We’re so high right now you don’t even know

December 21, 2007 on 8:59 am | In Funnyish, Insider View, Jobs by Brett | 67 Comments

Contrary to popular belief, we were not evicted from our Los Angeles office in October. Our lease was up and we had to skeedaddle.

However.

Due to several factors out of our control and a slight miscalculation on the part of someone I’m too nice to name…
When the cat’s away, the mice will blog…
…our new office wasn’t ready for our LA employees until a week ago.

The timing was perfect though…we had our Christmas party there last Friday and it was totally worth the wait!

We’ve moved into the AON building in downtown Los Angeles. Check it out!
Oh the humanity!

Whoops! How’d that get in there? That’s actually our building as it looked in 1988.

This is the AON Center as it stands today-
All fixed!  We hope…

It’s just a few blocks away from our old office, but it’s a few hundred feet higher. The AON Center is the second-tallest building in downtown Los Angeles. The view, as you’d expect, is obscene.
I believe I can fly.

The inside is even better.
People, places, and an office!

Join me, won’t you, as I take you on a whirlwind low-res cameraphone video tour!

But enough about the office! How was the Christmas party?

It was awesome. Those of us who work in the Brea office were shuttled in on a limo!

The ride into LA was quick, painless, and the air was filled with excitement! The ride back, on the other hand, smelled like alcohol, swamp butt, and broken social boundaries.

High rollin’

There was much lounging!
Nine!  Nine people! Ah-ah-ah.
and gift-giving!
Presents are the best part!
and Rock-Banding!
My guitar technique is unstoppable.

Our soon-to-be conference room was turned into a food-dispensing arena of gluttony by our capable caterers, The Patina Group.

I totally OM NOM NOMed this stuff

If your site was down on Friday, sorry. We were too busy playing pool, eating, and sitting around doing nothing to fix it.*

*Kidding.

A montage of fun!

Great success!

By now you’re probably wondering how you can end up at the next DreamHost party, or at least get a peek at our new office in person. The answer is simple! Send us your resume.

We’re hiring people all the time and no matter how often we post our open positions, we never seem to get enough applications. Ever!

Tech support employees can choose to work in either our Downtown LA office (pictured above!) or our Brea office (also nice!) about an hour east of LA. If you’re an admin-type you’ll need to work downtown since that’s where our servers are.

See you in 2008, Internet people!

67 Responses to “We’re so high right now you don’t even know”

  1. Asle Says:

    Nice video tour! HAPPY new year, DreamHost!

  2. Simon Jessey Says:

    It amazes me that despite the fact we live in a global village where telecommuting with virtual private networks, videoconferencing and Voice over IP are commonplace, I would have to actually live in California to be able to work at a happening technology business like DreamHost. I know that you guys think the Left Coast is freakin’ awesome, but being an Eastie doesn’t mean I’m covered with disgusting germs or something.

  3. Dallas Says:

    @Simon Jessey : Nothing’s going to replace good old fashioned face to face communication for a very long time, and possibly ever!

    As things are now we have three offices, workers working on a 24×7 schedule, and employee-friendly ‘work from home sometimes’ privileges and it’s a struggle to keep everyone in sync with the latest information. We make changes and add new features quite often. It would not be impossible to have people working entirely remotely but our previous experiences with it have not been ideal, and right now with our rapid growth it’s just not something we can do.

  4. Brett Says:

    Simon Jessey, your bold and italics skills are impressive. We could use a man like you here at DreamHost. Please move to California and apply.

  5. Jeff @ DreamHost Says:

    > It would not be impossible to have people working entirely
    > remotely but our previous experiences with it have not been
    > ideal, and right now with our rapid growth it’s just not
    > something we can do.

    As someone who actually did telecommute from another state (with DreamHost, before they learned better) for around 2 years back in the early days, I’ve gotta agree.

    The option to telecommute on some days is great, but doing so on a daily basis from another state is another matter entirely. It’s really easy to fall out-of-the-loop if you don’t show up in person at least part of the week.

