As a soon to be junior at the U of A, IBM paid me very well at about $19/hr. Considering I came from being a courtesy clerk at Fry's making $5.50/hr and a file clerk at U-Haul making $6/hr, I was extremely happy with the pay. My friend called me "Moneybags Andy" that summer since I was making so much more than everyone else. The internship was originally intended to be just a summer job, but I guess IBM enjoyed my fellowship and contributions enough that they decided to keep me around part time during my junior and senior years of school. I can still remember how challenging those years were for me to handle and it's amazing that I didn't just collapse from it all. I was still averaging 16 units a semester in the college of Computer Engineering and trying to maintain 12-20 hours a week of part-time work at IBM. I constantly found myself only getting about 4 hours of sleep on most nights, falling asleep in class, driving 20 minutes to and from the IBM office on school days, and sometimes falling asleep at work even with my coworkers right next to me. Yet I was able to muscle through the tough times and come the end of my senior year, IBM decided that they wanted to have me join their workforce after I graduated, so my focus became solely on finishing college and getting my degree. And so I started fulltime at IBM on May 11, 2005.
After working at IBM as a co-op for 2 years, I had saved up quite a bit of money in my bank account. The year was 2005 and you may recall that it was a very popular time to purchase homes. I can still remember all the people who suggested to me, "buy a house!" I had the money to afford a home and at the time, I too thought it would be a good investment, it'd be a step up in a life, and so I set a 5-year plan: live in Tucson for 5 years at IBM and by then I can move on to something else. So I ended up buying this 3-bedroom 2-bath house over on the west side of Tucson. Of course, as you know by now, 2005 was close to the peak of the housing market that would ultimately crash several years later. I now live in a house that's about 36% underwater with no possibility of selling it anytime soon. Oh, and that 5-year plan is now going on year #8. While it's depressing to think about, I'm okay with it since I like my house enough and it's perfect for me and Duncan.
At IBM, I was hired on the Performance team, mostly working the first several years on the DS8K product line. Lately I have moved around a bit more, working on the SONAS storage system and the new FlashSystem. I've spent my entire career here in Performance, which is not uncommon; some of my team members have been here for almost all of their career, 20 years+. At IBM, I've had a chance to work with some amazing people both on my team and external to my department. I consider myself a pretty social guy and have met so many IBMers through work, the softball, basketball, and bowling leagues, and even via the online gaming arena of StarCraft 2. To me, the people at IBM have always been very friendly and laid back like myself and while not everyone fits this mold, most seem to. I've learned a lot from all my colleagues, yet there is still one person who will always stand out in my mind: Ime.
Ime started at IBM a few years after I started and joined the Performance team here in Tucson. Ime is a couple years older than me, but he befriended me immediately and he was someone I really looked up to. No matter who thinks otherwise, at the age of 23 you are still very immature. I was arrogant and felt I was mature and had everything figured out, but Ime really opened my eyes to a new way of embracing life and truly being a good person, not just acting like one. If you didn't know Ime, he was a very charismatic person, but he was always thinking about how his actions and his personality affected the people around him. He always maintained a cool, positive outlook on life and he was the kind of person everyone wanted to know and be friends with. Sure, he was also 6'5", black, and the ladies deemed him "a beautiful man", but he was never arrogant and he never looked down on people. He trusted you and respected you and if you gave him a reason not to, he'd just challenge you to be a better person instead of giving up on you. Ime is a big reason I've become the amiable and remarkable person I am now. While I personally came up with the phrase "Make It Happen" on my own, it was Ime's example that led me to that lifestyle and I am very thankful to him for teaching so much, perhaps more than he'll ever realize. The culture and social network at IBM is definitely a big reason why I enjoy working here.
The work at IBM has always been very interesting yet challenging for me. One of the aspects that first drew me to this company was the fact that I got to work so closely with the computer hardware that I benchmark. The hands-on-experience is something that I love having access to, even on days when I'd rather not be in the office. While the work is challenging, I feel like it is all within my abilities, or I'm fortunate that there are enough great minds to help me through the obstacles I encounter. However, one of the biggest benefits I love from my particular job is the flexible schedule. I am fortunate to work in a department that truly rates your performance on the results you deliver, not the hours you put into your work. I have the opportunity to work my own hours and I have the option of working remotely. This is not to say that I've never worked really late nights or weekends, but usually it's on me to decide when I need to work off-peak hours. The flexible schedule really helps keep the stress level down, largely due to the fact that I can almost always get a full night of rest each day and I rarely feel like I've 'been at the office for too long'. I almost never am stressed out from work to be honest and I think that only increases my productivity. I also believe I can say that I cater my work around my lifestyle instead catering my lifestyle around my work, and that's not something many people can brag about.
One thing I will always have to thank IBM for is repairing my knee. In the 2006 IBM Basketball League, I tore my ACL during a league game driving my way to the basket. My knee was completely torn and surgery would be required to repair it. However, because the injury happened in IBM Basketball League at a time where IBM was covering its employees playing in the league, I was able to claim Worker's Compensation. :) IBM's life insurance covered my arthroscopic surgery, covered 3 months worth of physical therapy, and I received "personal impairment" checks for 6 months. I never saw a single bill on how much they spent on me, but I can only imagine that it was at least $40,000 in services. IBM repaired my knee and ever since I've been able to play basketball again with no restraints, winning myself 2 championships and making finals appearances in 6 of my 8 years playing in IBM Basketball League.
IBM has allowed me to live the life I want to live, mostly due to the great schedule and the great pay (I think I am paid well and you can argue with me if you'd like). Thus, I'm able to enjoy my social life, enjoy my extracurricular activities, enjoy traveling, and enjoy the luxuries of life since time and money are never an issue for me. As for the city of Tucson, I really enjoy living here, but that's because I'm a simple man with simple needs. To name a few things, I look forward to my sports leagues on certain days of the week, know exactly what days I'm going to work out at the gym, and I enjoy having the local bars and restaurants around here that I love. I personally don't need to live in a big city, live by the beach or in the mountains to be happy; I feel like the city has enough for me. One could say that my life here in Tucson is pretty much perfect, but that person would be lying. There is obviously one big thing missing in my life, but I attribute it to the poor dating scene here in Tucson and the mentality of the women living here that just doesn't seem to match up with mine very often. There aren't a lot of young professional women who are around my level in terms of age, career, and personality. Or maybe there are and I've just been unlucky and haven't met anyone who like that yet! In my past 10 years in Tucson I've never met anyone I could have a serious relationship with and perhaps I wouldn't have so few options if I were living in a bigger city with more women who match up well with me.
So in the end, a decade of my life has passed. I've spent 10 years at IBM and living in Tucson. Now the question is, "Is my 10-year anniversary at IBM worth celebrating?" The answer is a no-brainer: "Absolutely!" I am very happy with my life and the person I've become. I have a great career and a great reputation and if possible, I would love to retire with IBM. I am never stressed out from work, which only makes my a happier person to be and be around. I have met so many great people at IBM and in Tucson and have more friends than I can make time for. I make more than my single ass can spend on my own. While I've somewhat sacrificed my lovelife to live and work here, I have no regrets about that and will continue to work here for as long as I can. Thanks IBM for everything you've provided for me so far and I can only hope to continue on towards a great future!
Now I'm gonna go out, drink my ass off, and celebrate...because I can! WOOOOOO!! IBM X!!!
