Friday, September 24, 2004
Night before last
It's the night before my last day here. Here. I spent a week in New York rolling out a product that I always thought was kinda neat but "below" the dignity of some programmers. Most programmers would look at these requirements and not even bother, but I took it as a challenge to learn and grow and help and ... well, it just needed getting done. It's a stockroom management system (unlike so many others - this one's smart).
So, I hit the ground last Monday and attempted to convert 3 sites to the new program in 5 days. I was up until 2:00 am on three of the days. One night until 11:00 pm and tonight, I'm sitting in my hotel room with a beer.
Success? Overwhelming success, but there's still work to do. My new customers are so happy to see what my program can do versus the program they had been using - one person physically jumped up and down and clapped. Thanks God, for calming me down when my brain was getting fried and I was running up against the clock.
I put in whiz-bang technology where it could be best utilized, but keep it completely out if it didn't make sense. (τεχνολογία χάριν τεχνολογία - or, technology for the sake of technology has never been my thing)
I automated and streamlined their workflow so they have about 30% less process overall. What are they going to do with all this extra time on their hands? Anyway, it felt great to see the appreciation in their eyes. It gave me a sense of accomplishment - like I somehow helped Humanity.
So, I hit the ground last Monday and attempted to convert 3 sites to the new program in 5 days. I was up until 2:00 am on three of the days. One night until 11:00 pm and tonight, I'm sitting in my hotel room with a beer.
Success? Overwhelming success, but there's still work to do. My new customers are so happy to see what my program can do versus the program they had been using - one person physically jumped up and down and clapped. Thanks God, for calming me down when my brain was getting fried and I was running up against the clock.
I put in whiz-bang technology where it could be best utilized, but keep it completely out if it didn't make sense. (τεχνολογία χάριν τεχνολογία - or, technology for the sake of technology has never been my thing)
I automated and streamlined their workflow so they have about 30% less process overall. What are they going to do with all this extra time on their hands? Anyway, it felt great to see the appreciation in their eyes. It gave me a sense of accomplishment - like I somehow helped Humanity.
