Looks Like We're Heading to New York - 05/01/08

[Aaron Stanton]

For a variety of reasons, it looks like Paul and I will be heading to New York sometime in the next few weeks.  I'll be there for a week or so, and Paul will likely be there for a few days less.  This trip will kill a number of birds with one stone, as the saying goes.  It's been a few years since I was last in New York - probably about 4 or so - when I first started working for About.com.  I joined on board when it was bought out by the New York Times Co., and I flew out to meet the editorial staff.

Fond memories - I spent almost five hours during the conference sitting next to Martin Nisenholtz, a Senior Vice President at the New York Times' Digital Division and a very nice guy.  Until that trip, I had no idea that the "Times Square" was so named because it sat across from the New York Times building.  I just never made the connection. 

Also of interest, it's now May 1st, and our new office space should be ready.  It's a business incubator in downtown Boise called The WaterCooler - as of earlier this month when we signed on it was still under construction.  It should be in the process of either having its walls painted, or very near it... or maybe just finished being painted.  As I've recently been reminded, I'll take pictures before we move in.

Our little office is not grandiose, being more of an L-shaped walk-in closet with windows than anything else - but it is clean and new, in the heart of Boise's business area, and hopefully comfortable.  It is adequately and suitably humble for a venture at the start.  One of my family friends - who now owns a fairly successful architecture and engineering firm - has a picture of their first office still hanging in their main hall, and I take heart from it; it was an old cleaned out chicken coup, which they stuffed with desks and papers, and blueprints pinned to the wall.

Luckily, we're starting off a bit better established than that, but there's certainly room to grow and stay hungry. 

Aaron

[Mandi Taylor]

Wow, New York!  I suppose this is one of those things that you can't explain properly at the moment...

If it makes you feel any better, I've never made that connection!  You learn something new every day, eh?

Looking forward to seeing pictures of the office.  Here's a random question:  Do you have any trinkets/knickknacks/etc. that you like to have on your desk when you're working?

[Stephen Rollins]

That makes three of us.  I guess I've never thought of the Times Square and New York Times similarities as anything significant...

Funny that you guys are in Boise.  I could actually go down and check out the office myself if I had the time and if that wouldn't be completely and totally awkward.  Imagine some random High School Junior walking up to the building and asking, "Hey, can I go in and see the future office for BookLamp?"  Either way, it's neat that something significant is happening so close to home. 

Have fun in New York.  Never been further East than Mississippi myself, but still!

[Therin]

Fantastic, even without details that sounds like a step in the right direction.  Will you be taking the time to smell the roses?  Hit a few touristy things or is it work, work, work?

Have to remember to take time out for fun, otherwise you'll get weary long before you're done and you'll forget the "why" that made you start this journey in the first place.    It's hard to maintain that level of energy without a boost every now and again.

You know what they say about All work and no play... 

[Mandi Taylor]

I could actually go down and check out the office myself if I had the time and if that wouldn't be completely and totally awkward.  Imagine some random High School Junior walking up to the building and asking, "Hey, can I go in and see the future office for BookLamp?"

Personally, I think it would be awesome...  But I suppose it would be a bit awkward.
And you're a junior?  Nice to know I'm not the youngest one here!

[Aaron Stanton]

Stephen, where are you located, anyway - generally, I mean?  Are you in Idaho?

Personally, I don't mind if you ever stop by - back when the original CanGoogleHearMe project started and we had printed out some of our thousands of good luck e-mails into a book, I made an open invitation to anyone that ever wanted to stop by and take a look at it.  And a fair number of people took me up on the offer.

This goes for pretty much any interested party - if you're ever in town, fire me an e-mail and we'll do lunch.  Not that our office is glamorous, but we certainly don't mind as long as you give us a bit of a heads up.

I've met a great deal of people through this project that have no other reason to know me, really, than genuine curiosity.  So yeah, if you're in town, let us know, and then drop by and we'll show you around.

Aaron

[Stephen Rollins]

Personally, I think it would be awesome...  But I suppose it would be a bit awkward.
And you're a junior?  Nice to know I'm not the youngest one here!

Actually, I tend to get that a lot...  More so two years ago when I was on some mu*s.  But I digress.  XD

Aaron, I'm close enough that I could be there in 20 or so minutes.  I don't know that I'd ever really have a chance to just drive out and say 'hi', but it's still nice to know that I can if I ever felt like it. 

[broderboy]

I work in NY, are you planning a meet up at all?

[Aaron Stanton]

Haha.  Sure, if I've got the time I'd be happy to catch lunch or something.  My schedule is fairly busy while I'm in town, but fire me an e-mail and we'll see if it works out.

Aaron