I know its been only four days of funemployment so it's a little early to be feeling nostalgic, but I figured I owe at least one blog post to my first job, a job I dearly enjoyed. I went to Microsoft today to meet a few friends for lunch. Going back to campus as a visitor vs. an employee caused me to pause and spend some time thinking about my last 8+ years at Microsoft. I first came to the Pacific Northwest for an internship at Microsoft. I remember being in a Master's program and contemplating a PhD at the time. I fell in love with Microsoft over the course of that summer internship and as soon as it was over, I went back to college and told my advisor that I will not be doing my PhD. Instead, I was going to go back to Microsoft to work as a Program Manager - this was back in the year 2008. Since then, I haven't regretted a moment of my time at Microsoft. I can proudly say that my experiences here have been good and beautiful and thinking about them leaves me feeling warm and fuzzy. Every year, when I did the poll, I would always check the box that said I wouldn't stay at Microsoft longer than 5 years. I didn't realize when time flew by. A lot of people stay because they get comfortable. I stayed because I was always (okay, most of the time) excited to come in to work every morning. I may have grown a wee bit cynical over the years, but honestly, I have had faaaaaaaar more positive than negative experiences during my time here. The opportunities I received on the various teams I was a part of, the things I learned, the people who influenced me on a daily basis, all played a large role in making me the person I am today. Over the course of my career at Microsoft, I worked on some amazing products with some super smart people and forged some lasting friendships that I hope to keep forever. I keep getting the question, "In four months, will you be back at Microsoft?". Short answer - most probably not. It is the right time for me to try out something else; learn more, grow more, and forge some new paths in my life (time to Hit Refresh 😉). But in five years? Who knows? I have definitely not closed the door permanently. Here are a few fun photos from the teams I've worked on and some memorable moments with people I grew to respect and love (it was so hard to select just a few. If you are not in the pics and I worked with you, I just didn't have a good picture to share). [gallery ids="321,320,324,323,322,316,330,317,318,319" type="slideshow"]Takeaway for the day: Cherish every moment (good or bad) and learn from it. That way, you can always look back fondly and smile 😃. Until next time Adiós (see, I know a Spanish word)!