The dot.com bubble burst, five years later

A couple of recent blogs by Om reminded me of the dot.com bubble that “burst” five years ago this month. You know, the one where everyone’s sky-high stock prices came tumbling down and a bunch of people lost their shirts.

While I didn’t lose my shirt when the bubble burst, the bubble definitely burst at a peculiar time. I had some stock options with my employer at a particularly good price. The stock price of the company was particularly high and growing higher as my vesting date approached. I was licking my chops. Just a few weeks before that date hit, the stock market went into the toilet, and so did my chance to “cash in” on the dot.com bubble. I’m still a little disappointed at this missed opportunity, even if there was nothing I could have done about it.

On the other hand, I’ve managed to keep a well-paying job at the same employer for the past 6 years, even during the lean years. I make enough that my family and I are comfortable. We live well within our means. Maybe I didn’t strike it rich, but compared to many people who crashed and burned in the dot.com bubble, I feel quite fortunate.

Maybe I can strike it rich in the VoIP bubble. Even if I can’t, I’ll be happy if I can keep providing a steady income for my family.