| Finally! Now I can get some sleep... |
[Jun. 12th, 2008|04:54 pm] |
Well, I just FTP'd the final production run of my client's data. After nine months of work, the final deliverable has been, well, delivered.
After all the weekends, late nights, and occasional 24 hour days, it's finally done. This is such a huge relief, and a great burden lifted off me. Although since I've been working on this project nearly all my waking hours for the past few months, I wonder if I even remember what it's like to have time for myself. I have this feeling that I'm supposed to be doing something, even though it's done.
I'm sure work will find something for me to do with all my new free time though. This weekend the President of the company will be in Asia trying to line up a deal that I would be assigned to lead. Hopefully I'll spend the second half of the year in Asia. |
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| What I've being doing on my summer vacation... |
[May. 27th, 2008|11:15 am] |
... not taking a vacation apparently.
I've been working flat out on my current project at work for the past few months. Twelve hour days, weekends, it's been a real burn out. It hasn't left a whole lot of extra time to actually have a life. A few weeks more though and the project will be done and I'll be off for Dusseldorf and Luxembourg. I'll start on a new project a few weeks after I get back but I've been told that I'll be pulled off and given the China project if we get that account, which is what I really want.
My review went nicely though. Once again they received a lot of good comments from my clients. Apparently no one else gets feedback from clients like I do, which I find odd. I've now worked on/managed the two most profitable projects my company has ever had. Also good for me.
Somehow in between work I've managed to fit in a little fun. The occasional drink after work, video game, or movie with friends. Crap, mostly I think I've just worked for the past three months. :/ Joined a gym and I'm a little surprised just how much I've been enjoying it. In a year I'm gonna be buff. :P
Hopefully work will calm down, I'll start having a life again, and I can post something more interesting then. |
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| A couple photo sets |
[Apr. 12th, 2008|05:45 pm] |
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Finally got around to putting up a few more photos.
First up, the Easter party.
For the table top gamers out there, one BIG table.
And just a random shot of the B-Side I happen to like a lot. |
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| Interviewing, from the other side of the table |
[Apr. 7th, 2008|03:22 pm] |
Uhg, I dread interviewing. By that I mean I dread interviewing and phone screening potential employees of our company. For some reason I find it difficult to judge their ability to really do their job. I never really know what to ask them. Recently I did come across a query in our code that would make a great technical question.
So, anyone know whats wrong with this query?
SELECT *
FROM TableAlpha A
LEFT JOIN TableBeta B ON A.fk = B.pk
WHERE B.Field = "Foo"
Ok, off to interview someone who's been in the industry for 25+ years. What the heck will I ask him?! |
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| With power comes responsibility... |
[Dec. 11th, 2007|07:17 pm] |
... and sometimes being responsible for things can be tough.
Earlier this year I was promoted to Tech Lead and placed in charge of the entire engineering effort of one of our major client projects. This is a great opportunity as it pulls me off the engineering "floor" and puts me strait into the boardrooms. It has, however, been quite the crash course learning experience. While I have the engineering side of things down pat, I'm finding I have a lot to learn about being a manager of people. Like how to manage time for employees who can't manage their own time, how to get incompetent employees to write good code on time when they have no idea what they are doing, or how to get eomployees who dont seem to understand english very well to understand what I am saying.
Or, like today, how to decide whether or not to fire someone. Firing someone is not as easy as one one think. Especially when the employee is a really great person, whom everyone likes, and is trying very very hard and putting in a lot of hours. It's just that he's not, well, a very good software engineer. My project has strict deadlines, big payment milestones, and some complex work. But this decision effects a lot of lives. This is this fellows job I'm deciding. It'll effect his life, his wife's life, probably not in a good way. But if I keep him I risk endangering the project. I have to explain to management why we didn't get paid 250k on friday because someone in engineering missed a milestone. And that effects me, my project manager, my entire team as well. Do I sink the careers of at least four people for one nice fellow? As tech lead, I don't just have a say in what happens, I have the only say. It's my job and the responsibility starts and ends with me.
So today I learned a bit more about managing people, exercised my power, made a decision, and hope like heck I made the right one, because now I'm responsible for it.... |
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| I'm in yur cloudz, snowing on yur headz |
[Nov. 20th, 2007|11:35 am] |
If you open a new blank page in notepad, you will see exactly the same thing I am seeing out of my office.
Forty four floors up and apparently inside a cloud of snow. I can't see the ground. Wonder what it's like down there. |
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| Housewarming party this Saturday, Nov 10th |
[Nov. 5th, 2007|11:34 am] |
I know I'm a little late on this, but my house is throwing a housewarming party this Saturday, Nov 10th.
10 Madison Ave
Cambridge MA
02140
Plenty of parking in our driveway. Right off the bike path between Alewife and Davis square. Post if you need directions. |
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| I'm really good at this game... |
[Oct. 6th, 2007|05:47 pm] |
Reached my savings goal early again this year.
Half my funds are returning around 13-14%.
The other half are returning around 30-34%
One is returning it's usual 65% and is on track to hit it's usual 80-90% for the year.
