A short while back on the show with zefrank, he talked about making decisions, taking action, and not looking back, because things will work out. Just buy that pair of shoes and don’t check the price after you do, he suggested.

Richard Feynman also talked about this in the excellent Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! Upon noticing that he was wasting time deciding on the dessert after a meal, he simply decided that chocolate ice cream will be it for the rest of his life. And after a difficult decision between teaching at Cornell or Caltech, he decided to stay at Caltech for life. When Chicago came calling, he turned them down before they had a chance to tell him how much they were offering. Even after learning that Chicago was offering him five times the money, he declined the offer (with a very amusing reason).

It’s a philosophy I agree with. Fuck the what-ifs. It’s not like we can go back do it again. The past is dumb. Learn from it and move on. And all that jazz. But some decisions are just difficult. Plus I don’t even like chocolate ice cream.

I received an offer for a position in Portland almost two weeks ago. Initially I turned it down because I was a little shocked at how low the base pay is. (But they make up for it with bonuses.) Then a message from a friend made me reconsider. So I spent a lot of time thinking about it, and in the end I just stayed with my first decision. (I don’t know why, so don’t ask.)

And that’s it. The decision was such a pain, I’ve simply decided that I’ll just stay at my current position for a while, at least until my jaw surgery. No more interviews; I had two this year. I really should focus on other areas of my life anyway.

(Oh yeah, if you are a good programmer, I know a place that’s hiring…)