    - Jeff @ DreamHost

  6. Rex Karz Says:

    The Patina Group. That has to be the absolute Fugliest, most annoyingly difficult to navigate web site I’ve seen in a long time. My popup blocker went nutz. Flash is meant to show video, not as a general web site building mechanism. … Maybe you folks could recommend a competent web design outfit to them.

    Oh yeah! … Nice party! The food looked wonderful.

    uhhhh … I cannot afford to live in California. But, thanks for the suggestion.

    Best wishes for a great 2008!

  7. Viper Says:

    So did you guys have to move all of the servers, or are those in a data center…I can’t remember and I’m confused.

  8. dolphinling Says:

    The new office sounds nice, but does it have palm trees that need to be maintained?

  9. Dallas Says:

    @Viper: The servers are in different facilities. In the past few months, we have also been moving some servers around but for unrelated reasons.

  10. Alvise Nicoletti Says:

    You’re too funny ;)

    If you need an Italian cook, network administrator, Software and web developer, write me back.

    I would like to live in the USA for some years ;)

  11. Jeff @ DreamHost Says:

    Judging from the tendency here for people to order some really crappy pizza, I’m not so sure fine Italian cooking would be properly appreciated.

    Then again, I wouldn’t complain. :)

    - Jeff @ DreamHost

  12. Darius Jahandarie Says:

    Heh, you couldn’t be doing something more useful, like giving us the option of lighttpd? :)

    Just joshing, good luck with the new place.

    Darius

  13. Ted Says:

    @Darius

    Why would you want Lighttpd when LiteSpeed is an even faster web server *AND* completely compatible with Apaches .htaccess commands.

  14. Ashley Says:

    Hello everyone! I hate to do this here, but I’m trying to get in touch with the site authors and didn’t see any “contact” options on the site. They have been awarded the 2007 Blogger’s Choice Award for ”Best Corporate” and I need a physical address where I can ship the award.

    Does anyone know how I can get in touch?

    Thanks so much!

  15. DreamHost Says:

    Ashley, you can send it to us at:
    DreamHost
    PMB #257
    417 Associated Rd.
    Brea, CA 92821

  16. Papa Perry Says:

    I was working the night of the fire in the then 1st Interstate Tower. They used the front of our garagefor the infirmerary. I stayed unitl 5:00am. Thought it rude to ask them to move injured people…

    PP

  17. Charlie Says:

    Aww I miss you guys! Too bad my hate for LA outweighs my love for you.

  18. Ashley Says:

    Dreamhost:

    Thanks so much for providing me with the requested information. I really appreciate it. I also have a customized badge, if you would like to post it on your site. I can e-mail it to you, if you contact me directly at ashley[at]izea[dot]com.

  19. VOO Says:

    So, did Josh leave his pocket book on his desk? Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

  20. Tim Says:

    Office upgrades ?!?!

    It would be nice if we could get the Debian upgrade which has been out for nearly 8 months now.

  21. VOO Says:

    Is that right Tim? You know what else would be nice? For you to lick a toad, have a hallucination and think you had turned into a ball hair and be fully convinced that you were stuck in someone’s teeth for the next 5 years. Then when they let you out of the nuthouse you might be humble enough not to bitch about this kind of shit on the company blog. I would imagine that they have some reasoning behind the version of Debian they use, and you always have the option to get a dedicated server and put whatever you dang well please on it.

  22. Barbara Says:

    I wonder how much that building’s gonna sway in an earthquake

  23. Kelly Says:

    Barbara: Considering how much it sways in a strong breeze, an earthquake should be pretty fun!

  24. Jimminy Cricket Says:

    I don’t want Debian upgrade. I don’t want lighthttpd etc.

    Happy New Year Dreamhost :)

  25. Marc Taylor Says:

    Sweet view and welcome into your new home!

    Happy New Year and best wishes for ‘08!

  26. Shawn Says:

    @Jimminy Cricket

    I don’t know about you but if a new version of the ultra-stable Debian release is available, I would like the upgrade.

