Shane Life

I found out something really cool as I started my new job at AMC on Friday:

I can ride the bus. Conveniently.

This is a huge win for me. As someone who drives almost 30 miles each way from South Olathe to downtown Kansas City for work, I get annoyed by my commute. I have to pay attention. That’s at least an hour of my life that I waste each week that could be spent reading, writing, Twittering or any number of things.

One of my benefits is the choice of a parking pass at the 10th and Main parking garage or a bus pass. I’m not sure what my schedule’s going to look like for the first few weeks, but I’m likely going to attempt to start riding the bus, which should be pretty cool.

I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.

Today, February 19th marks my final day of employment at Cerner Corporation. I’ve spent just under a year here as a member of the Online Marketing team. Like I blogged previously, I am leaving the company to take what is in many ways a dream job for me: Community Manager at AMC. I’ve received an outpouring of support from my wife, my family, close friends, my church, the readers of this blog, my followers on Twitter and my friends on Facebook. Even the people that I work with at Cerner have been amazingly supportive (despite now having a rather large awesomeness void to fill) and they know how well-suited I am for this position and how much I’m looking forward to it.

All told, I’m really overwhelmed by the support that people have given me.

And as easy of a decision it may have seemed from the outside, you should know that I struggled at times. See, despite what everyone says, Cerner is a really good place to work. I wasn’t really actively searching for this position. In a lot of ways, it found me. But when your dream job comes knocking, you open the freaking door.

Unfortunately, that meant that I had to close a door at Cerner. During a time of uncertainty last year, I was given an amazing opportunity to join a great team at an industry-leading company that is poised to have a huge next several years. And not only that, but I got to do work that I was proud of, that I was good at, and that I enjoyed:

• I worked on the team that launched uCern, Cerner’s collaboration platform for its clients and partners.
• I led the social media efforts for the company during their annual health conference last October.
• I helped write the best practices for all Cerner associates as they get engaged in new social, collaborative platforms and channels.
• And most recently, I’ve been able to work on another large web initiative with some of my professional design and development idols, Happy Cog Studios.

It was that work that made my experience different than the one that had been described by all the friends I worked with at Perceptive Software that had left Cerner with a sour taste in their mouths. My experience was very positive. I worked with smart people on great projects and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s true that Cerner expects the best out of its associates, but that’s one of the keys to their success. Having an open mind when I was hired gave me the right expectation.

To all my Cerner friends, I salute you. You made going to work enjoyable and rewarding. To the Online Marketing team — Sara, Jake, David, Lance and Jason — keep crushing it. You guys have been a blast to work with. If it were any other position at any other company, I would not be leaving.

But as they say…”it is what it is…”

I’ve had this thing to share with you that I haven’t been able to share and it’s been killing me.

Last year around this time, I was unemployed. In all honesty, I was very fortunate to only be out of work for about three months before joining Cerner in March of 2009. I didn’t get a big severance package when the company I worked for laid me off, so that unemployment came in handy for the few meager months. Those few months were actually pretty fun. I got to hang out with Alli and Dreyfuss a lot. Saw a lot of movies.

During that time, I got more and more active in the Social Media Club of Kansas City. It was through the SMCKC, Twitter and this blog that I got into touch with Justin Gardner, the social media guru at AMC. Justin got me into a preview of the then-new Fork & Screen concept at the Olathe AMC and last February (in fact, almost a year ago exactly), I got to attend AMC’s Best Picture Showcase.

Now if you’ve followed this blog or you follow me on Twitter or Tumblr or Facebook or if you know me in real life, you know that I’ve got a crazy passion for movies. I love the experience of going to the theatre. I love blockbusters, independent films, dramas, comedies, romances…pretty much everything but horror flicks.

For the past ten years, I’ve worked for a software company, a (now-defunct) financial services company, and a healthcare company. The next ten years (and hopefully many more after that) will be spent working for an entertainment company.

Yep. I’m leaving Cerner to go to work at AMC as their Community Manager.

That’s right. Me. AMC. Movies. Internet. AWESOMENESS.

It’s not every day that your dream job falls in your lap.

Working at Cerner for the past year has been a great experience. I’ve worked with an amazing team on some important projects. I have made some terrific friends along the way. The Marketing organization is full of talented individuals who have elevated me and made going to work enjoyable. I’m proud of what I accomplished over the past 11 months. I leave feeling good about what I’ve contributed and knowing that the projects I have worked on are in good hands.

But it’s show time.

• I need to see The Hurt Locker. I’ve got the Redbox DVD, but haven’t had time to watch it yet.
• Is UP the first picture to be nominated for Best Picture and Best Animated Picture? I’m assuming so, but not sure.
• No big surprises for the acting nominations except perhaps
• Really want to see An Education, especially since Nick Hornby (one of my favorite authors) wrote the screenplay

There are lots of opinions on what’s good and what’s not, but here are the certainties (at least in my mind):

• The acting awards will go to Bridges, Bullock, Waltz, Mo’Nique
• Up in the Air will win Best Adapted Screenplay
• Inglorious Basterds will win Best Original Screenplay
• Avatar will win all the technical awards

All the rest of the major awards are kind of a crap shoot. Momentum seems to be favoring The Hurt Locker right now, but Avatar or even Tarantino’s Basterds could come out of nowhere to win. It’s anyone’s guess right now.

What do you think?