April Update

Hi all,

This is going out to a lot of folks because I don’t have time to write everyone individually. So I’m sorry if this is surprising or you don’t know enough details—email me if you’d like more clarity. Thanks for understanding!

Change is here! We came back from a recent trip with a surety that our time at CHAMP is over. We will be leaving CHAMP by May 6. We will continue as employees, but will work part-time remotely. Dave and Deb are fine with this (we told them last August we’d be leaving this spring/summer, when the current product is done). We will work for CHAMP from wherever we are for 10-15 hours/week at an hourly rate. The PDA product we’ve helped build is now in beta testing, and seems pretty stable.

Why are we doing this? For one, it’s time for Matt to move on to new professional challenges. We’ve grown a ton at CHAMP, but he needs to work with more experienced, passionate developers using the latest technology. Me, I’m ready to stop being a manager and just be a wife. If I get bored, I’ll pick up a job doing something non-computer, like working at a greenhouse or coffee shop. I still like working on websites, but spending 8-10 hours a day staring at a screen is not what I want to do for the rest of my life.
When we gave our 2 weeks notice, our co-worker who worked on our development team and was learning support also gave his 2 weeks. So this week has been a bit frantic as we start a recruitment process. It will probably also mean I will be working 20 hours/week instead of 10, but such is life. I’m just excited to be working remotely and starting the process of leaving CHAMP. We’ll also get a new toy: a cell phone! That way we can check email from the road and, if we have to, provide support to CHAMP customers. Crazy what technology can do these days.

Our immediate plans are to drive to Reno, NV to visit Matt’s parents; after that we’re not sure exactly where we’ll go (CA? CO?). Wherever we go, we will be gone for the entire month of May and possibly the first week in June. We plan to return to MN in June, and decide what the next steps are from there. We may continue our travels, working part-time, for a while; or we may decide Matt is going to apply at Microsoft in Seattle. We just don’t know right now, and that’s ok. :) God is sovereign over every situation and transition.

We’ll be keeping the house, and have friends mow the lawn and water our plants. If there’s anyone in Mankato who would like a new house plant, let me know! I seem to have accumulated several, including some from work. I don’t care if they die in your care either!
Well, I now have even more work to do than before, so I’d better get to it! Have a great rest of the week. Hope to hear an update from you if you get a chance.

Erin & Matt Young