It has been a while since I have written here. Looking at the last time I wrote an article of significance, I mentioned that I had insomnia. Indeed, I wrote everything between midnight and sunrise. Fortunately for me, I haven't had insomnia for the last year and half. This blog has suffered as a result.
So, why am I writing now? Well, today marks my fourth year anniversary of working at Microsoft as a full-time employee. It is a great moment for reflection, evaluating accomplishments, and identifying missed opportunities. No doubt, going from knowing almost nothing about C++ three-and-a-half years ago to writing the entire specification for all the new language features in Visual C++ 2005 is a huge accomplishment. It is such a monumental task that I wonder if it will ever end.
This past week has been a time of nostalgia. Reviewing my experiences at Microsoft as an intern and now, I am filled with hope and excitement. When I worked as an intern in the Outlook team, it seemed as if so many great things were about to happen in the software industry. Sure enough, great things are happening... they're just taking an incredibly long time. After four years, I've gained much more appreciation for the amount of effort it takes to change the world. I expect to take all the lessons I learned over the past four years and apply them to making an even greater difference in the next four.
Beyond the reminiscing, I regret not having said anything here for so long. It is not because I have a shortage of things to discuss. To all those who asked me to write again (there are too many to list here), I am making a commitment towards spending more of my non-insomnia induced waking hours to sharing what I know. In no particular order, I am going to write about the following:
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If there are topics missing from this list or a particular topic should take priority, please comment to let me know. To a large degree, the list above represents subjects that I have become expert on over the last three years. With four years past, I am looking at the challenges coming in the upcoming years. I'm certain unexpected excitement and hard work lies ahead.