Cameesa - The Blog

Be forewarned that this is a reflection of my past 3 years working at Bank of America; sadly, all good things come to an end.

It all started on November 14, 2005. I was a young, inexperienced programmer finishing my Computer Science Master’s at The University of Chicago. Brien, Karen, and Zo gave me a chance to showcase my ultimate programming skillz. I had no idea what I was getting into, but I knew that there was something special about these people. In the end, my intuition was right, these people were awesome.

Brien and Karen taught me that it is possible to be close friends with your managers, and still maintain a healthy and professional relationship. This lesson was solidified when Karen, Brien, Suneet and I spent an entire day hanging out : watching the Cubs, eating at Tango Sur, chillin’ at Moe’s Cantina and laughing endlessly.

With laughter there always came business, and with business came Mr. Business Time, Taylor (aka T-Raack). Taylor, a Northwestern graduate, was my partner in crime…..programming crime that is. He actually taught me everything I needed to know about programming and, to this day, he is still the smartest and sharpest programmer that I have ever worked with. Sorry ladies…he’s not single any more

In the workplace, I met a UFC fighter, Tom, who happened to have a strange love for peanut butter, the Russian language, and monkeys. His attitude taught me to be happy no matter what life handed me. Next, there was Suneet and Lindsay who were both natural Providers, and had an endless caring for others. Lindsay was famously known for decorating people’s cubes on their birthdays, but when it came to her own birthday, she did not want to make it a big deal. Moreover, Suneet, organized Bank of America’s first basketball league, of which more than 100 employees participated, and then setup a volunteering program for the kids. Suneet also had a freakish memory by remembering significant names/events in everyone’s lives, not to mention a hilarious giggle. With giggles there was always wit…this is where sarcastic Scott came in, he was a witty individual that wrote depressing music, and was calm no matter which situation he was in. If you wanted to get back to a happy mood from Scott’s music, all you had to was call Darrin Tracy. “The Darrin” was famously known for his Slam Dunk video and for partying like it was 1999. Finally, there was Whitney who taught me a ton about Unix Systems, solving problems, and technology as a whole. And how could I forget Zo. Zo taught me that things are always comical, no matter what. If we weren’t talking about programming, then we were talking about something that no one in the world would think of…(ie. The Bristol Chart). Zo had a way to bring up questions and topics that no one could ever imagine.

“Jak sie masz? My name-a Borat. I like you. Do you like me?” was heard non-stop throughout our cubicles as Yury and I would fall back in our chairs. We met Borat from the Ali G show and spent half of our Christmas vacation watching it. Yury was a master negotiator who could sell a ketchup popsicle to a lady in white gloves. “Very nice, I like.”

My business partners were in North Carolina, and I wish I could have seen them more often. I will never forget my trip to Charlotte, where we spent majority of our lunches together, and then hung out after work……EVERY DAY. They were thoughtful and gave me recognition for everything I did, sometimes even for work that I didn’t do. Allison, Alison, James and Sara, thank you for being open and honest communicators. Sara, thanks for making fun of James and James, thanks for always ripping on Sara.

Believe it or not, I actually learned a lot at work. Magenta Magenta helped me find myself, and my true strengths. Wyatt Sutherland taught me about Agile Programming, and Michael Menary taught me to always give people their space.

As we have all know, the people make your job interesting and fun. From Qarlympics, to building a cardboard castle around Yury’s desk, to Congratulating Suneet on his weddingto Darrin’s birthday party, to Bryan Chavez eating 30 butter packets for $30, to Fat Fridays…..we ALWAYS had fun.

These are the things that i will miss most. I will miss you all and I thank you for making my last three years so memorable.

As some may know, Ali Gowani will be taking over my job as the Lead of the Corporate Research Library. I foresee him to be more successful than me because he is smarter :). Ali is a great programmer with an eager thirst for knowledge. He asks great questions and is an extremely quick learner. Ali taught me that the best way to learn something is by teaching someone else.

So………August 29th, 2008, is my last day working at Bank of America. I will be joining Andrew Cronk on the Cameesa Full-Time Squad on September 2nd, 2008, and am extremely excited for what is about to come with Cameesa. We are going to work very closely to provide you with the best T shirt Crowdfunding Platform EVER. Feedback is always welcome.