11 years ago today...

I started my first post-college job, at MicroStrategy. All of the new hires started in groups called "bootcamps." We went through 6 (?) weeks of training together. Throw a bunch of recent college grads together, add in good paychecks and you'll get a bit (ok, a lot) of craziness. I was quite lucky, I think, in that my bootcamp group was fantastic. I'm happy to still call many of them friends. But oh how times have changed. Let's compare Erica from 1997 to Erica from 2008.

• July 21, 1997 Erica lived for two weeks on brownies, beer, and ice cream because she got home from work very very late every night and that's all she had in the fridge/freezer and really, she didn't know how to cook anyway.
• July 21, 2008 Erica just made teriyaki pork tenderloin with rice and veggies for her family. She is, however, having a beer.
• July 21, 1997 Erica drove to her first day of work while drinking her traditional Coke for breakfast - the Coke for breakfast that she'd been having every day since sometime around 1988.
• July 21, 2008 Erica no longer drinks Coke for breakfast. Realizing that maybe it isn't the greatest plan, she now drinks a little bit of coffee for the caffeine, lots of water, and counts the minutes until lunch when she feels she can have her icy Coke.
• July 21, 1997 Erica drove to her first day of work in her brand spanking new Ford Explorer Sport (which despite what the Floridian salespeople told her did in fact need 4WD since it does in fact snow up here in Virginia and there is NO WEIGHT over the rear wheels of an SUV and when that SUV is rear wheel drive, this presents a problem. I digress.) and spilled the aforementioned Coke all over her brand spanking new white linen pants. Cursing, she wondered if there was anything worse that could happen on a first day.
• July 21, 2008 Erica knows that there are worse things that can happen on a first day. Spit up. Stains like Coke, and smells a million and a half times worse.
• July 21, 1997 Erica was only responsible for her own life and did a mediocre job at best of managing it.
• July 21, 2008 Erica is not only responsible for her own life, but is at least partially responsible for the lives of two children and three pets. I'm happy to report they're all still kicking. Although Silly the cat is rapidly using up her lives, at least as far as they exist in my book.
• July 21, 1997 Erica had no idea that accepting a job at MicroStrategy would introduce her to Doug - her best friend, soulmate, and support system. She merely liked the DC area and wanted to do anything other than biology and get paid for it.
• July 21, 2008 Erica is happy to have outgrown the July 21,1997 Erica.

11 years can really fly by. I can't even contemplate that in 11 more years, Elisabeth will be 14 years old. I feel like I blinked and here I am.