wow it’s raining hard out here
i guess living in seattle gets you accustomed to gloomy skies and light drizzle 9 months out of the year. on the way home tonight, it was raining really hard and it was kind of refreshing to see contrasting weather once again - reminds me of michigan.
also on my way home tonight, i stopped by ikea to pick up some new furniture. the thing is, i drive a small compact car and i needed to buy a new bed and some dressers. for some reason, i had convinced myself that i could fit the pieces for a queen size bed frame, 2 dressers and a nightstand all in the back of my poor little toyota celica. being from the online generation, i had already scoured ikea.com and knew exactly what i wanted to get. i tried to quickly run through the showroom and find the items so i could jot down where to find the flat packed boxes in the self-serve warehouse. of course, i got lost somewhere in between living rooms and kitchens; i probably spent a good 20 minutes circling around taking “shortcuts” through the store.
after the showroom adventure, i finally found my way to the warehouse and realized how big the pieces for a queen size bed are. undeterred, i decided that i would try to fit it in my car anyways. so i loaded up my cart and went to checkout where i chose the slowest checkout line in the history of checkout lines. this gave me a lot of time to mentally visualize fitting all these huge boxes in my trunk. in my mind, i still saw it working out. after what felt like forever, it was finally my turn and i checked out, wheeled my furniture to the loading area and pulled my car up.
when i got out of my car, i looked at my cart and then at my trunk and thought: oh no. a queen size headboard is definitely not meant to fit in my hatchback. defeated, i went to find an ikea worker to inquire about shipping options. he took a look and said, “hey man, shipping is going to cost you at least $59. this stuff will fit, you want me to try?”
i figured this would be a fun exercise in frustration so i agreed to give it a go. i folded down the back seats, jammed my front seats as far forward as i could and we started loading stuff in. remarkably, the guy was able to get everything to fit in there on the first try. i was pretty impressed. the only problem was, i had slid my seat so close to the wheel that i physically wasn’t able to drive anymore.
remarkably, the ikea guy was nice enough to help me unpack my car and repack it a couple more times until it finally all fit in there with my seat at a normal position. i must admit, this was the most fun i’d ever had at ikea.
so now my car is packed full of ikea boxes to be unloaded at my new apartment tomorrow 
many thanks to the ikea worker who helped me load my stuff, it definitely was the best customer service i’ve had in a while.
January 27th, 2005 at 10:41 pm
mr jen, now that you are famous, please stop blogging and get a freakin life
like calling your gf…while you still have one 
January 27th, 2005 at 10:42 pm
you know, it hasn’t rained in seattle since you left. I dont think seattle likes you
and stop buying crappy furniture from ikea. they smell.
January 27th, 2005 at 10:44 pm
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January 27th, 2005 at 11:01 pm
its really, REALLY hard to follow those lovely comments ahead of me, yet here i try…
that is probably the best customer service from a warehouse to date… i wish the stinkin’ warehouses, esp. furniture, would realize that customer service is actually trying to helpful, not bothersome
January 27th, 2005 at 11:33 pm
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January 27th, 2005 at 11:35 pm
are you saying the fact that ikea has one of the most strategic and cost-saving distribution channels is not more important for attracting customers than minimal customer service?
January 28th, 2005 at 6:46 am
My father-in-law and I have been working hard to move my wife’s (his daughter, if you follow) business to a new building a mere block from its current location. We managed to get all of the largest items requiring a trailer moved first, thereby quickly filling the new location’s floors from the center, outward. The last item to move was a largish desk built by my step-father some years ago. The desk was supposed to be located in a small office on a second floor, overlooking the store. The trouble is that the staircase leading to the door and the door are both non-standard. The desk is approximately 30″ deep and 28″ high. The staircase, although narrow, was not a serious problem because it’s open, and we could carry the desk over the railing. The door at the top of the stairs, however, is a scant 29″ wide at its best. With the door left on its hinges (I couldn’t manage to remove the hinge pins), the space was too narrow to get our desk through. As I assessed our problem, I considered the open windows located in front of the office, but away from the staircase and 15 or so feet above the ground. I too, visualized this process as a working theory. We reached the top of the stairs and I moved the desk out from the stairs to balance an edge on the window sill. Fortunately for me, I’m 6′ 6″ and the 3 or more feet needed to reach the window were easily overtaken (though the weight of the desk at this expansion was tremendous). In the end, I was successful and the desk was then wrenched through the window from the staircase. Kudos to our bullish ways and illconceived notions of success through unlikely odds!