This despite the blow I took when the markets tanked. Actually it's odd, I seem to do better when the markets do poorly. |
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| Open Req's, we need developers! |
[Oct. 4th, 2007|06:39 pm] |
Well, my project is going great, and the company is doing great, but we need more people and we need them soon!
If anyone is a software developer or knows a software developer, could you send them my way. We're looking for people who would be willing to join our team (ie, not contractors who want to leave after two months) and want to work for a great growing company. As anyone who's talked to me lately knows, I love my job! My company rocks. And if you worked here you'd love it too!
And the best part is, you'd get to be my minion! Now, go get me some minions!
Oh, and yes, we did try raising zombies, but they aren't very productive and you can't bring them on client sites. And it'll be another year before the giant killer robots come online. |
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| What I did on my summer vacation... |
[Oct. 3rd, 2007|08:20 am] |
It's been awhile since I've posted a real update. I think it might have to wait awhile longer though. After returning from my project in Europe, I was promoted and put in charge of a new client project. So now I'm down in Tri-Cities, Tenn., busy as heck. This area is dull as heck. The client is great however and the project is going very well.
Just found out last night that I'm in the pole position for getting our new Chinese client, based out of Hong Kong. I'm hoping that this time next year I'll be in Hong Kong for a few months, in charge of that project.
And now out of time, gotta pick up the co-workers. |
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| The bad side of being good |
[Oct. 1st, 2007|10:56 pm] |
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The downside of being your companies data migration expert is that they call you at 10:30 to write an emergency specification document due the next morning. And right after I just got back to my hotel room after finally finishing up work for the day. Sigh. |
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| An hour of charm |
[Sep. 21st, 2007|03:11 pm] |
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I'm thinking of starting off my weekend with an hour with Sxip, and his hour of charm, tonight at the Arrow Theater in Harvard Sq. I've heard it's pretty good. Anyone else up for a bit of caberet? |
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| Dim Sum |
[Aug. 14th, 2007|10:41 am] |
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I'm planning on going for Dim Sum Sunday morning. If you're interested, drop me a line. |
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| Yearly Review |
[Jun. 22nd, 2007|05:02 pm] |
I really love my job and the company I work for. I don't think I've ever been happier with work. Today I learned that my company is as happy with me as I am with them.
Oh, and the promotion didn't hurt either. |
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| Old friends in new places |
[Jun. 3rd, 2007|10:40 pm] |
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Finally! A vacation! Apparently I suck at going on vacation since I've agreed to work tomorrow at the London office. On the other hand, London's not such a bad place to put in half a days work. There is a castle across the street after all.
Yesterday I spent with my favorite ex-Bostonite Andi and her husband Uncle Nemesis. Lunch was a picnic in beautiful Richmond park, previously the king's private hunting grounds. It was rather surreal to still be in London yet sitting by a herd of hundreds of wild deer. Then i was off to their flat for curry chips and to meet Fred, London's best mouser. It's been too long since I last saw Andi so it was fantastic to meet up and see how well she's doing. It's funny, she hasn't changed a bit. Soon as I figure out how to post videos I'll put Andi's video message to Boston up.
Today I wandered off to North London and Camden Town. Wow, that place is like a playground. Hundreds of shops and stalls. Maybe I should have stopped in London last, because there's no way I can cart all the stuff I wanted around the rest of Europe for 15 days.
yeah, so thats a brief update. The past two weeks have been great as well. The project went smooth, and we went live last monday. No data issues at all so I'm covered. This has probably turned out to be the smoothest data migration and roll out my company has ever done, so I'm pretty proud of it. I actually had a lot of fun in Eindhoven as well. I love the dutch and I hope I get the chance to work with them again. Ok, the food leaves a little to be desired, but they make up for it in beautiful women.
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| For lunch, Dutch style. |
[May. 23rd, 2007|01:13 pm] |
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In typical Dutch fashion, lunch was a choice between a bacon and curry sandwich, or spahgetti with a hardboiled egg on top. The Dutch seem to like eggs, lunch yesterday was whitebread with a fried egg on top. Yum! |
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| And I'm off... |
[May. 20th, 2007|11:26 am] |
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Last night was fantastic, I am so glad I didn't stay home and spend the night packing. But now I must head off into the rain and start this trip! |
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| Off to foreign shores... |
[May. 15th, 2007|12:07 pm] |
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My latest project is finally coming to an end. Sunday I fly out for the Netherlands to start the final migration run for our client. Work should wrap up on the 1st of June. This leaves me 20 days to travel around Europe as my return flight isn't until the 20th of June. The tenative plan is to head east to Berlin and then travel further on to Prague before hopping on whatever cheap flight I can get back to Amsterdam to catch my plane back to the states.
Money will be tight, so any suggestions on where to stay in Berlin and Prague? Anyone know anyone I should meet up with over there? |
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| Photo's, take two. |
[May. 10th, 2007|04:17 pm] |
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Hmm, I forgot the actual link to my flickr photos. Lets try this again...
Linky |
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[May. 8th, 2007|04:57 pm] |
Well I've finally figured out how to use Flickr.
Just a sample of whats up there. Hmm, I think I need to register because I have a lot more to put up. |
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mikespe's journal