Welcome to Google Lite!

This past Monday my manager pulled me aside and told me that he thought I was doing a fantastic job and that he wanted to convert me to regular staff as soon as possible. I gladly accepted.

2 years ago I interviewed with Google up in the San Francisco Bay area. It was an intense, grueling ordeal. I endured 4 phone interviews over the course of two weeks, each lasting an hour. And that was just their screening process. But I was very proud to finally be awarded an all-expenses paid weekend excursion to SF during which I would visit the Google-plex for 6 hours of interviews with 6 different people.

I had a bad college experience. I was what you would refer to as a "twinkie" or a "banana". You know, yellow on the outside and white on the inside. I spent my college days chasing white girls and drinking in my frat house. But it turned out to be someone else's world that I was trying a little too hard to fit into, instead of my own. That's the very condensed version of my college experience. Those were the loneliest 4 years of my life.

So one of the first things that I witnessed when I stepped onto the grounds of Google was a gaggle of young Asian women in flip-flops and belly-button-exposing tops. They walked across the courtyard between two buildings carrying their laptops and notebooks as if they were heading to their next class. In between interviews I further recall the following scenes: punk guy with 12-inch mohawk playing foosball, offices with disco balls hanging from the ceiling, pretty Asian girls peering over their cubicles to look at me, all the free snacks and SmartWater, and who can forget the Vegetarian, Thai, Chinese, American, Mexican, and Vegan cafes. All free, of course.

It was college all over again and it felt so right that I should get another shot at it. It must have been heaven-sent. But two weeks later I was told that I just wasn't the right fit for the company. I moped around for a month with no wind in my sails. I now reference that whole episode as "The divine non-intervention."

Enter Edmunds.com. I've been secretly calling this place "Google Lite." This place is awesome! I had no idea that a car website could be so advanced, organized and profitable. I think that they semi-officially model themselves after Google. The walls about the company are painted in the same brilliant colors, everyone is between the ages of 28 and 38, the ethnic diversity is perfectly balanced, and the overall atmosphere is very progressive with overflowing creative energies. Tonight there was a party to celebrate some major milestones. And tomorrow we have the day off in observance of Earth Day.

I no longer need that second chance. I'm comfortable with who I am and am living in the world that I've chosen and created for myself. But nevertheless, I am very happy to be here.