so microsoft invested $240M for 1.6% of facebook. that puts facebook's valuation at $15B. fucking nuts! assuming this holds true, their IPO is going to be amazing. man, i want to work there! i just browsed their job listings (in palo alto), and sadly, i have none of the qualifications there. :( i was just IM'ing with mikeT about wishing i were in software, because even after the internet bust, there seem to still be hot software companies (myspace, google, youtube), as opposed to no hardware companies. drat. my only real-life chance at making some money was taking that job at cisco coming right out of college.
so! flu shots. good idea? or bad? my company's giving free ones next week, and i was wondering if i should go get one or not. i've never had one before, and alan tells me they're a bad idea because he gets sick every time he gets one. i don't think i've gotten the flu in many years, so hopefully, the streak continues. *knocks on wood*
i miss kendra (my car). *sniff* i dropped her off bright and early today at the auto body shop. so now i'm driving a chevy cobalt. it's small and underpowered. i miss my V6! the only good thing about this rental car is that it has XM satellite radio. i printed out a list of its 100+ stations, and i've found some decent ones. one is called "lucy" and the other "ethel"; they're both alternative stations. i also found a 60's station; ah, how i love oldies!
but yeah, the car feels weird. it's amazing how you get used to how a car feels and handles. it's sort of like a girlfriend/wife. you get used to its curves, how it feels to the touch, how it responds when you do something to it, even the way it sounds. i'm out of sync in this cobalt, and it makes me feel a bit nervous and uncomfortable when i drive it. that's why i never volunteer to drive my friend's cars or rentals when we go on road trips or something.
i met up with some ex-coworkers today for some mongolian bbq (which wasn't as satisfying as i had hoped, btw). afterwards, we walked around in the neighborhood for a bit and chatted. the topic was what the hell we would do as engineers when we're like 50. i mean, are we really going to still be chip designers at that age? would they still hire us when we're that old? things seem bleak for us in the future unless we go down other road, like a management track, for example. anyways, i left sort of depressed. i really gotta figure out what i want to do with my career.
all of this goes back to me wanting to work for a startup again. you know, that whole dream of striking it big. the "dream" is something that i've let go for a few years now, after working in a public company. i sort of miss it, that excitement, working like you're striving for something magical, something that's going to have a big payoff. but then again, it's hard work, and there's a lot of stress involved. i must admit, here at my current company, the work is pretty light, and i enjoy that. given my fragile mental state, i can't handle stress very well, and i definitely don't want to go through those nervous breakdowns that i suffered back then, nor do i want my tourette's to get any worse. so there has to be some give and take there. i know, i'm selfish, and i want it all. but that's just my nature, isn't it?
so the world series is kicking off tonight. like i said, i don't know who to root for. i am a natural red sox fan, as i grew up in boston for 4 years (ages 3-6). but the rockies are an amazing story. my friend jack forwarded me a stubhub link, and some tickets are going for as much as $8K! holy shit! he's in boston right now, so i told him he should go. but even the cheap tickets are well in the 3-digit range. yeah, i'd rather watch it on tv, too.
ok, time to wrap this up. i'm having dinner with adam tonight. no wet burrito, though.