September 26th, 2007

The first day at Microsoft: A fender-bender

This is the first of what might be a series of stories on the subject, So what happened on your first day at Microsoft? Some facts may have been altered to preserve the anonymity of the subject, but the essense is true. Our first storyteller is “Employee X”:

At the end of my first day, I back out of my parking space and accidentally hit a Lexus parked behind me. Oh great, my first day at work, and I dent somebody’s fancy car. I leave a note of apology on the windshield, with my name, email address, phone number, and a promise to pay for whatever repairs are necessary.

The next day, I come to work, and I have a new email message.

From Bill Gates.

Oh my God, I dented Bill Gates’ car.

Fortunately, he said not to worry about it.

Bonus: Russell Ball shares a voicemail message left by a new employee on his second day.

Author

Raymond has been involved in the evolution of Windows for more than 30 years. In 2003, he began a Web site known as The Old New Thing which has grown in popularity far beyond his wildest imagination, a development which still gives him the heebie-jeebies. The Web site spawned a book, coincidentally also titled The Old New Thing (Addison Wesley 2007). He occasionally appears on the Windows Dev Docs Twitter account to tell stories which convey no useful information.

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