[Coronita]

[quote=jeff303]An absolutely massive quantity of condoms.[/quote]

Over the counter stuff I think is excluded from FSA now.

[Coronita]

[quote=flyer]The main thing about all of this is that it sounds like you’re really going to enjoy the experience, as well as the financial rewards.

In my book, that’s the only way to live–enjoy![/quote]

I try not to get too excited about every new thing. The reason being is I’ve been around enough to realize that the grass is greener when you aren’t there. I’m sure every place has their issues. I would have been perfectly happy if I could stay where I am at. But then I also realize, I was getting too comfortable and tolerating things too much. So we’ll see. That said, I’m not ready to retire both financially and because I think I want to try to milk as many years more as I can doing what I do before people really don’t want me anymore.

In the meantime, I still need to build my real estate empire so when that day does come that I can’t work anymore, plan B is already alive and in auto-pilot.

I need to teach my kid to start investing much earlier in real estate. Starting at 30ies is just way too late if you are starting from nothing. One property per year netting $1000/month x10 is just unrealistic. More like one property per two years, maybe three if prices stay the way they are at. So to acquire about 10 properties, one probably needs closer 15-20 years..So kid should probably start when they are in their mid-twenties

[Coronita]

Boom. Done deal… Written offer came through, and I accepted.Barring something that comes up unexpectedly in my background check, it should be good to go.

Everything ended being as expected, except maybe the health insurance part, which my out of pocket maximum each year ends up being $3000 instead of currently $750. Darn it. Then again, I’m pretty sure the new acquirer will strip our health plan too. It seems to be the common theme these days, even at Qualcomm where the executive health plan has been cut and talk about a new HSA based plan moving forward as well as nickeling and diming employees by starting to charge things like a 401k account maintenance fee. Still, given the current environment, Q still has the best benefits I think, maybe a close second would be Intuit.

Anyway, I also hedged against the possibility of a catastrophic stock price loss on my stock grants, by buying cheap out-of-the-money put options at the new company. That way, if something catastrophic happens to my new company’s stock price, my put options should go up significantly, insuring me mostly from a catastrophic loss. And if the company’s stock stays or goes up, my put options will expire worthless but the value of my stock will be still high(er) to offset this cheap insurance. Trying to minimize my financial risks from a volatile stock market going into an environment were the Fed is going to raise rates…

[Coronita]

[quote=joec]

It sounds like the current place is a dead end long term as most acquired companies are, but the new place (being already public) to me also means that if their valuation is insane now like most other companies, may have limited upside as well and may collapse faster.

…

I did regret going to some startup due to mostly greed, but in the IPO game, luck plays a bigger role than most regular jobs.[/quote]

That’s actually an excellent point. I do feel the new company is “richly valued” mainly because they are a young publicly traded company. And I’m not counting on my equity to hold value, as much as I’m sure we’d like it to. Not because I don’t believe in the company.It’s just the stock market is so unpredictable.

But the rub is that our acquirer is basically a private equity/leveraged buyout shop masqueraded as an engineering company. So while that’s great for shareholders, it’s a terrible proposition for engineers who want to spend time on R&D. So I even if those stock grants are worth something, chances are as technical person, you won’t be around to vest. So not that there was much stability to begin with at my current company, there definitely isn’t any going into this acquisition. And I don’t mind instability, provided there was some benefit from taking that risk.

But it just seems like if I view my employment prospects at my old company, in business terms, it’s a crappy deal…. We’re taking all the risk and uncertainty, and there isn’t really much of a beneficial reward for us, beyond the initial stock bump that has already been factored into the current stock price. It’s a high risk, low return investment imho to stay.

There is risk in going to a smaller company and it can go down or get acquired, but at least with that risk, there’s the potential for growth. But I think there are things I can do to hedge against that on the open markets. What do you guys think about this strategy?

[quote]
Another thing, I noticed at the company I worked at and left, some of the people who were still there will their management help are now all VPs, Directors, CIOs, etc…so staying also opens up a lot of promotions and opportunities as well since “someone” still has to man the place. If you’re connected in your current place, that someone could be you and that could lead to higher positions in the future as well.