January 28th, 2005 at 9:49 am
I wish all the negative people would just go somewhere else. If you don’t want to read about life at google or if you are jealous of this guy because people actually read HIS blog, then just go away.
January 28th, 2005 at 1:35 pm
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January 28th, 2005 at 8:39 pm
noooo
do stay
January 29th, 2005 at 10:08 am
I think there is too much bragging in your blog. I understand that Google is a great place to work, but if *you* advertise it as such it looks very boastful. That explains the (unarticulated) postings by Rose.
January 29th, 2005 at 11:53 am
Like they say, good things come to those who wait. (not necessarily in checkout lines)
January 30th, 2005 at 8:46 am
Wellcome back to the blogosphere! Don’t forget to vote for the best blog of 2005!
regards
zuyox
January 30th, 2005 at 4:53 pm
I feel your pain about the small car. I used to drive an “old” austin mini - and drove it through Seattle a time or two by the way. Good luck with furniture purchases in the future.
February 1st, 2005 at 6:35 am
post some pic of your apartment!
February 1st, 2005 at 10:47 pm
Hey! You don’t mind if I post about you in the Google Community? Let me know whether or not that would be okay (I don’t want to get you in trouble or anything). Selah!
February 2nd, 2005 at 4:26 pm
ooo sooo jealous! I love IKEA. Can’t wait til they open one here in ATL. It should be this summer
I’ll probably have fun trying to fit the stuff I want into my little bug too.
February 2nd, 2005 at 9:40 pm
Guess the strike price doesn’t look as bad today, eh?
Also, did you really adverstise this blog using adwords?
February 3rd, 2005 at 11:10 pm
Post a pic of your packed Celica with all that stuff in it. Sound’s like it’s Dr. Who’s Tardis.
I bought a kitchen once from Ikea. Everything except the countertops. That is when shipping becomes a good idea. It came in 95 boxes. And the delivery guys wanted me to confirm I had everything… One slim brown cardboard packing box sure looks pretty much the same as the next as they go by one after the other. Excellent customer service at that location you were at.
February 4th, 2005 at 6:49 pm
I bet your strike price is between $190-$210. OUCH!
February 8th, 2005 at 8:28 am
Hey Mark! I’m tired of reading about what happened on Thursday. I wanna know, what happened on Friday?
February 8th, 2005 at 9:49 am
http://blog.outer-court.com/forum/6025.html
looks like this blogger was fired from google for this blog… GOOGLE did confirm this ….
February 8th, 2005 at 11:09 am
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February 8th, 2005 at 12:19 pm
why did you get fired? please tell me, i have to know. i really want to know. i gotta know. please. why don’t you tell me.
i heard that HR in google got over 400 complaints about your blog and other people threatened to quit if you weren’t fired immediately.
back to msft? is it still raining hard?
“Do No Evil”
February 8th, 2005 at 12:54 pm
Well, it wasn’t like he had a great salary and the strike price was INSANELY high and still is. Who wants to work at Google anyway? Of course, if you’re just dying for a free lunch at their cafeteria and their elitist attitude, then you would go through 5 rounds of BS.
February 8th, 2005 at 5:10 pm
Hey Mark, i just learnt today that Google has given you the sack. Well, it looks like it’s gonna rain much harder for a while. i guess you blew it huh?
February 8th, 2005 at 5:18 pm
Hey, stop rubbing it in, you all google employies ?
He was a pioneer in the blogspace.. while everybody doing same old, same old, he tried something new, something fresh…
I guess it was not his time yet… google “does evil” i guess…..
But this is a new trend, which will only keep evolving and growing big, and not even mighty google could stop it.
It was nice reading the constrasts between microsoft and google, and his insights to the personals…
may you have better luck next time, and continue this…
February 8th, 2005 at 8:21 pm
I am sorry to hear about google letting you go. I am not fond of Google doing this and but I do appreciate the services they provide.
Just think that in every hardship there is a blessing in disguise.
