A senior manager at Google in Taipei approached me on Hacker News to have an "informal chat" and was pressuring me to interview there, saying he would put in a

A senior manager at Google in Taipei approached me on Hacker News to have an "informal chat" and was pressuring me to interview there, saying he would put in a good word. I declined to apply, partly because of this side project issue. My side projects don't even get users. I just can't bear to be forbidden from doing something I enjoy (writing code), just because I also do that same thing I enjoy for someone else several hours a day. To me, it seems like an overly attached girlfriend/boyfriend. The lack of trust just puts a damper on the relationship.