And truth betold I miss you, and truth be told I'm lying

Today I had lunch at Google with my old team. It was my first time back in about 10 months. As has always been the case with Google (the Goog), things change. Most of the incoming class that I started with are gone. The director of the department I worked in, transferred to another department. Most of the people I knew from my days working on Gmail - gone. Even the HR guy who took my badge and escorted me out on my last day - gone.

So I walked into the office not really knowing what to expect to see as we rounded up the new look Reporting Team to grab some lunch, my fingers crossed that it was buffalo wing day at the Lunchbox (I have not found better wings in all of Cali) - it wasn't. We had a nice lunch, chatted, reminisced and all that stuff. After lunch I sought out a few non-reporting team friends to say hello and see how they have been.

I don't want to say that I was nervous about going back, but I did want to give off the impression that I'm doing well. Sort of like running into an ex, or in this case being invited to a friendly lunch by one of them. Even if they were always really attractive, possibly even too good looking for you, and it was their decision to end things, you still want to go in to that meeting looking your best and letting them know that it's worked out well for you. I'm not bitter about it, but I do want to come out on top.

I made a big splash right away thanks to my shiny Nintendo controller belt buckle. Some former co-workers were enthralled by it's awesomeness and the fact that it shines in the sun. One even took a picture of it. Well, I hope he was taking a picture of the buckle otherwise I won't be able to sleep tonight. That was a good start. Most people said "you look good", which if I didn't know is just the proper social response in that situation I'd chalk that up as a plus too. But, I did get what I wanted, I would probably call it validation.

Look, in all honesty, I was a pretty lousy data analyst. I never wanted to be one, although that's what I was supposed to be for the sake of my paycheck. Despite that, I knew I had something to offer, but unfortunately I didn't speak up about it until it was too late in their process to make a change that would benefit both myself and the company. Instead I went off on my own, put the skills and talents that I do have (since they're not data analysis ones) to use and did something I thought was a cool idea. 10 months later, not only is it still there and going strong, but my friend Steve told me that the idea has spread (or been copied depending on how you look at it) across the campus. Not only that, but as I stood there looking at it, a girl I'd never met before (new to the department since I left) commented that she looks forward to it every Monday. That was awesome, because I don't care about data analysis, I don't care about Google's googillians of dollars or that crap. When I had this idea it was for reactions like that, and to know that it still has that affect, so much so that other floors and other buildings are copying it, means that I had THE BIG IDEA. The best way to describe it is that it's similar to what Chaz said in Airheads - "I figure, ya know I'm screwed up and average enough that I could write a song that'll live on forever... and then after that it don't matter."

No matter what anyone says, I left a mark on the biggest company in the world. Not many people can say that, and probably fewer can say that they did it their way.

Without further ado, the ConOps question board. A weekly collaboration by everyone with an opinion, thought, joke or whatever on the question of the week. Fun, interesting and sometimes a bit scary.