I am sure you will find a better job… There is always Yahoo, AOL and amazon. They desperately need some fresh minds over there now that google is putting some heat at their rear.
I am impressed at Google’s new beta map service http://maps.google.com Its a really cool innovation.
February 8th, 2005 at 11:39 pm
biting the hand that fed you, guess you learned your lesson
February 9th, 2005 at 1:55 am
opps, you got fired…well better luck with your next job.
paulsepp.blogspot.com
February 9th, 2005 at 3:38 am
Congrats!! You’ve been fired from Gugol, that’s the best thing that could happen to you!
I’m sure they would find a good explanation why you’ve been terminated but I know they will lie.
They are very good at smiling while they stab you in the back.
Google is crap, now you know it
February 9th, 2005 at 3:46 am
Wow Seattle sounds dreary. You should come back to Michigan.
– Student in Kalamazoo
February 9th, 2005 at 6:45 am
HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAAAAAAHHHHAAA…. Way to go, 5 days after your blogging you get canned. This is by far the funniest thing I have seen in a while. Now maybe you can whine about the IPO of unemployment…hhaha. WOOPS their is no IPO, or free lunch, the benefits are OK. LOLLMOA. You tool. what did you expect? Dude you’ll be in the spotlight for this for a week then you’ll just be in SF, no job, no girl, fatl broke and busted.
PIoneer my ass. You a fool who got what he deserved.
btw did you get the 6 day employment severence package..HAHAHAHAHH
February 9th, 2005 at 6:47 am
ps Your new profile for blogpsot.
Mark Jen
Gender: male
Industry: NONE
Occupation: UNEMPLOYED BLOGGER
Location: San Francisco
Blogs
Blog Name Recent Posts Total Posts Team Members
ninetyninezeros n/a n/a
February 9th, 2005 at 7:50 am
What a bunch of jerks. Good luck in what comes next.
February 9th, 2005 at 8:08 am
Lucky bastard made it on /. Apparently showing up nekkid at my work ain’t enough to get fired from my job ;-(
February 9th, 2005 at 8:23 am
hope you find a new job buddy……..sorry aboooot your luck
google’s going down hill anyways. they’re getting too big, too fast.
wait till the bottom drops out……….
February 9th, 2005 at 8:43 am
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February 9th, 2005 at 9:14 am
I feel for you. I got fired once, but it was because I worked for a bunch of idiots, not Google. Well, maybe i was the idiot for working there. I do think, however, that generally blogging with a negative attitude towards your employer is probably not a good idea. Like you said, life is about compromise. That means you have to look at the good, and not really complain too much about the bad. Regardless. I wish you the best of luck in the future. — To all the people who are happy he was fired. Have some sympathy. He’s young. He learned. And, it’s not fun to get fired.
February 9th, 2005 at 9:18 am
Google more evil than satan.
February 9th, 2005 at 9:34 am
“I worked for a bunch of idiots, not Google”
Who says google is not a bunch of idiots? Or worst, they ARE EVIL
February 9th, 2005 at 10:02 am
I’m sorry a lot for you, dude. But this is only a lesson. In some time (probably weeks or some months) you’ll be able to remember this moment as not very important, just a lesson.
Ths kind of things happend almost evrybody sometimes in their professional life… don’t worry about that, just learn, and go on.
February 9th, 2005 at 10:05 am
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February 9th, 2005 at 10:08 am
All you google “haters” out there need to get a life. First of all this “kid” that has worked at 2 other professional companies should know better. Talking about any kind of financial info about your company to the outside world could be classified as “insider trading”. Punishable by jail time. IE MARTHA FUCKING STEWART. Secondly this “kid” worked there less then a month, discussed option strike prices, financial future planning and last but not least details about the company is a negative tone. He deserved to get fired.
Plain and Simple. I would have fired his stupid ass. Then sued him for deformation and then charged him for insider financial information made to the public against company policy. He’s lucky he just got shit canned.
www.tuckermaxx.blogspot.com - bring it.
February 9th, 2005 at 10:46 am
Ah, there are plenty of ppl here who hate goog, just coz its growin too fast. Probly some kinda ‘Rich guys are EVIL’ kinda attitude.
