<img src="http://www.ubbdev.com/uzine/images/bulb.gif" style="border: 1px black solid" align="left">
ubb.k - coffee-talk with the women of ip
By: Allen Ayres





Intro :: "Ooh! Ooh! I'll play!!" And so begins a round of caffeine and confessions as I try in vain to get some info from the pertier half of the Infopop staff (whose names all began with the letter "k" - koincidence? I think not ). I wasn't able to catch up with all the females on board, and some of the males kept putting their 2 cents in and messin my flow, but the outcome was still good none-the-less. Here's an inside look at what it's like working for Infopop from the sweeter smelling keepers of the grail:

Allen :: Please tell us a little about your job/function in the hallowed halls of IP International headquarters.

Kristi :: I do customer support mainly, with a little dabbling in the accounting side now and then. I was actually hired as a receptionist but moved to customer support after 6 months.

Kate :: Well, my title is "Customer Care and Account Management" which means I do everything from customer support to sales to account management to stocking the fridge to making coffee. (Well, okay, not that last one - Brett does that.)

Navaho :: I'm the keeper of the iMacquarium. In between trips to fill the tank I try to keep track of UBB.classic, UBB.threads, and webhosting.

Kimberly :: I do sales, partnership, legal and food stuff.

Allen :: What kind of background did you have coming into your present position?

<img src="http://ubbdev.com/uzine/images/ip/kristi.gif" border="0" alt="kristi" align="right" />
Kristi :: Limited technical knowledge, that's for sure! I was a long time Internet/email user but did it just for fun and didn't venture into the technical side. I had been doing alot of HR and administrative work, so doing tech support was a big jump for me. Luckily I had some great teachers here

Navaho :: I was a truck driver for 12 years, 9 of which I was an owner/operator. Then I worked for a time at a small local ISP and then moved to a larger regional ISP/cable/telco company when the small ISP was bought out and closed.

Kate :: I started at Infopop as a summer intern, an Accounting Assistant. When fall came, they wanted to keep me part-time, and when I finished school, Infopop still hadn't had enough of me, so they hired me full time. Accounting could only keep me busy for so long and my increasing interest in our software drove me to customer support. Within a few months my interest in customer relationships brought me into Account Management.

Kimberly :: Worked many years in Silicon Valley for either large, monolithic companies or tiny start-uppy companies before I found the perfect place for me.

Allen :: What has life been like since you began working for IP?

Kristi :: Its been really fun and fulfilling. I've learned so much... I think I've learned more here than I did in all my last jobs combined. Since new products and features are always being released, its a constant learning cycle.

Kate :: It keeps me off the streets.

Seriously, I know so many people who hate their jobs, and I'm so thankful for a job I love. I love the people I work with - I've made some great friends since I started. (And it keeps me occupied AND entertained.)

<img src="http://ubbdev.com/uzine/images/ip/kimberly.gif" border="0" alt="kimberly" align="right" />
Kimberly :: Like life itself, there have been successes and challenges, but I can truly say that I'm at the happiest I've ever been career-wise. I work with some amazing people, and we have the best customers you could ever dream of.

Navaho :: I miss the east coast and my friends but not the weather there. Working here at Infopop has been fun, challenging, demanding, and rewarding.

Allen :: What are you working on now and can you give us a little insight into any top-secret projects you are working on?

Navaho :: Working on now? I'm right now trying to install linux on my laptop, but it's not a secret really.

Kristi :: I don't really work on any of the products directly. I do know of some 'top secret' stuff, but I can't say what... Hey, I still want my job!

<img src="http://ubbdev.com/uzine/images/ip/kate.gif" border="0" alt="kate" align="right" />
Kate :: If I tell you, I'll have to kill you.

Actually, my top-secret stuff is so top-secret that they keep it a top-secret even from me...

Kimberly :: I'm working on a widget that would allow everyone to work from their hot tubs from anywhere in the world.

<img src="http://ubbdev.com/uzine/images/ip/softball.jpg" style="border: 1px black solid" alt="sluggers" align="right" />
Allen :: Who's the best softball player among the staff, and who should really consider being the batboy?

Navaho :: Me! well, ok, not me. Cindy, Jennie, Brian, Jeff, and Len are better than I am. But I'm right behind them!

Kristi :: Well, I'm not on the softball team so I don't know who's the best, but from the stories I've heard, it sounds like Brian (OpenTopic developer) should definitely be the bat boy

Kate :: Best softball player... yikes... this isn't exactly a diplomatic question, ya know. I have to say that Brian and Cindy are pretty darn good. As far as a batboy, well, I won't go there. But let's say there's a reason I volunteer to keep score.

