TANSTAAFL

TANSTAAFL - There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. From the 1966 novel The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress.

Is there really such a thing as a "free lunch"? Before you run away from this post - no, this is not about economics. Or is it?!

TANSTAAFL means that a person or a society cannot get something for nothing. (wiki)

A few months ago when I was looking for a new career/life/path/money making scheme, of course Google was on my long list of potential employers. It the hip company to get into. It's huge, innovative and has a LOT of money. It's on Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work for. Wow. KIND of a big deal. The unconventional, young, fun culture is what we often hear about. We hear of the perks, the unique google "style", and its invoativeness. I was intrigued of course, who wouldn't be?! You'd be crazy to not want - climbing walls, razor scooters, swimming pools, free car washes, laundry service, gyms, and extensive cafeterias (if you can even call it that) with guest chefs every week, as your perks? OK most of those things are only in the Mountain View Campus in California, but wow. Just wow.

So being in search marketing, I work with search engines - mainly google and yahoo. I got a little tour of google NY yesterday as well a taste of their famous meals. The hallways were lined with serving containers of M&Ms, trail mix, chips, and random snacks and I have to gratuitously mention the razor scooter parking lot. As you walk into their cafeteria three men were putting on their google chef whites at their lockers, walls were lined with previous guest chef pictures and stats and then...the unveiling. Not just food made in the back room by microwaves and makeshift grills. Chefs making food right on the spot. All kinds of stations. Grill station, pasta, vegetarian, salad, sides, dessert, and I thought I was hallicunicating when I saw the gelato stand.

A good deal huh? Free lunch!! or is it. You have all the comforts of home - at work. That can be nice - until you realize on your way back to your desk from eating your free dinner that the office has become like home. Like a second home. Maybe that was the intention. Dazzle with the intentions of cutting down lunch time by having employees eat IN instead of taking long lunches and provide dinner for many a late nights. Just a theory. Maybe the unconventional company is a little more conventionally corporate than I once thought. After even working with google for a little bit, you realize that it IS very corporate, being that it's all about the money. But in their defense, you have to be super occupied with money when you're growing so quickly. Plus, I really enjoyed lunch!

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