Today, I’m an engineering manager, and my day-to-day feels far removed from my years spent scraping leads and consoling irate customers in a tiny pre-war office in the heart of the Garment District. Yet every day, I’m reminded of just how much my time at an early stage startup has shaped how I work — and how I think about work.

Welcome to Bezos land: filled with identical high-rises, a jungle of glass facades and steel skyscrapers. A relentless quest to sell everything has built an entire neighborhood — but at what cost?

I’d heard so many good things about Puerto Escondido: the pristine beaches, low-key vibes, and beautiful sunsets. It’s a hidden gem, people would say — nothing like tourist-ridden Tulum. Sadly, it wasn’t for me.

“What’s a chapulín?” I asked. Our guide grinned mischievously as he motioned towards a food stall surrounded by baskets piled high with dried insects. Nice.

I’m thankful this doesn’t happen often, but every now and then, a 1:1 — with a direct report, peer, or sometimes someone I’ve just met — becomes a vent session.

This is the first time I’ve actually earned top tier hotel status. Even when I traveled for work nearly every other week, back when SPG was still around and Hyatt’s reward program went by a more staid name, the top tiers of each program remained elusive and just out of reach.

This week officially marks my 6 month milestone of leading a fully remote engineering team at Curology. It’s been fun; it’s been challenging; but above all, it’s been an incredible learning experience. This week also marks a year-plus of mandatory work from home. While strange at first, I’d say we’ve done all right. On my end, I’ve become an expert at unmuting myself before speaking and rocking the sweatpant office athleisure look like a pro.

Digital nomad. Location independence. Remote work. Words that seemed foreign even a few years ago have tumbled into the mainstream — with no signs of slowing down. Where did they come from?

Most of my web development projects follow the same tried-and-true roadmap: Think of a domain name. Buy the domain name. That’s about it. Most ideas don’t go further than that.