The KEY thing I think to getting ahead is it’s critical who your manager is or who you think will HELP you get further and higher in your career (remember, the networking part)….

Your CURRENT manager is under the same gun as you at your current place so he or she is probably looking as well…If you’re close, you can ask what they plan to do. Downside of course is San Diego is so small probably for tech vs. the bay area.
[/quote]

I didn’t think about that too. If that’s the case, then that’s even more of a reason to leave. Everyone of the colleagues that were either directly or indirectly responsible of where I am at in my old company has left already, or in the process of leaving. I’ve probably overstayed an extra 2 years trying to rebuild teams and projects. I generally get along with everyone, including senior management… I think the only ones I bump heads with sometimes are some of the bean counting PM’s.

[Coronita]

I really can’t complain about my old employer prior to the acquisition. My immediate team treated me really well. And it’s been a fun ride here for the past few years working on the cutting edge. All great parties though come to an end…At least with the nice pop in the share price that will now stay indefinitely until the M&A closes, I can sell my vested shares and pay off most of my primary’s mortgage or pay of my rentals. So it’s not the worst thing that could have happened (yet). Just kinda sad about leaving something I’ve spent so much time building.

[Coronita]

[quote=svelte]Sounds like you pretty well thought it through, and I would say I would jump too.

Actually, I’ve been in a very similar situation and did jump…worked out fine.

The only things I didn’t hear you mention:
– how does going back to being the newbie sit with you. With any new job, there is a steep learning curve even if it is in a field you know well. My head hurts for months after taking a new position…I go home with my head swimming with new information…maybe I should buy a heat sink and CPU fan for my head when I start something new.

[/quote]

Excellent point. At this particular company, I think there are things that I can bring to the table to help, while as others who have been doing this for awhile can teach me things that I haven’t had the opportunity to learn. Plus,I do know some people at new company too, so it’s not quite as big of a steep curve. I don’t mind learning new things, as long as people don’t mind putting up with my brief learning curve.

To fairly assess the company, I’d say this is one of the few companies I would have seriously considered jumping ship to anyway, even if my current company wasn’t acquired. The vibe is just different. I’ll give you an example. Every time there’s a new project I want to do at my current employer, the response I get is “how much is this going to cost us” along with 20 or so other reasons why we can’t do it, of if so, can I use the office in Bangalore to do it…And when that happens, I’m like “never mind”…because I’d rather do it myself with my limited resources/team at that point, otherwise it’s going to take twice as long with much shittier quality…

On the other hand, this new company encourages people to push the limits and spend time finding new product ideas. It’s just a different mindset.

This was how my current company was a few years ago. But something snapped, not sure what, and what happened along the way. I think the bean counters took over, and it went downhill from there. And with the acquisition, there’s going to be even more bean counting….

Anyway, if you hate engineers. The best way to demoralize engineers and make engineers quit is to assign bean counters with no technical knowledge to run projects and bring out large spreadsheets. That is much more effective than threatening to lay them off or cut their comp packages…

[quote]
Since you are far enough along in your career that your family won’t starve should the new position not work out, I think you can safely jump if that is what will make you happiest. From your post, that sounds to be the case.
[/quote]

I thought about this for a bit. I actually like to work. I wouldn’t want to do something on my own at this point (short of real estate), but I do like working with tech. But then I thought if I’m going to spend considerable amount of my time working for someone else, at least most of it should be under the terms the conditions that I want them to be. And I don’t think I’m an unreasonable, over-demanding person when it comes to my basic needs in terms of work.

[Coronita]

Well, I guess I sort of deserve this. I went to an ivy league school, studied engineering, and tried to get a job on Wall Street because I wanted to be part of doing big business deals in tech….But nevertheless ended up in tech. Now almost two decades later, my new employer is an LBO shop that is pretending to be a engineering company… Lol, the irony… Well, if I’m going to work for a LBO shop, I’ll go work for a real LBO shop and make Wall Street money, not work at an LBO shop as an engineer working for engineering money 🙁

[Coronita]

[quote=cvmom]Sounds to me like you are looking for confirmation of a decision that you have already made. Given all the data you provided, my opinion is that you are making the right decision. Mergers are no fun when you are not on the acquiring side, I know from personal experience (3x).