    Maybe Dreamhost should consider offering additional software support for highly requested software solely to the DreamhostPS users (e.g. LiteSpeed, Memcached) since on a VPS it’s much easier to maintain and already has well defined security (not shared).

  27. Shawn Says:

    To clarify my last post, maybe Dreamhost should upgrade the Private Server users first (before the shared account users).

    As well as offer additional software support for packages which would be better utilized in a VPS setting (e.g. different web servers, caching, etc).

  28. Jimminy Cricket Says:

    Shawn, you do know about me because I said it.
    Stopping something from working to make it more reliable doesn’t sound good to me.

  29. Will Says:

    Did Jimminy Cricket just say that he doesn’t want an upgrade which makes his web host more reliable and stable?

    I’m so confused.

    Happy news years y’ll.

  30. theFrenchPickler Says:

    I wanna play Rock Band 50 stories high, too! Great choice in new office space. I’m impressed. Can I come fix your bathroom?

  31. Helen Chambers Says:

    To all my Dreamhost Admins:
    May you have a wonderful New Year in 2008 and congrats on your new office building!
    *Hugs*
    Helen

  32. Elaine Vigneault Says:

    Wow, nice building. Looks like you had a lot of fun.

  33. Christine Says:

    While I’m real happy and all about your new spiffy office, I’m disappointed to see that you felt it necessary to take a stretch hummer to your Christmas party. Seeing as you’re supposed to be a green company, what with the Carbon-Neutral Hosting and all that? Consistency is key, guys.

  34. andabeat Says:

    i was frightened before that you guys were in LA of US of A, now that i see you are in one of the highest buildings there in earth quake and terrorist prone LA. i’m terrified!

  35. Jim Duyon Says:

    You guys rock! I’m so impressed with dreamhost, it’s control panel is amazing, simple and easy to use. Finally was able to escape from godaddy hell.

    Congrats on the new office, hopefully I can take my business to that level one day.

    Best Wishes.

    Jim Duyon

  36. ETechno Says:

    Congrats on your success! Hope you all succeed and to many more years to come!!!

  37. angrys0ul Says:

    great, keep it goign

  38. Dallas Says:

    @Christine : A stretch hummer limousine actually uses less gas than the individual cars it would have taken combined. A small bus would not have been any better, either.

  39. Mayumi Says:

    can i come play pool?

  40. narayan thapa Says:

    It’s great.. to read and feel what you team are feeling..

    hehehe, i know it will not happen however.. i wish to be there on your team.. :)

  41. Tony Rayo Says:

    Hey, in the first picture there is what looks like a tin Spongebob. Even if it’s cardboard or some other material, could J.J. tell us how it came to become in his possession? I ask because it looks like it’d make a great mini/micro-itx motherboard setup.

    - Tony R.

  42. Hanns Says:

    This is awesome, to know that I have my sites hosted by a group of cool peps!

  43. Rolando Brown Says:

    My goodness. This is so dope!
    Keep doing it!

  44. RichardOgima Says:

    Hey guys,

    Thanks for the invite to your xmas party, great blog as well. I really enjoyed the read and looking into “the behind scenes” of dreamhost.

    Best,

    Richard

  45. Giancarlo Marino Says:

    After seeing you office and you Christmas party, I hate you.

    Well, I’d like to work for you, I could play bass in you band, but I live in Italy!

    Yes, I hate you.

  46. Mark Says:

    There’s some serious ‘beardage’ going on at Dreamhost. A very hirstute company.

    Great blog, as always. See, Americans can be funny ;)

    (I jest…)

  47. David Grenier Says:

    I expect Hans Gruber to be dropping by any time.

  48. Bob Says:

    Hey guys,

    I always presumed that the servers were at a third party co-location facility. Is that true, or should I now be worried about outages?

