It’s hard to believe that I’ve been at Microsoft for so long already. It was not an easy decision to make, but I’ve decided to leave Microsoft. I gave my 2 weeks notice earlier today and had an interesting conversation with my lead. I’ve been a nervous wreck all weekend after things became finalized with my new employer. I kept wondering if I’m making the right choice, what were the consequences, what would people think of me, etc. Previously, it was just all talk. It didn’t become real until I had my resignation letter printed out addressed to my lead. When I spoke with my lead today, he was more surprised than anything. However, I think the conversation went pretty smoothly.
I’ve been in the identity organization ever since I joined Microsoft and for quite some time now, I’ve been thinking about trying something new. I guess I finally decided to take the leap, just not inside of Microsoft.
Derek, Ryan and I were having a conversation one evening a few weeks ago and they mentioned how Ryan’s been swamped with work and they were thinking about hiring someone to help out. That got me thinking. I’d love to work with these guys, given my past experiences with them. So I mentioned if they were really looking for someone, I might be interested. They told me that if I was really interested, we should talk. I told them I’d think about it.
A few days later at dinner with some friends from UW, someone asked me if I was planning to stay with Microsoft forever. That really got me thinking about it. I figured if I was going to try something new, now would be probably the best time. Maybe in 10 years, stability would be nice, but now is the time to experiment. As I thought about the changes that would come, I became even more excited. Derek had spoken to me earlier on the type of stuff I’d be working on and some of their plans they were thinking about. This was going to be fun!
After 2 weeks of contemplating this over and probably some over-thinking, I told Derek that I was interested in joining them. They seemed happy to have me on-board. We started talking about how things would be different (e.g. health insurance, retirement accounts) and what I would need to do to prepare for the switch over. He asked if I had thought about salary/compensation and honestly I figured I’d probably accept any salary they’d offer me, but don’t tell Derek that. Although, Ryan’s initial offer of $3 was a bit low though. ;p Derek told me to go think about some numbers, so I went back home and thought about some numbers. We met again for coffee and I gave him a number. After some back and forth, we ended up at a number we were both happy with. 🙂
Typing the resignation letter was probably the second most difficult task throughout this experience, not only because it was my first time quitting a job, but it felt like I was going to let my friends/coworkers down. The whole experience was just very weird.
My lead and I were going to have an one-on-one meeting at 11am and I figured that would probably be the best time to hand over my letter. The most difficult task throughout this experience was probably having this conversation with my lead. It was definitely very scary. I was extremely nervous and my lead was mainly surprised. I kept stuttering when trying to answer his questions, but in the end, I think things came to a good understanding. He told me he’d let our manager know and get things rolling with HR.
I’m definitely feeling bittersweet at the moment. I’m excited for the things to come, but a bit sad that I’m leaving friends and a place I called home for 5 years behind. I’ll still be around in the area, so we should definitely keep in touch!
For some time now, I’ve been using Google Voice as my home phone. Recently they have added the feature where you can port your existing mobile number to their service for a $20 fee (blog post). I’ve been contemplating on doing so, but ultimately decided against it because if I ever use my mobile phone to call somebody, the receiver will see a different number on their caller id. I know they now have apps that allow you to use Google Voice on your cell phone, but the features are still limited and I’m waiting to see if any mobile phone service will have some deeper integration with Google Voice so that voice mail and caller id would work correctly. Maybe Google will end up launching their own mobile network.
Currently I have Google Voice setup with Gizmo5 + Linksys PAP2 (ATA) (instructions). However Gizmo5 limits my free outgoing calls to 3 minutes, which is annoying. On the other hand, Google Voice gives me unlimited free outgoing calls in the US/Cananda, but I have to initiate the call from the Google Voice website. Doable for me, but puts a damper in things for my parents.
As you probably guess, I haven’t gotten around to trying this project out yet, but the good news is I can have the cake and eat it too!
Today I found out Obihai has released a device known as the OBi110 for $50 (discussion). All you need is a Google Voice account to set the device up. Then you can plug in any phone or hook it up to your entire house for unlimited free incoming/outgoing calls to US/Canada. They also have really good international rates if I recall correctly. They also let you choose any area code (most other services charge a fee for that). There will be no need to purchase a separate ATA device.
