Another great tropical vacation for the holidays - this time in the former British colony of Antigua. We stayed at the Carlisle Bay resort, which was hands down the best resort we've ever stayed in the Caribbean - impeccable friendly service, top-class accommodations and amenities and direct access to the beach where you're waited on hand & foot.

Antigua is not as lush as St. Lucia, or as busy/active as St. Martin - but its a great place to chill and unwind. They truly embrace the concept of "island time" - in a good way. People were very laid-back and friendly. Basically a great place for me to contemplate - "Do I really want to go back to work?" :D

Going thru the ol digital camera so some of this stuff is out of order chronologically. Here's a shot Sara took during the Jan 15th Midnight event at GameStop for WoW: Burning Crusade. As you can tell by everyone's attire - it was actually pretty effin cold.

Sixteen hours later we were jetting off to Antigua (photos to come) - what a difference a day makes!

Yes, it's true! After a year and a half wandering in the wilderness, I've decided to come in from the cold. Starting Monday I'll be the new Director of Marketing for ArenaNet, the developer of Guild Wars.

The decision to return to work, and in what capacity was something that I agonized over for months previously. One of the reasons I left my last job was that I felt that I had so much more to bring to the product planning & development process. As one friend put it, I wanted "a seat at the table" where the big decisions were being made.

At first I thought that this meant becoming a producer. But early on I spoke with some people who told me that as a strong marketing person who "gets it" and "actually plays games" - I had a unique value that I could bring to any organization that would be a shame to lose. The dilemma then was how do I fulfill my personal needs, while leveraging the experience that I'd already gained.

Well when Jeff Strain from ArenaNet called me a few weeks ago, I was afraid all they were looking for was a marketing "lackey" to coordinate for the publisher. Nothing could be further from the truth. I basically told Jeff what kind of job I was looking for - and I didn't pull any punches. I explained how I thought marketing should be involved in the studio and product strategy - integrated from the ground up. To my surprise, instead of scaring them away - it made them more excited!

I can't reveal all that I learned - but suffice it to say that this is a scrappy studio looking to do great things and they have ambitions that match my own. The fact that they're based in Bellevue WA is just the icing on the cake! So the next phase in my life begins now, after a 1.5 year sabbatical that I'll not soon forget. Yes I learned a lot in that time - some of which I'll blog about in the next few days - but excuse me while I get ready for my new job!