Relocation

When the two teams merged (July 2005), the first thing I considered was moving to where our headquarters is located on the east coast. In the Kansas office, I was always more than an arm's length away from upper management. I had already developed a decent rapport with Il Duce's manager (we'll call him Augustus; he was located in the east coast office, whereas Il Duce worked out of London), and I felt that perhaps, if I needed someone's ear, he would listen.

I met with Augustus shortly after finding out I was going to be working for Il Duce. I told him that I didn't know if I could make it work, that our managing styles might be too different, but that I was committed to my team and to the company and wanted to see it through. I told him that I'd give it a year. He thanked me, told me he understood, and asked that if I felt I couldn't make it work to let him know. He wasn't promising anything, but he said he'd like to at least have the chance to find me another position in the company because he didn't want to lose me or the experience and skills I had to offer. I knew he was just being polite, that the chances he could find me another position were probably slim, but I was happy he at least expressed the sentiment. We left it at that.

I accepted their relocation package, and in fall of 2005 Penelope and I put our house up on the market. We ended up moving the following April, much faster than we expected (the housing market already sliding down the slippery slopes of what it was about to become, we thought it would take much longer). At that time I had to sign a contract saying that I wouldn't leave the company for one year or I would have to pay back the relocation expenses, which I couldn't afford to do. My trial year working for Il Duce, per my agreement with Augustus, which should have ended in July 2006, had just been extended until April 2007.