Static Zombie

Five Years

Yesterday was my five year anniversary at Microsoft. Once upon a time, such an occasion would have been marked by bubble baths poured from bottles of Cristal purchased with proceeds from scads of fully-vested and appreciated stock options. Roses would sprout at my feet, a perfect pearl nestled in the folds of every bloom. When a downpour drenched the neighborhood, the clouds above would part to bathe my home in a single shaft of magnificent sunlight. Nubile giggling nymphs would flit around my head, farting crisp new hundreds every third revolution.

Once upon a time.

I started at Microsoft in February of 2000. Ring any bells? No? How quickly we forget. Perhaps this 5-year stock graph will refresh your memory. See that spike all the way on the left? February 2000. See that nosedive just to the right of it? April 2000-- the collapse of the internet bubble. Timing, as they say, is everything.

I was first offered a job at Microsoft in 1992. Had I taken it... well, my life would certainly be different. Perhaps better. Definitely wealthier. Everyone has crossroads in their lives-- beacons marking their big decisions, burning bright enough in their memories to spark "What if...?" questions, but never illuminating the answers. Curse Robert Frost and the horse he rode through the wood on.

Ah, well-- all that giggling would have driven me crazy, anyway.

Posted by Peter at February 15, 2005 06:02 PM