Pinktober is almost over! Next month it will be one year since the end of my active BC treatment. Reimagining my life, This is my goal for November! I am going to reimagine my life going forward. And then I am going to re-invent my life from this plan!
A crisis always puts people in perspective about their life. Its a gift of any illness, accident or significant life event. I have a friend going through a breakup and it has been devastating. All these things bring us awareness of what is really important in our lives. The term ‘don’t sweat the small stuff” never meant so much to me as now. Time is marching on!
I use to worry, that sitting around and thinking was a waste of time. But I worked for years at Microsoft, and I remember Bill Gates encouraging us to think. He gave us private offices so we would have quiet time…time to regenerate…time to work out ideas on the white board with or without others. I am forever grateful for those years.
The memories of those years at Microsoft are mostly happy ones. Yes we worked and some long hours. We accomplished some ridiculously wonderful feats. We changed history. We worked together. We fought together. And, we bonded together. My fondest friends are the old ones from those days. Like Charles Dickens said, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times!”.
The first thing people ask you when they hear you worked at MSFT is about the money. Sure the money was good. Yes the work was terrible and long sometimes. But the friendships were the best. We were a part of history. It wasn’t all about the money. It was about being accepted for who you were, right where you were and everyone expected the best out of you. This is rarely true now, as I work other places. They expect you to prove yourself. Which to me is odd. They hired you and are paying you based on your experience and what you said you could do. Why don’t you just expect me and assume I will perform? It’s a win win for both of us.
Some company models don’t work for all people. If you want to be a successful company though, based on past performance is a good indication.
Nerdy technical people are wonderful. They might not be as empathetic on the surface that some people expect. But that is the surface. Like the character, Sheldon, on the Big Bang Theory, he doesn’t appear real compassionate but under the surface, I think he is a big softee! I have friends like that. They have been great to me since I have been ill.
I thank Bill Gates for teaching me to think. I thank the friends I found at the greatest company that ever was. I am thankful for being a part of changing history forever.
I am thank for yet another day. God give me the ability to make the most of it. 
