Today is my 2nd anniversary of working at Microsoft, all within the Office division. I like working for Steve Sinofsky and on down. This one of the few times I've worked somewhere feeling good reason to respect every one in my food chain line all that way to chairman Bill Gates. That's refreshing.

I've had three different offices since starting- all withing in 50 paces of each other. I'm not sure what the real logic is in all of that.

My first day was a sign to the company of what they were in for when they hired me (the following story is true, and the names of the innocent have been changed for their protection [notice that's not me]). I went to the employee orientation- an all day affair where I would be told:

A) things most sentient beings already know

B) things most sentient beings can figure out rather quickly

C) things not really worth spending time on, at least as I saw the situation.

I'm just not the kind of person that does well with any orientation, no matter how well it is done. I just don't have this gene in my DNA. Not sure why. It's not the fault of the people who organize that sort of thing. I respect what they do, and I suppose that if I just let my guard down and embraced the program like everyone else, I'd probably pick up a tip or two. But, I can't, and I couldn't that day in 2003. Maybe I just listened to Pink Floyd too much as a youth.

I was standing in line just dreading the day of this sort of thing, and I said to the guy in front of me, "Do you know how long this lasts? I hope I can make it through the day." Well, I was apparently overheard as an HR enthusiast approached me and said, "Sir, I don't appreciate your negative attitude. If you want to spread your negativity, you can leave." Or, in the words of Uncle Rico, "You know what Napoleon: You can leave!"

I said to her, "I'll tell you what, let's save both of us some headache and why don't you just let me know what I legally need to be here for." She said, "Just to sign the non-compete and pose for a photo for your badge." I responded, "Lead the way." Within a few minutes I had signed, posed for an 8x10 glossy, and headed for my office (the first one) to get some work done. Within an hour I had filled out all of the personnel, payroll, and other stuff online back in my cool office. I set up my mail and literally got down to work (I authored 7 articles in the space of a few weeks).

Later that day I went back to the orientation to pick up my badge. Coincidence would have it that when I arrived, an HR person was just finishing showing people how to fill out their payroll stuff online (saying things like, "Go to Internet Explorer and type H-T-T-P colon, forward slash, forward slash..." I sneaked in the back and picked up my badge, grateful that my mother and father did not have the "employee orientation" gene either, so it could not be passed down.

Truth be told, I love working here, and I have been eager to get to work since the day I arrived. That feeling has not faded. Microsoft is a fine place to work with all of our weaknesses, quirks, strengths, passion, and ideas. I have never been happier working anywhere else in my life (I know I probably sound obsequious and false, but nevertheless, it's the actual truth).

 Rock Thought for the Day: I celebrate my 2 years by referencing Neil Young's Harvest album from 1972 (when I was only 6 years old). It means more to me every year.

Rock On