One thing we’ve definitely learned is to keep moving forward, and in that vein, we’re super excited to announce the first monthly Menuism Food Fight! You might have heard about it on the Menuism Blog, but a good thing bears repeating: Eat PANCAKES and win prizes! In honor of National Pancake Week (Feb 18-24), we’re looking for the BEST pancake in Seattle, Chicago, New York and San Francisco, and you can win by just eating pancakes and reviewing them on Menuism. You can win even if you’re not a pancake fan – just refer a winner and you’ll win as well. So get out there and spread the word, or check the press release or contest page for more details!

Publicity in all forms is great, and we’re really excited to be getting Food Fight coverage from the awesome guys at Tech Cocktail and WindyBits. However, you know you’ve really made it when your name shows up on a banana, courtesy of the fine folks at BananaName:

This is proof positive that Menuism’s Food Fight is something to go “bananas” over… sorry, couldn’t resist.

- John & Justin

Then Microsoft called. Honestly, I took the interview almost solely for the free trip to Seattle; I had no intention of leaving home, especially to work for a company as “evil” as Microsoft. With little sleep but lots of coffee I got through the interviews and got an offer to boot. Deciding to leave home to move to Seattle was not easy, but given the tech economy at the time it offered me two solid things: (1) a job and (2) an opportunity to see how software was developed in the real world.

During my time at MS I worked as both a Developer and a Program Manager (responsible for feature design, plus all the miscellaneous crud not Dev and Test related) in the Mobile Devices division, working on successive releases of the Windows Mobile platform. Microsoft is interesting in that every group has it’s own unique culture and personality; landing in the wrong group would make life hell. Luckily the mobile group was a good group for me, though it had its share of ups and downs and growing pains.

While working with neat gadgets and learning solid development practices was great, the thing that impressed me the most about Microsoft was its employees. Yes, many people there are damn smart; enough’s been said about that already. What was really cool was how everyone was so capable; there’s a small but significant difference between the two. Being able to trust that the people you’re working with will do what they say, in the right way, gives you the confidence (and lots of motivation) to bring your own game up a notch. Plus people were generally nice and down-to-earth; Microsoft might have a reputation for corporate sin but the individuals there are very genuine.

So if I liked the group and I liked the people I worked with, why did I leave? My decision was based almost 100% on the opportunity that presented itself; having a good idea, enough in the piggy bank to support the effort, and a willing partner and friend to chase it with was something too good to pass up.

-JL