Yes, Ladies and Gents, it's time again for an exciting episode of "What's going on in Tyler's life," where we follow our bumbling protagonist as he fumbles his way through life, love, and the pursuit of happiness. It's a dramatic story of loss, passion, pain, redemption, conquest, and joy, and... well, not really, but it should be an interesting boring jaunt nonetheless. Thanks for tuning in... :-)
When I last wrote, I was getting ready to move to the Northwest US and begin my new job with Microsoft. In just ten short days, I will have been living and working in Redmond , Washington , for six months. It certainly does not feel like it's been that long. It has been quite an adjustment, and I am not quite settled in yet, but I am confident that I will eventually. It took me a couple of years to really adjust to Chicago and IIT, so I figure I just haven't given myself enough time. That's not to say that it's been a horrible time. I am more confident than ever that my choice to take the job was the right decision, and that this is where God wants me to be right now. While I am certainly far from sure about His plans for me over the next few years, this place just "feels right" for now.
I could not have said that during my first 1-2 months here. I was very seriously asking myself whether I had made the biggest mistake of my life. The job was mercilessly difficult, I was working long hours and felt like I was making very little progress, and I had no friends close by to help get my mind off of work. I'm thankful to say that while much of this is still true – I still work long hours, the job is still difficult, and I haven't made any friends outside of work quite yet – somehow I have managed to change my attitude about everything and "get used to it." There have been a couple of major events that have happened the past few months that have helped me a lot.
The first was getting my own apartment and moving out of corporate housing. The apartment Microsoft had for me was nice and comfortable, but it was right next to the Microsoft Campus, and that made it even more difficult to leave my job at work. When you live right next door, it really feels like you're living at work. I still can't believe some people actually like this! The apartments close to campus are always in pretty high demand.
Anyway, with the help of a realtor, I was able to find a great third floor, 2 bedroom/2 bathroom apartment with a view. It's about 10 minutes from work with no traffic, which is close enough that I don't have to deal with a crazy commute every day, but far enough away that work stays at work – mentally, at least. I have the second bedroom/bathroom set up for guests, and I have been lucky enough to entertain several since I've been here. After living in my little hole of an apartment (my mom can attest – it was tiny!) in Chicago , this has been a welcome change. It is also nice to look out my balcony and actually see mountains and trees. It's situated right on the edge of the property, so rather than getting a view of more apartment buildings, I can actually look out over the mountains. If I could find a way to get rid of the crows around here, it would be perfect.
I really hate crows. They're everywhere, and they rival PNG roosters in their power to annoy. I just wish they could understand that every creature in nature does not want to awaken at 6:30 am.
Once I moved out of corporate housing, I was able to settle in a lot more. I definitely feel like this is "home" now. I haven't done a lot to make my apartment mine, per se, (other than put a few posters on the wall) but my stuff is here, I have a comfortable bed, a kitchen, and a bathtub. What more can you really ask for? Pictures of the apartment are available at my website: http://www.tylerbutler.com/article.php?story=20050424124915285.
Having my own apartment didn't really make my job get any easier, though. It's still tough, and I still spend a fairly significant amount of time doing it (currently I'm working around 50-60 hours a week). I am definitely getting the hang of it, though, and Microsoft seems to think so too. I started 3 days before the cutoff date for performance reviews this year, so I was able to participate in the review process. It consisted of a lot of goal setting and talking with my manager about expectations, but it was definitely worthwhile. I got some positive feedback from some of my peers, and I even got a raise and bonus. They're modest amounts, but I am proud nonetheless. It was a huge positive boost to my overall attitude. It was a great way to hear, "You're doing a good job, keep it up." Some people had told me that, including my manager, but as the old saying goes, "Actions speak louder than words." It was nice to get the reinforcement of my good performance in a financial way, and has convinced me even more that I am where I need to be.
If you're curious about what exactly I do, I have a run-down on my website: http://www.tylerbutler.com/article.php?story=20050606000805590. It's a little out of date, since we've moved to a different part of the development cycle, so things have changed, but it should give you a decent overview. Eventually I'll get around to posting more – maybe. :-)
I have managed to keep myself sane the past few months by taking weekend mini-vacations. I've gone back to Chicago twice, once for the UHS Class of 2000 Reunion , and most recently went to Cheyenne, Wyoming to visit my friends Brad and Keira Havens. Benji also came out to visit me for a long weekend, and Bethaney stayed a couple of days on her way back from PNG. I hope to go back to Chicago at least once more before Christmas. These brief visits are really rejuvenating even though they only last a couple of days.
The most recent thing that has happened to me involves my trusty 1986 Nissan Maxima, which has served faithfully as my mode of transportation for the past five years. In fact, many of you who traveled to Benji Campbell's for various reunions have probably ridden in it for extended periods of time. She was a great car, and has over 216,000 miles on her right now. Unfortunately, I took her in to get an oil change and have the brakes looked at and the mechanic actually wrote on the receipt, "Time to change cars." I had been planning to buy a new car, but was hoping to wait until sometime net year. Unfortunately, Puget Sound isn't the kind of place you can drive an unreliable car, especially when you don't have many friends you can call to pick you up when you're stranded. (For an account of what happened last time I had car trouble, see http://www.tylerbutler.com/article.php?story=20040607121336648 .) So about a month ago, I started looking for a new car. I ended up finding a 2001 Audi TT, which was a model that I have been in love with for a long time. She's in great condition, and even though I am still getting used to driving a manual again, she's a ton of fun to drive. Driving a red sports car and being under 25, I pay a premium in insurance, but I figure now's the only time I'm really going to be able to have a car like this. After all, I don't plan on being single forever, and with a car like this, I probably won't be. You know, crazy gold-digging women and all... :-) Pictures of Rosaline are at http://www.tylerbutler.com/article.php?story=20050918140818741 .
Well, I guess I have dragged this on long enough. If any of you are ever in the Seattle area and need a place to stay, I have the guest room ready and waiting! And feel free to write me an email, letter, or give me a call anytime. I hope to hear from some of you soon. :-)
Tyler