Good luck and I hope the new opportunity comes through for you![/quote]

Thanks. The offer was verbally given and i verbally accepted. But i never think its final until all the paperwork is done.I am looking for anything I didn’t think about. This would normally be a no brainer for me if this happened in the bay area. But here in San Diego the community is smaller. I don’t see much upside by staying since the equity of my stock has already risen to above peak plus a slight premium above what the acquirer is paying for us. I doubt there will be a bigger company that will top that. And I hate the acquirer. The unvested stock will be matched by the new company in terms of fair market value. The only part by leaving now is foregoing $15-20k payout. Then again, waiting until October might close the door to this opportunity

Plus, the coolness factor of the new company kinda really makes me look the other way versus staying and trying to milk every payout possible from an acquisition, despite being in a potentially miserable environment if I don’t leave…

But I am looking for folks to try to talk me out of it with a reason just so I can think about things I didn’t think about that might be important. This is one of those times where a little negativity would be appreciated 🙂

The sucky part is I always leave before a pending major promotion. But then again, in an acquisition, the new taller grass are usually cut first. So, oh well.

[Coronita]

Bump….. This house closed……

Close to full asking…. $1.35million..

http://www.sdlookup.com/MLS-150014889-10521_Gaylemont_Ln_San_Diego_CA_92130

So, we’re clearly above peak prices…

Like I said, most of you were wrong..

BG, good thing you didn’t bet against me. Wrong again.

[Coronita]

[quote=spdrun]It’s mitigation, but I’m still glad that he resigned.

If he snapped and physically took it out on an innocent party, he doesn’t have the temperament to do his job well. It’s better for him and the public that he resigns.[/quote]

Well, everyone can be an asshole at some point in their life for different reasons, though I agree it’s no excuse… I’m sure everyone at some point can relate. I’m sure if everyone of us were held accountable for every asshole thing we said or did, we would have been fired a long time ago, and multiple times. Right?

[Coronita]

According to the news, prior two the incident, he was responding to two suicide calls, one which blew himself away…

I don’t know…Seems to me he just snapped. The fact the he admitted he was wrong and apologized and resigned instead of hiding under the covers of a police union probably is an indication that he recognizes what he did was wrong.

But hey, hating cops is so en vogue these days…

[Coronita]

Oh, and Carmel Valley’s newest luxury apartments

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/apa/5070074032.html

The price isn’t correct in the craiglist ad (It’s not $8000/month for a 2/2_…)

But it’s pretty up there….My goodness….
http://www.liveoceanair.com/Apartments/module/property_info/property%5Bid%5D/96435/

3/3.5 1630 sqft for $3400-3700/month…

Wow, that’s much more than my mortgage…..That’s the same as my mortgage + property tax + hoa + insurance…., not factoring in the Schedule A deductions, and I have 2 extra bedrooms to spare….

[Coronita]

[quote=utcsox][quote=flu]Speaking of luxury condo….

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/apa/5067682027.html

At the end of mira mesa blvd and I-15……

Nice place… I wouldn’t spend $1875/month living in a 1/1 even if it’s 800sqft. But apparently some people do.[/quote]

The post is gone. It’s probably rent out already.[/quote]

It doesn’t matter 1/1’s in general are going through the roof in MM right now…

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/search/apa?sort=priceasc&bedrooms=1&query=mira%20mesa

Not much lower than $1400/month for a 1/1 at this point on the west side…..

What’s interesting is that 2/2’s haven’t gone up that much relative to 1/1’s. You can find 2/2’s starting at $200/month more…..

I guess that $200/month difference is enough to make a difference.

End… Here it’s reposted.. That luxury apt…

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/apa/5069226417.html

[Coronita]

Speaking of luxury condo….

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/apa/5067682027.html

At the end of mira mesa blvd and I-15……

Nice place… I wouldn’t spend $1875/month living in a 1/1 even if it’s 800sqft. But apparently some people do.

[Coronita]

[quote=scaredyclassic]I wanted to litigate whether my little one could go barefoot at public school but my wife and kid held me back.[/quote]

So if your kid stepped on a piece of glass at school while barefoot, then what? Sue too?

[Author]

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