Technically Speaking

Am I totally and completely crazy? Have I lost all connection with reality?!?!

I quit my job yesterday!

It is starting to feel real. I was sent an exit survey from the corporation where I work, and the IT department sent me an e-mail notifying me of the procedures they are going through to remove my access from the network.

I really quit my job yesterday.

I’m leaving a position of safety and security and relative ease for a position of responsibility, more work, and less security. And what sounds even crazier to me right now is that I’m excited about it!

I really am. I think this new company presents me with a lot of really cool opportunities. I’ll be the lone writer in the entire company, and I’ll be responsible for all documentation from conception through delivery. I’ll get to hone my existing skills and develop some new ones. The company is a cool start-up-like company and has that start-up feel. They create software used for textual analysis of free-form text—a subject that I find fascinating. I like my manager, and liked all the people I met today when I turned in my acceptance letter.

Now I’m waffling between wondering if I can wait three weeks to start and freaking out because in three weeks my world is getting turned upside down, by my own choice!

No really, I’m excited about the opportunity, and am really looking forward to this new job. I have that nervous, excited feeling in the pit of my stomach. But everything is cool. This is the right thing for me right now. It is a good move personally. It is a great move professionally. It will be good for our family, and it is going to be a lot of fun.

So why am I so nervous?

Three weeks!!

And no, I’m not crazy. Not yet at least. Ask me in two and a half weeks.

Here is a copy of the e-mail I sent to my manager, Mark, this morning:

Mark,

After much thought and consideration, I am writing to inform you of my decision to resign from my position at [company name] effective Friday August 11, 2006. I have been offered, and intend to accept, a position with [company name], a software company in Salt Lake.

I intend to take my scheduled vacation from July 24-28, and then work my final two weeks from July 31 through August 11 such that I can wrap-up as much as possible on my remaining projects.

Mark, I want to thank you for the opportunities you’ve given me [here]. It has been a wonderful ride, and I appreciate the confidence you’ve shown me as I came into my first full-time job out of college. I have learned so much from you and from this organization. I appreciate your support, example, and help in teaching me as I’ve worked in this position. Nothing short of a perfect professional opportunity could have lured me away from this team; however, this opportunity is too good to pass up. As we discussed this morning, this isn’t simply a matter of “more money”, but it is a chance for me to stretch my wings a bit and learn more about the trade in a way that I wouldn’t be able to do [here].

Thanks again for your support.

Paul Pehrson

On our corporate intranet webpage, each week there are three featured articles that give information about various topics ranging from client spotlights to health and wellness information.

I am interested by this week’s topic: Tips to overcoming procrastination. I keep meaning to read it, but then I keep thinking “I’ll get around to it later.”

Today marks my 1 year anniversary of working for my current company (which, per company policy shall remain nameless) .

Yay for a year!!

If I needed another reason for why I don’t mention my company’s name in my blog, then here it is:

A CNN.com article today talks about people who have been fired for violating company policy on their blogs. Not that I ever have come close to violating company policy on my blog… but in any case, I think it is probably a good thing that X company doesn’t get mentioned by name. It’s not worth the potential trouble…

P.S. - I find it very funny that the Blogger.com spell check doesn’t recognize the plural form of the word blog.