With this device and setup, it actually solves a couple issues:
Outgoing calls just like calling from a regular phone with no time limit
The receiver will see your Google Voice # as the caller id
I don’t have to setup and maintain it!
All this for just $50. Unfortunately it’s currently sold out at Amazon, but I’m pretty sure it’ll be back in stock in the near feature. If you can’t wait, you can always order it from 888VoipStore for $10 more for shipping.
This is awesome! You can now add items that aren't in stock via Amazon Tote. Previously that was disabled. #
@krunk4ever Now if they would only link Amazon Tote with their gift certificates system so I can spend some of those GCs I've accumulated. in reply to krunk4ever#
@angelgrrl813 Sweet! Previously you had to submit the paperwork to one of the DOL locations. I was just complaining about that the other day in reply to angelgrrl813#
I’ve been speaking about getting a new car for a long time, something to replace my Honda Civic, and it looks like it finally happened. Initially I wanted an Audi. First the A4, then the Audi S4, and then Chris got me thinking about the Audi S5. I also looked at the Lexus IS250 / IS350 and even though tons of friends told me how fun that car was, a couple of friends (who I take car advice from) convinced me of otherwise (not that it wasn’t fun, but that there were deficiencies that made other cars better in its class). Then I started asking myself if I wanted new or used. Of course I would like something shiny and new, but in the class of cars I was looking at, they depreciated so fast I would save a lot of money buying used. Then I heard about the Tesla Model S and fell in love, but it wasn’t coming out until 2012. I figured my Civic could probably last me until then or until I could decide on something I wanted.
Due to unfortunate circumstances, I had to buy a car soon and that’s when I enlisted Derek’s help. He asked what my price range was and what type of cars I was interested. I decided I would have a budget of $50k and the types of cars I was interested were sporty small/medium sized cars. He suggested a new or used BMW 135i or BMW 335i would suit me. He also told me to start the process of getting approval for an auto loan. After comparing the costs of a new vs used vehicles and discussing with Derek, I think it made more sense for me to get used. I would be able to save ~40% if I bought a 2 year old BMW. Another interesting thing is the warranty is extended by 2 years if you buy BMW CPO (Certified Pre-Own) and the free maintenance will continue from when the original owner purchased it. That actually sold me on getting a BMW. I don’t have to worry about maintenance for 2 years and the warranty would last 4 more years.
After researching auto loans online, I went with PenFed which had a 3.25% rate for 60 months for used vehicles. I was able to apply for up to $50,000 which was convenient. Unfortunately I found out the next day that my loan was not ready, despite the fact I had expressed it. I called in to find out what was wrong and apparently they saw 2 mortgages on my credit report and asked if I had a rental property or had a co-signer. I explained I had recently refinanced and that may be why 2 mortgages were showing up. I faxed in proof that I had paid off my previous mortgage and my loan was pre-approved. I understand I may actually be able to get better financing at dealerships, but I wanted to have an alternative option to fall back on.
That weekend, Derek and I went car shopping. We hit up both BMW Northwest and BMW Seattle. BMW Bellevue didn’t really have any cars I wanted to look at, plus I’ve heard horror stories about how they treat customers. I had decided early on that the BMW 135i was a bit too tiny for my taste, but I did like the BMW 335i. Derek was trying to convince me to get the coupe, but after looking at the coupe vs the sedan, I preferred the look of the sedan more. It was unfortunate that it was raining the day we went, but I still had fun test driving. It’s weird that the 1st car we looked up ended up being the car I ultimately purchased. It was the right color and it had a really nice set of options. It came with the premium and sports packages, navigation, HD radio, iPod adapter, and some other nice perks. The only thing we figured it was missing was the cold weather package. And as Derek says, it’s also missing a nice set of wheels. I think it comes with the stock sports wheels.
But we didn’t purchase that day since my auto-loan check hadn’t arrived yet, and I didn’t want to be cornered into using their financing. While I waited for my check to arrive, I continued to monitor for new cars. It’s funny how Derek was more worried about the car’s history than I was. He went through the Carfax report trying to figure out what everything meant and did a much better inspection of the car than I could ever have. I guess that’s why he’s the guy to look to for these kinds of things. He was definitely a better negotiator than I was as I probably would’ve admitted defeat a lot earlier on.
