Moving On.

A Letter to people I care about at work:

Dear all,

I am writing to you guys because (1) I am lazy and I don’t want to be calling each and everyone of you and (2), I don’t want you to hear from others about this news but me first. The worst thing that could happen in the world is you find out about your bf/gf cheating on you from someone else. er, maybe this is not a good way to put it. anyways.

I will be leaving Nike and my last day is on the 28th of September.

Somewhat like a wedding, this is one of the few times in one’s life that you get to talk all you want and force it upon others. So here you go, a long ass email about me.

There will be a lot of basketball references, because this is a sport I love. So please bear with me.

I don’t know if you ever had a chance to listen to Michael Jordan’s speech at the Hall Of Fame ceremony last year. Even after everything he has won, he took the opportunity to ridicule everyone, to complain about not being on his high school varsity team, etc. Some said he was bitter. Some said he was not grateful. I loved it. That was Michael Jordan, a fearless competitor, and I loved the speech, because he was honest. It wasn’t one of the happy thanks this is going to bore the shit out of you speeches. So I am going to attempt to be like mike (lame…Michael Jordan reference 1).

I am not going to tell you why I am leaving yet. Coz no matter what I say, you guys are going to have opinions already, and I am going to address what I think might be the reasons you have in mind of my departure.

David is leaving because the role sucks. This business director role has pushed out two persons.

I would have left a year ago had it not been this role. I believe the reason why we as a category survive relatively easier is because of this role. I believe the reason why we the category can do something of the things we have done is because of the way we are set up. We have MJ that connects directly with Global, and then you have this role to keep things moving here in the country. Yes we all can have a GM that sits in global, but in order to keep things going, you then need a biz dir. It is a GM-test drive kind of role. I loved it, and it challenged me. so No, not because this role sucks. Nope. Anyone wanna apply?

David can’t work with MJ.

Yes, he is strange. Yes, he is smart as hell and you can’t fxxk with him AT ALL. but I want to make sure nobody gets the wrong impression. He, along with Nicole, are the best bosses I have had, ever. Don’t believe me? Go ask my team.

David is going to Puma.

Nope. That is not in the works. Ask Nicole (if you dare). If you see my ass in Puma in the next year, come find me (and I will seed you a pair of Clydes). I am not leaving Nike because of Puma. Well, I am not leaving Nike because of adidas puma lining anta peak 361 new balance under armor (please put any other sports brand here). What about in the future? shit, I ain’t gonna answer that.

So why.

The reasons are actually brutally simple.

My wife is pregnant, and she can’t stand not having her family around her, and I want to spend more time with her.

Having a kid means (1) I have no time to try anything new (2) no matter how you look at it my life has taken a strange turn because the kid is going to be more expensive as he/she grows older.

Time to be spent somewhere else > Time to be spent at Nike.

Think of all the stuff we deal with everyday at work. Think of all the great things we experience at work. Think of what else you could be doing. Think of what is that one thing you always want to do. Then, think of a ticking clock, a kid, money that is flying out of your bank going straight to the kid’s diapers, think of the time that is going to be sucked out by that kid. Viola!

Therefore I want to get out. Do something else. I will apply to schools, just in case. I will fix my damn knee, spend time with wifey going through her pregnancy, work out business plans and stuff with my friends on some business ideas, writing essays for college applications. I have some entrepreneurial aspirations, and I am going to try that, look into that. Time is running out. I am getting old. There is this itch I need to scratch (Michael jordan reference 2). I want to try baseball (Michael jordan reference 3).

Hey, am I worried that I might fail, derail my IDPs, and end up begging in the streets? of course. It is going to be strange and disorienting not having a job, but as Khoi Vinh, the ex-Design Director of the NYTIMES.com put it,

“Being on your own is like diving into cold water on a hot day. Shocking at first but quickly refreshing. I’m hoping.”


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One response to “Moving On.”

  1. JY Avatar
    JY

    hey congrats! i don't check my google reader that often and this is such a great news. a big big congrats to you and Sharon! i am sure this moving on is going to be a great turning point in your life. def. no worry about seeing you begging on the street at all, even if i will see that i am sure you are a diff. one. 😛 haha, bad joke. anyway, truly happy about this new page in your life. u have reached some many achievements and experienced so many things already, now is time for a real family life (to experience the parenthood to be exact). stay happy , stay inspired. 😀