Today wraps up the third week of my new job at Boeing. After 26+ years at Collins, a new job is a big change! A few random observations on three weeks as a Boeing executive tech fellow:

  • The challenges in airborne software look like they’re pretty similar across the industry. This is both encouraging (hey, I might know a thing or two that can help!) and disheartening (new job, same problems!).
  • Having the home office in Pacific Time (two hours earlier than Iowa) means I need to be prepared to have meetings go until at least 5 pm Central. So far the Pacific Time folks seem pretty good at not scheduling things later than that.
  • This week I changed my routine up a bit, stopped waking up at 5 AM for the gym, and instead did a quick gym stop after work. It provides a nice opportunity for a mental break after the workday, and it’s easier to be gym motivated at 3:30 or 4pm than it is at 5am, especially in the winter.
  • After a couple years driving a MacBook Pro for work, I am now back on a Dell laptop. This just in: Windows PCs still suck. I think I have an option to get a MacBook for my new job. I’m gonna look into it.
  • The family seems to be adjusting to me working from home OK.
  • During COVID my home office was in the basement. This year I’ve moved up to the upstairs college kid’s bedroom. Having windows and some sunshine is pretty nice! Once the college kid gets done with the semester I will have to readjust to the basement.
  • All that regular gym time: checked my workout log and today I passed 100 miles of running for the year. I mean, I know it’s not hardcore running but it’s still very regular, and my conditioning is improving.

Here’s to the next three weeks! (And a bunch more after that!)