The check finally arrived and Derek and I scheduled to go down on Thursday. I confirmed Thursday morning that the car was still available and we drove down to BMW Northwest. This is the first time I actively participated in negotiating a car’s price, since my dad was the one who did all the negotiating for my Honda Civic. It was an interesting back and forth and my sales guy brought out the infamous 4 squares sheet. Though after our first round of negotiation, he pretty much scrapped that sheet as he knew we wouldn’t bother with it. All in all, I had a rather pleasant experience and it was a lot better than I had expected it to be. Derek and I were able to get the price knocked down by ~$2000, and got them to throw in some mats + fix the siding which popped out a bit more than normal. We were also trying to get them to replace one of the tires because the treading looked non-existent, but they wouldn’t budge on that.
Something else I found out about the car is that the original owner had purchased extended maintenance, which means not only do I have an extended warranty, but my free maintenance is also extended to 11/2014. We discussed financing and BMW was able to offer me 2.90% for 60 months which I took. Of course they tried to up sell the warranty and other protection plans, but they weren’t pushy at all. When I declined them, we just moved on. I had put $5,000 down and apparently I was able to charge $3,000 to my credit card (Derek found that out for me). At 2% cash back, that’s an extra $60 in savings! Another fun fact, BMW Northwest being in Tacoma has a lower sales tax than King County (9.6% vs 9.8%). That’s an additional ~$60 in savings.
Since they had to fix the siding, I was unable to take the car home that same day. It’s a bit sad after buying such a nice toy that you can’t take it home immediately. Fortunately my sales guy called me up early this morning and told me my car was ready. I wouldn’t be able to get down there before he left, so he offered to drive it up to me, which worked out great. Interestingly, they replaced the tire that we had requested but was denied during negotiations. Both Derek and I found that to be very weird, since when have you heard the dealer throwing in such a big bonus after he’s already sold you the car. Either he really wanted to make me happy or my only other explanation was that the tire really didn’t meet CPO specification and they were required to replace it.
I’ve been going through the owner’s manual and this is one complicated beautiful piece of machine. There’s SO MANY buttons. While driving over to Derek’s after I got the car today, I accidentally hit the paddle shifts and it went into manual mode. I didn’t know how to change it back to D. I shifted from M5 down to M2 and then back up to M5. At a stop light, I ended up shifting to N and then back to D and things worked normally afterwards. I would later find out that my gear stick can move left and right while on D, which is how you switch between manual and automatic.
The car comes with navigation, but it turns out in order to use it, you have to have the navigation DVD in the system. I found that a bit weird, but it’s not like I’m going to use the DVD player for anything else. Another interesting thing is the cruise control stick is completely different from any other system I’ve used previously.
It took me forever to figure out how to program the garage opener. Apparently hold the remote 4-12″ away really means hold remote right next to it. I also found it a bit weird that my car has to be on in order to use the garage door openers. It’s nice now that I have both doors programmed into it.
I found it really cute that there's a Mr and Mrs key pair
Derek’s been teaching me lessons in the art of owning a BMW. Here’s what I remembered so far:
Never touch the paint.
Never go through a car wash.
Don’t rev car beyond the moving target in the tachometer.
Get 3 sets of wheels, one for each season + a spare set.
Don’t ever drive in the snow.
Park far away from everyone.
Now I’m afraid to go to Costco. ;p
After replacing this car in my Progressive auto insurance plan, my 6-month rate increased from $403 to ~$750, almost doubling it. Most of the increase came from the collision, which itself was almost $400. I increased my deductibles for collision and comprehensive from $500 to $1000 and my insurance rate is now ~$650. Still quite high, but I guess that’s what you get for owning an expensive car.
After being annoyed with F1 launching Explorer help for so long, I finally decided to look up on how to disable it: http://lifehac.kr/fS3gr9#
@krunk4ever Apparently that solution only works in XP. For Vista/7, you have to rename C:\Windows\HelpPane.exe to something else in reply to krunk4ever#
