A Change In Scenery
Yesterday’s commute was long and painful. The gridlock started the moment I got on I-5 and it didn’t open up until the Mini dealership in Fife. Fortunately, I won’t be doing that again for a while. Why? Because I left the corporate world after ten years to pursue my side projects full time. Yesterday was my last day in the office. I transitioned my projects to others. I turned in my stapler. I sent out a last email. Then, I jumped…
Why did I do it? Aspirations for an Olympic curling medal? An increased desire to be the first blogger to finish the Tacoma marathon (those GritCity folks sound serious)? Dreams of becoming a subsistence farmer in downtown Tacoma?
The reality is that my life/work/work/work/school balance has been a bit out of whack so I chose to get rid of one of the works. I owe a lot to my experiences at one of Fortune’s Top 100 companies, but it’s my extra curricular endeavors that had become increasingly rewarding. Some of these projects are online. Some are offline. Other than Exit133, I haven’t really talked about any of them here. There are several partners involved in these endeavors. We have a co-rec sports team management website that has been online since 1999 with tens of thousands of devoted registered users and a desperately in need of updating. We’ve worked with local non-profits. We work with boards. We have a website to relaunch in 2007. There are a few other projects that will come to fruition this year that we find pretty exciting. Plus, there’s always Exit133.com.
It’s hard to undo ten years of commuting. Waking up this morning without an urgent need to dive into traffic was a strange sensation. My new commute will be a fifteen minute walk from our home to downtown Tacoma. I’ll be working from UWT, Metro Coffee, Blackwater Cafe, Cutters Point Coffee, Tully’s or anywhere else I happen to find friends and/or a wireless connection. Our office is downtown Tacoma. Our hope is that I’ll be more accessible for all of you as we try to make Tacoma something new and exciting.
I’m proud to say I now work in Tacoma. I look forward to working with you.
p.s. I’ll work on that backlog of 365 Days of Tacoma photos and your emails now. It’s been a busy few weeks, but my schedule seems quite open all of a sudden.
4 comments
D Douglas Tooley October 17, 2008
Forensic economics on this still worthy neighborhood institution is worthwhile.
The owners remodeled the space themselves – though not without experience it was their first commercial space. The requirements of same were tougher than they anticipated, perhaps exacerbated by by a divisive permit bureaucracy.
These issues were resolved and the lessons were learned by the owners, but money was depleted and inspiration drained from a focus on the business in those crucial grand opening months.
Business was picking up with the Fall season, but it was not enough.
Hopefully this business will re-open, but it will take someone with an investment in the Eastside to make it work.
Perhaps the Puyallup Tribe?
BTW, Baristo O’Chine plays at Doyle’s tonight(and the 17th of every month) with the group Ocham’s Razor – upbeat young celtic, kinda like the Paperboy’s of Vancouver.
T Thorax O'Tool October 18, 2008
The Paperboys put on an awesome show… I see them whenever thy make it down to Jazzbones.
Does Ocram’s Razor play monthly or is it just Baristo that plays monthly?
C Christine October 19, 2008
Ockham’s Razor is an awesome band and they frequently play at Doyle’s “St. Practice Day” which is the 17th of every month.
O Oisín Mac Suibhne October 20, 2008
Yeah, the closing has been a bit heart-breaking. And things really were picking up and getting easier — up until that Monday last month when things went to hell on a global level. Hopefully, something useful will be done with the space — it’d be a serious shame to see it fall back into being a crack-house, especially after all the work that went into restoring it. Now, I just need to find somewhere ELSE within walking distance.
And yeah, Ockham’s Razor plays every 17th @ Doyle’s. In fact, this last show was pretty damned fun.