though, my primary responsibilities remained the same…