Kimberly :: I am not a good softball player, but a good heckler. I also tend to scare the other teams. I think Leonard, a friend who has now been adopted by Infopop, should be the batboy.

Ted :: Cindy is a really good softball player. Jeff is our best slugger. Kimberly is our best softball recruiter.

Allen :: Recruiting on a co-ed softball team can be the most difficult position. I coach a couple teams, co-ed on mondays, a men's team on tuesdays. It's nearly impossible to get females who play well to show up consistently

<img src="http://ubbdev.com/uzine/images/ip/starbucks.gif" style="border: 1px black solid" alt="mmm coffee" align="right" />
Allen :: On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate Charles' coffee? Word is, Brett is the coffee master, would you agree?

Kristi :: I can't recall Charles ever making coffee, but if I had to guess, I'd say it probably would be about a 4. In all truth, we are severely limited in our coffee making abilities by the quality of coffee. Brett does the best he can!

Kate :: I'm not sure that Charles knows how to make coffee. In fact, I'm not so sure he could tell you where the coffee pot is located...

Brett makes coffee. Granted, he doesn't have a WHOLE lot to work with in the way of quality materials... But let's face it, enough cream and sugar and anything's drinkable (except HoneyDew or HoneyBear or whatever the heck it's called...)

Kimberly :: I've never had their coffee. I am the occasional decafe drinker, but that's about it. I prefer decafe americanos from Tully's. SBC and Starbucks just don't hack it in the decafe dept. :rolleyes:

Navaho :: Ain't such a thing as good coffee out here. And what's worse is that it's spreading.

<img src="http://ubbdev.com/uzine/images/ip/seattle.gif" style="border: 1px black solid" alt="pretty seattle skyline" align="right" />
Allen :: What do you like best about working in the Seattle area?

Kristi :: As a native of this area, I can't imagine working/living/playing ANYWHERE else. I love the weather and the people and the beautiful surroundings. I do hate the traffic though (Charles feels my pain on this one, we're probably tied for longest commute!)

Navaho :: Even though it rains all winter it's actually not humid here. This has extended my golf game immeasurably. The office view is unforgettable. Captivating.

Kate :: Five minute commute. Okay, granted, it's still Seattle traffic, so it really only takes 5 minutes if the lights are green and elves carry your car over the traffic. But I love being this close to home. And plus, the city is just indescribably wonderful.

Kimberly :: Seattle is so beautiful. Our offices are right on the water, as you've heard others mention, and I'm such a sucker for a view.

Allen :: What are some goals you have for the next year?

Kate :: Work related: become a l33t h4XX0r (did I do that right??). Oh, and brush up my HTML. I'm toying with learning Perl but my last encounter caused me to run screaming.

Non-work related: brush up my guitar skills and take a road trip down the pacific coast.

Kimberly :: Next year I'm going to roll out my widget!

Allen :: I look forward to the widget, need any beta testers for it?

Navaho :: To finally figure out what the heck I'm doing. Oh, did I tell you I made last year's goal? Yes, I have a driver's license.

Kristi :: To continue providing great customer support, to increase my knowledge of our hosted products and web hosting and to, of course, get Dave to cut his hair again

Allen :: hehe.. good luck on the hair cut, mebbe if the Sox win the series this year

Greg :: Or if i sent him a $100 gift cert to honey dew...

Allen :: About the coffee question, I think that's just an old ubbdev joke from back when Charles was hired by IP - Elliot said Charles was gonna be Dave's coffee-monkey

Kristi :: Yeah, I heard about that! Funny thing is, I've never seen Charles even drink a normal coffee. Its always just one of those foo-foo drinks from Starbucks Never seen him get coffee for Dave either...

Kimberly :: i drink decafe, and my fave is peet\'s .

Greg :: mmm...peets...

Navaho :: Greg what do you know from decaf?

<img src="http://ubbdev.com/uzine/images/ip/hahah.jpg" style="border: 1px black solid" alt="wheee!" align="right" />

Steven :: Did someone mention Coffee and Chocolate? Ghiradelli has a Chocolate Coffee....never get in between me and a carafe of it!!

Greg :: I'm not picky about my coffee. I try to avoid decafe.. However, on my short trip to california last year, I remember stopping for a coffee at Peets. I remember it tasting good, as well...

Hey, if it's good enough for the lockergnome...

Ted :: I do not drink coffee... something Rosemary has tried to change as long as we have been married. I understand that Brett's coffee is an acquired taste.

Allen :: hehe... thank you everyone for participating