It’s official: I’ve landed a new job!
As I sit here on the lanai of the 25th floor room in the Ilikai hotel here in Hawaii overlooking the beach, palm trees and azure blue ocean, I remind myself that I need to truly relax and enjoy this downtime because it may be a long time before I get to relax like this again. That’s right, the months of blogging, tweeting, posting photos and videos and general socializing among the wine world has finally paid off.
Last week, I accepted the position of Social Marketing Manager for Vintage Wine Estates in Windsor, CA. Vintage Wine Estates represents a family of eight wineries along with a wine accessories brand. As the Social Marketing Manager, I will be responsible for digital media marketing and PR for all the different brands. I am scheduled to start my job on September 28th and will be moving from Seattle to the Sonoma area on September 25th. I’ve been negotiating this job and have known about this for nearly 3 weeks, so why wait till now to finally announce it?
Perhaps you’ve noticed that I was absent from online conversations for last few weeks. When I was interviewing for this position, I started to remodel our utility room in our house. By the time I finally received an offer, the utility room was gutted and waiting for a facelift. My new employer wanted me to start sooner, but I already had vacation plans scheduled and my remodel was well under way so I negotiated a later date. But that meant I had to really work diligently to finish everything I needed to get done before I even could mention this to anyone. Blogging or tweeting about my new job meant that I would have to devote time to socializing with everyone about it—time that would take away from remodeling. Very few family and friends even knew about this because I didn’t have time to get together with people before I left. It will be a quick departure with no long drawn-out farewells. Just the way I like it.
So now I’m in Hawaii, enjoying the tropical breezes and eating lots of my favorite foods. I have time now to respond to comments and reply to tweets. And what about my wife, Sheri? Is she also moving down to California with me? For now, Sheri is staying in Seattle. We decided that it doesn’t make sense to make such a big move without first seeing how things work out and checking out the area for housing options. It also gives us time to consider what to do with our house in Seattle. Home values being what they are, we may decide to rent our house until the market improves and we can actually make some money from the sale.
I’m looking forward to working in the area and getting to know folks whom I’ve only met briefly or online. If you’re going to be in the Napa/Sonoma area starting next month and would like to taste wines or just hang out, give me a call at 206-369-1696. Cheers!
Copyright © 2009, Eric Hwang and Bricks of Wine. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Eric Hwang and Bricks of Wine with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Congratulations!!! Good luck with your move and enjoy your vacation!
Congrats! See… Everything works out all in good time! Look forward to many tweetups, etc when you get out here!
What fantastic news! Best of luck on your new wine adventure.
Congrats man! Glad things are workin’ out for you. Keep up the great work!
Awesome, man!
Many congrats and looking forward to seeing you in and around Napa/Sonoma Land. First glass of wine is on me…unless I’m at a Vintage Wine tasting room. 😉
Very excited for your future adventures…be sure to let me know how I can help!
Congratulations! I know that this has been a dream of yours for a long time coming. How very exciting. I wish you the best of luck in your new job and new adventures 🙂
Fantastic news and congratulations
good luck in your new job
Bunches of congrats, Eric!! You are an excellent example to me of following one’s dream. I look forward to hearing about your new experiences.
Congratulations – you deserve it. Maybe gutting a room is the secret to every job hunter’s quest. Murphy’s Law and all that. Mahalo.
Congratulations, Eric! I’m so happy for you, but we are going to miss you in Seattle.
Congratulations, Eric… way to go! Good luck, and let me know how I can help.
Cheers!
Hey Eric. Congratulations and good luck with the move.
Eric,
Great news!!!!! Welcome to Sonoma!
Even though you beat up on me at http://www.examiner.com, no hard feelings here. Like I said, yours was one of the top videos and I’m betting it got you a lot of exposure. Now it comes to fruition: you’re movin’ on up. Congratuations.
Congrats My Friend. You’ve got my support. Whatever you need!
So glad to hear the news! I knew there would be another
great opportunity out there for you! And here it is.
If I can ever be of any assistance please let me know.
How exciting, Eric! Congratulations–you’ve worked hard to get there!
Congrats on landing the job and I hope your new adventure exceeds your expectations! Let me know if you ever make it down to the Santa Ynez Valley – would love to share a glass or two with you!
Cheers!