Soapbox Rants and Raves

Everyone keeps asking me why, what happened to your blog? Why did you stop posting? Unfortunately, it is very complicated answer… I really don’t want to go into the the details. Chances are, you have been in the same boat as me; placed on high profile, transformational project which needed to be done by a specific, non-movable date.  It was a rather large project when you consider how it was staffed; project managers, agile coaches, testing teams, analysis team, business liaisons, business consultants, architects, and a few developers. Combine this sizable staff with a new business vision, introduce some new technology requirements (ESB, BPM, Rules), and I think you will get a pretty clear picture of why I stopped blogging!  This was a very unique opportunity to finally “do it right”; we were able to complete the system last November/December and successfully migrate to production. It was a very stressful period of time for everyone on the team, spanning many months; this including canceled vacations, working weekends, and extremely long days. This is not really a rant, as we all have to go through these experiences at different times in our career, this is really more about what you can learn and can take away from the experience.  Fortunately, I was able to be a student of the process and observed and learned many valuable lessons, and even the reinforcement of many of my fundamental beliefs. Unfortunately, I just did not have the energy to share those thoughts and gave myself a break from blogging.  There are several topics that I do hope to go back and revisit, so you will have to keep on reading!!!!

Finally, the biggest change for me occurred last Friday. I was given the opportunity to take a package from my employer of eighteen years. I want to thank all of the people that guided and supported me during my time there, you know who you are.  I have so many fond memories, met so many great people, it was truly a wonderful time. You would not even believe some my stories from the early days, being chased by security guards (it was not my fault, really), to directing traffic on Wisconsin Ave, flying flight simulators in Silicon Valley with SUN engineers, to almost sitting in Steve Job’s office chair!  Combine this with the large number of projects and unique people that I was given the chance to work with, it was a great place to be. Fortunately, I did not think of my job as work, I was always given the opportunity to learn new things while continually working to innovate and improve the environment.   Anyway, times change, companies change, and people change.  The bottom line is that I am very happy, happier than I have been in a long time. I look at this as a blessing and something that will lead to even better opportunities…  I have no idea what those are, but have a little time to explore the landscape. Thanks again, for all of the personal messages…

What’s next?
Fortunately, I had been working on my resume for the last month, and hope to have it in a marketable state in the very near future. It is amazing how much time it takes to get this going! I have written more emails in the last few days, than I did in the last year! I’m also doing a lot of thinking, what type of place do I really want to work, I hope I have a choice!  I don’t really want a job, I want to be part of a company where I can contribute; I think there is subtle, but significant difference… I worked in a factory during college making all types of flexible steel hose, this was production, not contribution… Contribution is being part of a team, making a difference, having pride in what you do, while producing and meeting your goal. I hope this is not to much to ask!

I am going into learning mode, which makes me very happy… I plan to ramp up my blogging and get my writing skills back into shape. I really enjoy writing, weird! I have already rebuilt my Linux box and have it wired up to a domain, Share My Progress.  I have video conferencing setup via Skype, switched over to my Google Voice number for almost all of my phone calls, all running under Ubuntu 10.10. I had a really good idea yesterday, I’m going to blog about interview questions that I think are very interesting or tripped me up… I already have one in the hopper!