Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday was Helen and my 7th anniversary, and I've got a hunch it'll be one of our most memorable. Neither of us finds it necessary to go overboard to celebrate special days - birthdays, Valentines Day, anniversaries. We'll go out to a nice dinner or go for drinks, but my feeling is I can choose to make any day a special day, and I don't freak out if people don't make a big deal on my behalf. I'm pretty sure Helen's of the same mindset, so we weren't upset or perturbed when the latest launch was scheduled on the night of our anniversary.

When we entered the Willows campus conference room a little after midnight, our colleagues gave us a round of applause and a hearty chorus of "Happy Anniversary!" J-Fo even brought us an anniversary balloon attached to a bag of candy. It was very sweet. Did I mention the team we work with is simply awesome? They are smart, hard working, dedicated, creative, and generally happy funny people who are passionate about the work but can totally pal around with you. Most of the people on our team are people I'd want to be friends with even if I didn't work with them. They are, without a doubt, the best reason I have to go to work every day.

So this is the way Helen and I spent the night of our 7th anniversary - laughing and working with a bunch of the smartest, nicest people you'd ever find in Redmond on a Tuesday night. For the first couple of hours, while we were waiting for the new code to be installed, we entertained ourselves by watching funny clips, amazing b-ball dunks, and listening to "Working Where The Sun Don't Shine" (The Colorectal Surgeon's Song). Thanks for sharing, Jeff.

As it turned out, the launch didn't go as planned, and night turned into day (look at the window in the 2 pictures at left) as we conducted a rollback.

We were all dead tired as the hours mounted and people fresh from their full night's sleep and morning Starbucks started rolling into the office. A couple of them happened into the conference room, looked at us, and backed out with a "wet puppy" look of sympathy. Or maybe they were just scared of Tish, who for some reason started to transform into the unabomber.
Besides the obviously disappointing failure to launch, there was only one other thing that was amiss - the notable absence of PJ, who had been a fixture at all of our prior launches. This time, PJ was scheduled for the "day shift" covering for all the folks who were on the night shift. With the unforseen problems during rollback, it got late (or early) enough that PJ actually made it in to commiserate with us, and to take over for the deployment team. With the rollback complete, Helen and I headed home to let Jack out and get some rest. I don't know which member of the team was the last to leave, but my bet would be on Oliver.

It may not be most people's idea of a happy anniversary, but I know this is one night I'll look back on with great fondness.