vancouver

 by Brendon J. Wilson

New Year, New Job

After a hectic (well, not really; rather relaxing, now that I think about it) Christmas holiday, the New Year is here. And with it, my new job as a Product Manager at PGP Corporation in sunny California! I’ll be starting in mid-January, which means Ashley and I are on a hectic schedule to move down to California in the next two weeks – cue the craziness. Yes, I know, how ironic that I become yet another casualty of the brain drain, neglecting to pay the toll along the way.

It’s with some sadness that we’ll say goodbye. It’s been over three years since we returned to Vancouver, glad to escape Ireland. No sooner than we returned to Vancouver than one of its native authors, Douglas Coupland, published “City of Glass” and reminded us of all the things we love about Vancouver. With that in mind, we spent the day around Stanley Park snapping pictures of the mountains.

The North Shore Mountains

I knew that once I completed my MBA, it would probably be time to go walkabout again. Though we love Vancouver, the opportunities are pretty limited in the city at this time – so it only makes sense to see how things are in other parts of the world. Especially while we have the freedom afforded by no mortgage and no children. We will return, of course. The mountains surrounding Vancouver will always be waiting to welcome us home.

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 by Brendon J. Wilson

Springfield, Springfield!

Well, not quite – I’m actually in New York, New York. Actually, Bayhead, New Jersey. But what’s a state line to stand between me and a good Simpson’s analogy? Exactly – nothing!

We arrived in Newark on Tuesday morning, and I hopped on the train to Boston so I could interview in person with Peppercoin. While I could make some glib remark about taking a 6-hour plane ride across the continent just to take a 7-hour train ride up the eastern seaboard, I won’t, out of sheer respect for the train. It had legroom. And power outlets for my laptop. And a real reclining seat, permitting actual sleep. Heck, if they threw in wireless access, I would have chosen to take the train all the way from Vancouver.

I arrived in Boston in time to check out the local Company of Friends cell’s holiday party. Wow. Though they only had roughly double the number of participants at their meeting as compared to the Vancouver cell, it sounded like they seriously have their excrement together! The number and caliber of the events, discussion topics, and speakers they had during the year was quite impressive. Of course, this observation must be tempered with the knowledge that their cell has been able to piggyback on the magazine, which, until this year, was located in Boston. Thus, they could easily gain access to some premium speakers and other resources to which other cells wouldn’t normally have access. With the recent departure of the magazine to New York, it’ll be interesting to hear how they fare this year.

As for my interview, it went pretty well. Though I’m still pretty skeptical about the micro-payments space, given its turbulent history, they seem to have a capable and experienced management team in place. That, coupled with the growing need for micro-payments in light of the market opened by Apple’s iTunes service, suggests they might just be adequately positioned to make it work. I guess we’ll see what happens.

So now, to relaxation! Already I’ve seen the final installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy (spectacular, of course), as well as “Henry IV” at the Lincoln Center (starring Kevin Kline and Ethan Hawke). Funny story about the play: I ran into Steve Martin. Not literally, of course, though that would have made it an even funnier experience. And what’s reality to stand between me and a good anecdote? Exactly – nothing!

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