In my early days of working for NFFMCo, my office was in south Seattle. My commute was across the lake, then south on I-5 a few miles. Shortly before my exit, coming around one curve, Mount Rainier filled the view, seeming to float above the freeway. I grew up in awe of that view. At least when it wasn't overcast, raining, smoggy, or whatever.

One day in about 1990, I wasn't particularly in need of inspiration... or maybe I was and just didn't know it. I was working on a project that was pretty important to developing and launching a major new flying machine. I rounded the curve, saw the mountain, and sort of gasped. Awe. That's the word for it. Awe.

I pointed my motorcycle down the exit, drove the remaining mile or so to the office, and could hardly wait for my Mac IIci to boot up. I knocked out a bunch of code and screen layouts for the database I was designing. I remember few other days before or since that I felt so tickled to be working there, or even just being alive.

Thinking back, the last half of my career has really been missing things like that. I've had a few major successes, and I've been a part of a few pretty amazing things. Watching a new flying machine take off for the first time is pretty cool.

But that one day that the mountain just hit me was a time that I felt really engaged with what I was doing, and even felt overjoyed and lucky to be a part of it.

Mine is much closer to home.

I thought I would be in the office 2 or 3 hours a day..most of my work is email/spreadsheets..I can do that at home.

But my trip was 1 mile away to the office...

Today I officially dismantled my work at home set up (a smaller one is now in place) and the office is my happy place.

We are a staff of lots of young people who LAUGH, eat great food, hug, get dirty and help each other out.

My one mile trek is life changing.