  49. Bill Choat Says:

    From the looks of your photos, you need an older (wiser) man around there. I guess I’ll have to come out there and get you young whipper-snappers in line.
    :-) It would be like having your great-grandpa (I’m 73) being there. Actually, you all are doing a great job for our American Bonsai Nursery site….keep up the good work.

  50. Max Says:

    Great now I can drive downtown and pound on your door when my site is down. Thanks for the tip on EXACTLY where you are…

    :) Congrats on the new digs

  51. Terry Says:

    Looks like a great party, but what you guys need is a Human Resource Professional (ME!) to curtail any inappropriate behavior and play bass in the band. Also to prevent lawsuits filed by those who didn’t like the food.

    Nice place downtown, but I live close to Brea.

    Later,
    Terry

  52. Nancy White Cassidy Says:

    Thanks for sharing your video. Looks like you guys have way too much fun to call it work! But you’re still my favorite host server! Keep up the good work!

    Nancy

  53. Dave Says:

    I see my crappy little house!!!!

  54. e-z Says:

    Some advice: Move the pool table away from the windows. Someone *will* (not *may*) hop a ball off the table and hit the window, possibly causing damage to the glass, the ball, or people (or some combination thereof). $0.02

  55. Alberto Says:

    Great digs, but be sure you are up to the run down endless flights of stairs until your quads seize up earthquake drill.

    I have to concur with Simon Jersey, #2 supra. It’s 2008 guys! I was doing remote administration from the Bay Area for a site in Cologne, Germany in 1996 when all we had was teeny bandwidth. Face time is great with people, but the ICs don’t care!

    (No, I’m too old, anyway, and I reached my lifetime exposure to SoCal already.)

    Regards,

  56. Phil Says:

    Awesome offices, hope you guys had a great Christmas and are having a happy new year.

    Was that a keyboard in the shower?

  57. Jason Says:

    Nice Christmas party guys,
    Now sort out that shyte you call roundcube e-mail. Can’t import e-mail lists, can’t add signatures, can’t do much at all actually. pile of shyte. Add some functionality, its medieval.

  58. Todd Says:

    That corrugated metal stuff was awesome!

  59. Alex Says:

    “If your next web hosting bill from us is mysteriously tripled, now you know why.”

    My bill went up 24-fold this month!?

  60. lw Says:

    elite office. I am so glad your move worked out well for drinking, and partying. My 3 kids did not have a Christmas, or a happy new year, because I keep loosing business from hosting with your services, temp downtime here, error server message there, and now that my last clients are leaving me today, I will have plenty of time on my hands to figure out where to go next. Thanx dreamhost, my dream of working for my self is over.

    $7,500,000 must be a great boost for your company, I wonder how many late fees this created for us, $262,500 worth, if every thousand dollars received created a $35.00 nsf fee. and my sites are still down, you would think that the money you “earned” could fix some of these problems. my recessions started early this morning.

    please fix the “Site Temporarily Unavailable
    We apologize for the inconvenience. Please contact the webmaster/ tech support immediately to have them rectify this.

    error id: “bad_httpd_conf” ” problem so I can get back some dignity, and maybe new clients.

  61. lw Says:

    lw ^ you are a freaking idiot if any of that is serious. why would you rely on dreamhost for business-critical service?

  62. Rob Ashton Says:

    “why would you rely on dreamhost for business-critical service?”

    Quoted for truth.

    I am not a DH customer, but this is an incredibly responsible attitude from the company.
    I’m not entirely sure about the jokey manner in which the blog is presented, as it’s a serious matter and it’s not how I’d like to be spoken to – but that’s purely a personal preference.

    The content is all that matters, and the content is well meant and honorable.

  63. bezpłatne ogłoszenia Says:

    Nice video tour! HAPPY new year, DreamHost!

  64. Matt Says:

    @Dallas. TOUCHE’. Christine is eating Crow now.

    LOL

  65. George Duyon Says:

    Would like to contact Jim Duyon

  66. Min Thu Says:

    Very nice views, Happy DreamHost.

  67. alican Says:

    hahah nice! :)

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