Everyone, from friends to family to previous colleagues to new co-workers, asks me the same question: “how are you acclimatizing?”  Having been here for not even two weeks yet, I’m never entirely sure how to answer that question.

So far, life is mostly about figuring my way around.  I’m learning about VMware’s extensive portfolio of applications, like vSphere and vCloud.  I’m learning more about the applications that I already knew, like Fusion.  Part of learning is both about where the applications stand now, and what their roadmaps look like for the future.  While this part is time-consuming, it’s also pretty straightforward.

Another pretty straightforward task is learning about the new cadence of my day and my week.  Humans are, after all, creatures of habit; all of my habits are now broken.  I haven’t yet figured out the best route to drive from my home to campus, although I have figured out the best train/bus combination that gets me here in a half-hour.  Thursdays seem to be given over to team meetings, although Wednesdays are entirely meeting-free.

Somewhat less straightforward is figuring out how everything fits together.  VMware is a company that has seen staggering growth in the past few years, so I’m probably not the only person trying to figure this out.  The company has grown in size (this page says we’re currently at 8200 employees) and grown the number of applications.  Some of this growth is organic, some has come through acquisitions (such as Zimbra).

Thus far, acclimatizing is about gathering information.  As a researcher, this comes naturally.  The more interesting question will be in six months, to see how much I understand this company and my place in it.