Well, fella………., You’re the one guy who has become a celeb coz ur fired (cnet, /., boy i wanna get fired too) . Be happy though, that the WHOLE world knows that u r fired (or canned or whatever), and they are here consoling you!
Well, u’ll have a hard time findin ur next job, coz they’ll ask:
Name?
Mark Jen
The 99zeroes guy?
Well….. Sir…..
Sorry! Cant take u myte!
Or probably, u may just get an easy entry coz u passed all those interviews at goog.
Anyway, All the best (And CONTINUE to Blog!)
Regards,
RoastedNeutrons
February 9th, 2005 at 11:58 am
You can see Mark at tuckermaxx.blogspot.com
February 9th, 2005 at 12:33 pm
dude, maxxx, stop your endless shameless plugs for your own blog. if you really think mark is as uncool as you make him sound, why are you riding off his popularity? doesn’t that make you..eh..lame? why dont you learn to spell and then find something else interesting to blog about then, just maybe, people will actually want to read about you…
February 9th, 2005 at 12:38 pm
No, it doesnt. I put my blog up ohhhh 2 months ago, and have gotten around 35,000 hits, I think I am ok at this. I just like riding people for BEING IDIOTS. You’re next Rose.
Learn how to spell???? Thats so fucking lame its not even remotely a good insult.
February 9th, 2005 at 12:48 pm
wow. . .the level of ignorance about this particular incident is staggaring. Google is evil for firing an employee who revealed confidential financial information about the company? sheesh. this is the real world. In the real world, when you sign an NDA and then break the agreement on that NDA, you’re damn lucky if all you get is fired.
February 9th, 2005 at 1:42 pm
no no, 35k in 2 months isnt anything like 2 weeks and 100k hits huh? sucks to be 2nd place (at best), doesnt it? besides, where’s the glory when the only hits you get is from plagarized pictures you get from other websites.
my comment on learning how to spell wasn’t merely another insult. here’s a crash course for you.
de-fam-a-tion: the act of damaging the reputation of another by means of false and injurious communications that expose that person to contempt, ridicule, hatred, or social ostracism
deformation: the picture you have of yourself on your blog that you claim to be mark jen
btw, next time you decide to call someone an idoit, you should check the mirror to make sure you’re not one yourself. mark’s asian. ride that.
February 9th, 2005 at 2:10 pm
Yo whore, the difference is, I still have my high paying job and a blog that gets mad hits but he is todays news tomorrows unemployed slackass. Im done with you. You are nothing. I am everything. He’s fired and rightly so. Beat that, slut
February 9th, 2005 at 2:11 pm
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February 9th, 2005 at 2:14 pm
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February 9th, 2005 at 3:11 pm
TuckerMax, you are an idiot. Talking about financial stuff isn’t insider trading you doof. And by the way, Martha Stewart is in prison for lying,not for insider trading.
February 9th, 2005 at 5:21 pm
i have to agree that tucker aka “tuckermax” is an absolute idiot. i have the misfortune of knowing him personally.
and i’m embarassed for google to have any kind of association whatsoever with his uneducated ass and lame excuse of a “blog”.
tucker claims he still has his “high paying” job–rediculous! i know for a fact the guy started out temping at google, for at least nine months, for a whopping $20/hour and only recently became an employee. he has such a rediculous elevated sense of himself. get lost tucker.
February 9th, 2005 at 9:02 pm
You idiots need to learn how to spell.
Oh, google is nothing special either, so get over it.
February 10th, 2005 at 9:10 am
“I have to agree that tucker aka “tuckermax” is an absolute idiot. i have the misfortune of knowing him personally.”
I agree with you, but I am lucky not to know this person at all. He posts a bunch of hate and thinks that entertainment. The only thing funny about that is the fool he makes of himself.
Getting fired sucks yes, but learn from the mistakes you did make and move on. Thats the only advice I can possibly give.
PhantomStar
November 8th, 2005 at 4:14 pm
[…] Many of you who follow this sort of thing remember Mark Jen, the former Google employee who was fired for maintaining a weblog chronicling his time with that company. (You can actually read his Google blog in archived form at Mark’s current weblog.) […]
December 30th, 2006 at 7:22 pm
http://nissan12.blogspot.com/2006/12/
January 4th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
http://20six.co.uk/ritas/
January 9th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
Christmas