Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Somewhere Different Now
Last summer, I got to see the Indigo Girls live in concert. It was such an amazing experience. The opening group was called Girlyman.
Today, I bought Girlyman’s new album from the iTunes Music Store, Somewhere Different Now, which was recorded live. They’re really funny, and it’s just like you’d hear them onstage. The banter and improv between the three of them is just great. The improv tuning songs are the best.
If you’re a Girlyman fan, this is worth buying.
Maintenance Windows
I read a lot of blogs, usually. So far this week, it hasn’t worked out that way. I’ve been really busy at work, and the days seem to fly by.
One of the things I started doing was taking an inventory of all of the database servers on our network. There are roughly 20 that I need to be aware of, and about 15 that I need to be supporting. So one of the first things I started dong was inventorying what we have. What I saw was a call for action. When you factor in service packs, we had six different versions of SQL Server in the environment. In my eyes, we should have two, SQL 2000 SP4 and SQL 2005 SP2. Everything should be at the most recent stable version of the major release. At least that’s how I see it. So after talking to my boss, we’re identified eight servers that require action. I’m a freak for consistency.
This is where it gets good. We were talking about one application that’s owned by marketing, and the other is owned by engineering. I asked who I should talk to in the business for scheduling downtime. He gave me names. In fact, he called the guy from engineering while I was still in the office, and the business owner takes responsibility for letting the appropriate people within (or outside) the business know that a system will be down. IT doesn’t own responsibility for notifying the user community in these cases. After my last company where IT was responsible for everything, this is really great.
After a few days, I’m really digging my job. Sure, there are a few things I really miss about Shawmut. How could there not be? At the same time, I’m now working for a technology company, which in itself is cool. Better yet, I’m working for one that understands the need for scheduled downtime and maintenance windows. My new company has a diverse employee base, and people just accept people for their talent.
As far as my work, I like to think I’m kicking some ass right now. Taking a cue from someone I learned a lot from at Shawmut, my first step right now is collecting information. (and getting things on a consistent version) I’m starting to collect database file sizes on a nightly basis so that we can trend this. I’m also collecting things like drive space, versions, revisions, and service pack levels. We’re putting it all into a centralized database so that it can be reported upon.
At Shawmut, I had one primary database server that had almost all of our key business applications on it, a non-critical apps server, and a bunch of little DB servers that did other things. Here, I have about 15 servers. At Shawmut, I used Crystal to pull data, and here I need to start using Microsoft’s Reporting services. It’s a learning curve, but a good challenge for me.
One thing I don’t like is that Shawmut was really good about sending us to user conferences, and I don’t think my boss here is quite the fan. I was hoping to go to the SQL PASS conference this year, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. I may be going to training for our ERP system later in the year, though. Atlanta in October may not be so bad.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Hitting the Ground Running
Today was my first day at the new job. There certainly wasn’t a dull moment. As soon as I walked in the door, my boss had me working on a problem with a system. I think that we got the problem solved. It was a great introduction to the folks in customer support.
My new boss is a riot. His office is in the server room, which is behind a locked door. So instead of knocking before walking in, the card reader beeps, which lets him know somebody is coming in.
I left the office at 7:45. It was a long day. And then my boss called to thank me for my work on my first day.
Yup, I’m going to like it here.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Change You Can Make in Photoshop
Oh, my…
Friday, June 27, 2008
Leaving Shawmut
Today is my last day at Shawmut. It’s bittersweet. While I’m really excited about my new job, it’s sad to be leaving here. Having done IT consulting/contracting work a good chunk of my career, it feels good to be in control of when I leave a company. Having typically been at the mercy of projects and the market, this is a really big boost to my confidence.
So....
- I’m going to miss the people here. God, I’m going to miss the people. They make this company was it is.
- I’m going to miss working in the south end. There are just so many gay men here.
- I’m going to miss taking the train into the city. I’m NOT going to miss getting from North Station to the office.
- I’m going to miss having an office with a door that can be closed.
- I’m going to miss planning Shawmut’s participation in Pride next year. That doesn’t mean I won’t join them in the parade, though.
- I’m going to miss our diversity consultant. Lorie from Visions is amazing.
- I’m going to miss our CIO. We have such similar views of the world in terms of technogy.
- I’m going to miss our support manager. She’s taught me a lot.
- I’m going to miss our business analyst. She’s become one of my closest friends.
- I’m going to miss our lead developer. He’s amazing.
- I’m going to miss my boss. Even though we don’t always agree on things, he’s one of the best managers I’ve ever had.
However…
- I’m going to enjoy a shorter commute most days.
- I’m going to enjoy having a cube where I can see the sunlight, rain, or snow.
- I’m going to enjoy working for a company that has to be SOX compliant.
- I’m going to enjoy working for a boss who doesn’t understand databases and can teach me more about networks.
- I’m going to enjoy having more control over the infrastructure my database servers live on.
I love this company. And it’s time to close out this chapter of my life in typical Shawmut fashion, celebrating it with the coworkers who have become my friends. We’ll be at J. J. Foley’s in the South End starting at 4:00.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Saying Goodbye
My boss and I parted ways today, and that was harder than I had thought it would be. He’s going to be out the rest of the week, so he took me out to lunch.
I’ve been incredibly fortunate in my career because I’ve worked for some amazing people, and my current boss is certainly no exception.
Leaving on Friday is going to be very hard. At the same time, I’m really looking forward to my new job. I’m going into it with a confidence I’ve never had when starting a new job, and that feels really good.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Getting Kisses
Photo 58
Originally uploaded by mikehillwig
One of my favorite toys on the Macbook is Photobooth. Try catching a photo like this with any other camera.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Pasta Pesto and Peas
Ina Garten makes her classic Pasta, Pesto, and Peas, and I made my take on it last night while my friend Seth was here. I pulled some basil out of my flower boxes and used some parsley, too, since I didn’t have enough basil ready. I made some homemade pesto and tossed it in with bowtie pasta and peas. It wasn’t bad at all. There were a few lessons learned, though. First, this needs lots of Parmesan cheese, and I only had a little bit. Second, tons of basil is a must. Third, toasted pine nuts in the pasta as well as in the pesto would work well. I had only added pine nuts to the pesto.
Still, for a first attempt, it wasn’t bad. This could very easily become a staple when attending any type of event.
Farewell Gathering
One of my coworkers sent an e-mail message announcing my farewell gathering to both Boston offices. We’ll be meeting at Foleys in the South End on Friday at 4:00.
The reality of the situation is starting to sink in that I’m actually leaving here.
Reggie in the Flowers
PICT7702.JPG
Originally uploaded by mikehillwig
Getting Reggie to pose among all of the flowers was not an easy task. In fact, getting these few shots was a lot of work.