So I am in Minneapolis today until about 4. I've been here since Thursday night. Yesterday I interviewed with QBP. Seems a cool place to work, good culture, bikes everywhere, a trailhead from the company parking lot, huge employee discounts, very laid back atmosphere, .... (I could go on). It's a shame that they aren't located in Nashville. That is the sticky area for me. I have very good reasons to stay in the Nashville area. I think the interviews went well, but I'll have to see what they have to say.

When I got to the office, one thing that stuck out to me was that the main entrance was around back, the furthest distance from the road. I thought that was weird until I saw that employees would ride their bikes to the office and just lean it against a bike rack or something and go inside. Nice bikes. No locks. I went into the lobby and the dude at the fron desk looked like a dude you would see inthe shop at your neighborhood shop, in dress and attitude. It was a good thing, this place reeks of bike culture. In the reception area there are a bunch of high-end parts, some salsa frames, and other such things on display. The office work spaces are mostly open-type cubicles, but with tons of colors and with a feel not much like traditional cubicles. Bikes were everywhere, both those owned by employees and those used for marketing. People have tons of posters, pictures, etc. around, and there were a couple of dogs hanging out. The warehouse was big and looked like a modern warehouse., except that there were bike-related posters and stickers here and there, and bikes hanging up and all of that. Many of the people working looked like they would if you ran into them in a bar before an urban ride. The Surly office was pointed out to me as being off of one of the warehouse floors. There is a scratch 'n dent are where employees can get deeply discounted parts (cheaper than the already generous employee discount, which is off of wholesale, btw). There were quite a few surly and other frames hanging up as well as box after box of parts. There was also a "free" table. QBP really is what you would expect it to be. In interviewing, I was struck with how protective they are of their culture. They are much more concerned that a person is a good fit than how well they can do the job they are signing up for (though that is also important). Overall, the visit was a good experience.

So after all of that, I managed to find the celebrated Cars R Coffins coffee/bike shop and chatted with the owner up there for a short while. I then tracked down down some Fat Tire Beer and pizza for dinner. Minneapolis is a cool town, and the uptown area seems like the place to be. There were bikes everywhere, and most people seem to make do with the older bikes than worrying getting the fanciest new thing. That was a good sign (for the quality of the people and culture). So even if I don't make the move up here, I would like to visit again for a few days.

Today I am planning to visit the small Surly brewery for a tour before I head out. May also stop to eat and try some beer at a local brewpub. Good times.

Btw, I never made it known.. as of last week, I am officially unemployed. I "officially resigned" or was laid off or whatever. Don't really care at this point. It is just nice to have some time off and be away from that stress that was the uncertainty associated with working at Zoi. I am now just hoping that I'm not out of work too long. I actually should be working in one more week. I currently have one opportunity to do so, but I want to hold out a little bit longer to see what else pops.

In other news, TI4 pre-registration (for past participants) is open, and i have already sent in my entry postcard. Pretty excited about that one. Cheers.