It has been a quite a year working at Black Pixel. I’ve gotten to work on a lot great projects (many of which I can’t talk about) alongside some of the finest people I’ve ever met. Hell, I even got to work on NetNewsWire. That’s pretty rad.
Black Pixel is an amazing team and I’m sad to be leaving them. I am honored to call the people there my friends.
I’m happy to announce I’ll be joining Tumblr’s mobile team on January 9th.
Creative tools have always appealed to me. I’ve spent an inordinate amount of spare time developing them and an even greater amount of time thinking about them. Joining the team at Tumblr is an opportunity to work on tools for both creating and consuming content at an impressive scale.
It’s also an opportunity to work with another great team. In the time I’ve spent with them, I’ve been very impressed by the caliber of people at Tumblr. (Plus, I get to work with my friend, Buzz)
As crazy as it might sound to the office-bound, I’m excited to be working in an office again. Working at home can at times be lonesome, and honestly I felt like I was missing out on a part of living in New York, not having to commute into Manhattan daily.
I’m very excited about this.
Watching your heroes die is a strange, painful thing. Yet more strange is the death of one who you did not know personally. That’s the situation many of us found ourselves in when we heard that Steven P. Jobs had passed away.
I never met Steve, never worked for him, in fact, the closest I had ever been to him was watching him deliver a WWDC keynote in person.
Despite that, the impact Steve had on my life was enormous.
The first computer I remember using was an Apple IIe. In the fall of 1993 I remember fidgeting in my seat as the rest of my kindergarten class filed into my school’s dark computer lab. Impatiently, I figured out how to turn on the machine in front of me. The course of my life changed when that green monochrome screen came alive.
Almost 10 years later, I started programming on a dual-booting Windows/Linux box in my bedroom. (My family didn’t own any Apple products). It was a whole new world for me, I didn’t know any programmers nor was there any sort of instruction on it in school. It was simply a hobby I immersed myself in as I did with many others. It wasn’t until I managed to save enough money from washing dishes and bussing tables to buy a Mac that my feelings changed. I began to learn Cocoa and immersed myself in examining the rich attention to detail in the OS and all of my favorite software. It was my obsession, this was what I wanted to do with my life, to make beautiful things like these.
5 years later I was a bored, disaffected college student. I was attending class less and less and spent most of my time working on Mac apps and writing. The iPhone had been released and it was an astonishing device. I still remember standing in the hallway waiting for class and reading that the iPhone SDK had been released. I hurried to the office I worked at on campus and began downloading the SDK as I went about my other job as a web developer and writer for the college newspaper. That night I sat with my laptop open next to my work computer as I jumped back and forth between my job and running my code on the device I’d been happily carrying around in my pocket for months. It was thrilling.
A few months later, I left school and started developing software for the Mac, the iPhone and later the iPad full-time and never looked back.
In that time I’ve met some of my dearest friends, worked on many things I’m genuinely proud of and have truly enjoyed the life I only used to dream of living.
One of the highlights of my career was a moment during one of those WWDC keynotes where Steve mentioned by name something I had worked on.
It’s not hyperbole when I say that all of it, in some way or another was made possible thanks to Steve’s vision, inspiration, and life’s work. His work and philosophy will inspire me for the rest of my life.
Thank you, Steve. Rest in peace.
So, as I type this I have 11 days and counting until I start the long drive from Austin to New York City. Realizing how little time I have left to pack and get my affairs in order, I figured it was time to set aside a night to have beers and say goodbye to all of my friends in Austin.
So, this Friday (August 12th), I propose we meet at my favorite Downtown watering hole, The Ginger Man, for a night of beer-drinking, merriment, and goodbyes. I’ll probably head over around 8:30 and stick around until close. I’d like to keep it casual, so just stop by when you can for however long you can. (Disclaimer, the later you show up, the more likely I will sloppily hug you, so proceed accordingly.)
If you can’t make it, just shoot me a note and maybe we can arrange to see each other another time. Otherwise, please feel welcome to visit me.
So, a small update on my move to New York.
My trip out to NYC, ostensibly to find a place to live, was a great success. I was pretty nervous going into the apartment hunt given a lot of the horror stories I’d heard from friends about their experiences hunting for apartments in New York. To my pleasant surprise, I found my place on the second day of my trip and didn’t have to involve a broker. Maybe I got lucky.
My new place is in Williamsburg, very close to a subway stop and near many excellent bars, restaruants and parks. It’s in a recently renovated building, it’s affordable and it’s certainly not a shoebox of a place.
An aside, the best moment of the walkthrough:
AGENT: “So, there’s this really nice big closet. You’ll be able to fit all of your winter coats in here” PHILLIP: “My what?”
So, on August 19th, I plan to rent a truck and begin the long drive from Austin, TX to my new place in New York. I’m looking to find a co-pilot for the journey (some friends have kindly offered), but if that falls through I certainly wouldn’t mind a quiet drive by myself.
With less than three weeks until the move I have a lot of packing (and some downsizing of possessions) to do. Somewhere in those 3 weeks I’ll likely try to have some kind of Have Beers With Me Before I Leave sort of thing, so watch the Twitter for that if you’re interested.
I’ve lived in Texas for my entire life so far. 18 years in humid, boring Corpus Christi, a few years in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and finally two years in Austin.
Before I came to Austin, I was preparing to make my great escape from Texas to Portland, Oregon. I got really close that time. Frustratingly close. (Really, had a plane ticket and everything.) I had nothing tying me down to Texas, but then this great opportunity to work on something awesome in Austin, TX came along. I figured, of all the places in Texas I’d really enjoy still living in, it would be Austin.
I was right. The last two years I’ve spent living in Austin have been so much fun. The city is laid-back, full of life, good beer, great food (particularly tacos), and great people. I would encourage anyone considering it to give Austin a try, you won’t regret it. (Unless you move here in August, then you might regret it)
The thing is, I think I could see myself living in Austin for the rest of my life. The other thing though (there are two things), is that I’m not ready to settle down yet and I’m ready for a change of scenery. Once again I find myself with nothing tying me down to Texas. I work remote for Black Pixel, so I figure now would be a nice time to try again.
So, once my lease is up in early August, I’ll be making the move to New York City (Brooklyn, to be precise). I spent a week in the city on vacation not too long ago and I had an incredible time exploring the city and was amazed at how much of it I had not yet seen. By the end of the week, I felt like it was the kind of place that was just my speed, so I figured I’d give it a try.
I’ll be making a trip out there again July 17-23 to look for a place to live, so any friends with advice on apartment hunting (or if you just want to meet up), please feel free to drop me a line via email at pbowden@pbowden.net.