The end of this year has been quite a ride. My life, a couple months ago, had taken a new path due to some interesting circumstances.
Well, I’ll start at the beginning…
Back in LA, I started working for a digital branding agency. It was my first full time design position, other than my freelance “job”, of course. It was a great job (for a bit). I loved all the people there, and even the clients that we got to work with. Over a bit of time, though, the job started to wear on me. I finally realized something, I didn’t like the agency life/style at all. At times I would feel like a pawn, being worked to the bone and never receiving the credit I thought I deserved. Although it was hard, there were people there that truly cared for me, and displayed that every day. During the times of stress and chaos, they would reassure me that things were ok. They were more than just co-workers, they were good friends. Having the ability to love the people/team that you work with everyday is very good, and I would venture to say needed in any work situation.
During that time, I had also been speaking with my friend Aubrey (the Design Lead at Color, and also a very good friend). He was telling me about his new job at Color. I was super excited for him, and couldn’t wait to see all the new stuff they were going to produce. Well, later that month (July) he called me and said “Hey, want to move to the bay area?”. He expanded on that a bit (I’m glad he did, because I was a bit confused) and told me that Color was hiring another designer, and he wanted me to interview. I jumped at the chance. I had had an urge to work in a start up environment. The thought of being able to fine tune, and mold a single product was incredibly intriguing, especially compared to my old job, which was the complete opposite. Long story short, I flew up to SF, interviewed, and got the job.
It was crazy timing, because not only was I not enjoying my previous job, but our (my wife and I) apartment lease was up in about two months, and we had wanted to move to an area with more diversity and energy. Things couldn’t have worked out better. I’m also very thankful to Aubrey and his wife for allowing me to stay at their place while I started work up here in Palo Alto. The situation couldn’t have gone any better.
Now, things are incredible. Color is amazing. The people that I get to work with on a day to day basis are awesome. Not only are they super smart, but they all have incredibly unique personalities. They also try very hard to make every employee feel like an asset. I am very thankful for the opportunity to work in such an awesome environment. My wife and I also moved into a small cottage off of Emerson in Downtown Palo Alto. It’s small, but homey, and very private. Oh yeah, and it’s about a 10 minute walk to work for my wife and I. My wife, Melanie, also transferred to the Palo Alto Apple Store.
Overall, these past few months have been pretty busy, but wonderful. Mel and I still don’t have a kitchen table to eat off of, or a couch to sit on in our living room, but we’re loving every moment of it. Things are good.
