It Never Rains But it Pours

2003 has been a slow year for me at work. I've had a few busy times, but there hasn't been a lot of meaty work for me. No more.

First, keep in mind that I have to start my special project in early September. That's when I go to Dayton, possibly for a month. After that, we have been told, I should expect to be unavailable for my normal responsibilities.

This was basically fine when I first heard it. It left me a few weeks to resolve some serious outstanding problems with a project we mostly stopped working on a year ago. I also had a training class scheduled for mid-August so I could learn about VB.NET for some reason.

Except I now have to go to Chicago for three days next week to train a client on our software and then help them design an application around it. The client suggested I stay at the W, which I'm looking forward to, and the miles get me ever-closer to the medallion status on Delta airlines that I crave. But it's time away from dealing with what I have to deal with.

Also, the organization sponsoring my VB.NET training called me this afternoon. After promising me that I'd be able to take the class in August "if [he had] to teach it [him]self," the sales guy called me to say that they had to cancel the class because no one else had signed up for it and he couldn't line up a trainer. August is the last chance for me to take a class this year, and if I don't take one, we lose the budget.

Meanwhile, a major law firm client who has been sitting on a project for over a year picks now as the time to move forward. This meant I had to go back to New York last night so I could meet with the client this morning, then come back to the shore this afternoon. The meeting was a success, in that the client agreed to the plan I discussed, and this means roughly $40,000 in revenue for my group. The drawback is that it takes up even more time that I no longer have to get started on design and paperwork before handing this project off to someone else. It's no cash out of my pocket, but I'm still going to be especially sad to give this one away: it involves Java and JSP, which I love but never get to use.

Going back last night, despite the hassle, had the benefit that I got to go to Rose's, which I had expected to miss. I missed a lot of the crowd, but some of the regulars were there, and I brought a friend. fangorn and I had a short discussion about whether I really am the miserable fuck I try to make myself out to be on LJ. I suggested that he sees me at my best. My friend and I left a little before midnight; she crashed on the sofabed.

I came back to the shore with a friend who chases ambulances for a living. According to my wife, the ambulance chaser told her once that I should "get off my high horse" and come to work for him. Maybe he has a point, maybe not.

But I digress.

I've rambled some, so I'm going to close with a quick recap. I will learn more details next Tuesday, but I expect that I will leave for Dayton on Monday, September 8. I will probably be there only for 2-4 weeks (but possibly longer), and I expect to work exclusively on this project for the rest of 2003. Before this happens and I fall off the face of the Earth (professionally speaking), I need to:

• Resolve the last of the serious problems with the old project;
• Find and take a weeklong VB.NET training course;
• Go to Chicago for three days; and
• Begin work on this new project for the major law firm client.

There's also another major law firm in Richmond that may want me to rebuild their application. I think they're in for a disappointment.

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