Good News!

So I was notified my services would not be required as of October 1 on September 23.

On September 27, the fellow who taught me how BAs fit into Agile Development (yeah, I capitalized it, wanna make sumpin of it?) calls me in the evening, after work.

We exchange pleaseantries and he asks if I'd be interested in working on a potentially Huge Project (yeah, I did it again, didn't I?) downtown for a non-profit.

Now, I hate communting into the city for any reason. Besides being a big guy (OK. I'm fat), one knee has arthitis I found out four months ago) and the other's patella (knee cap-pretty cool that I knew that- I watch Bones) is improperly placed all of a sudden (which I found out on the same visit).  Then the left foot went numb- the MRI (Magnetic Resonance Something or Other- I'm on a roll, no?) says two important disks are either pinching or something. Oh yeah, you have mild neuropathy (duh, I'm diabetic)- surgery really isn't an option- go get PT (Physical Therapy- this medical stuiff just rolls off my tongue, doesn't it?), that'll be $750 please.

Well- that's why I hated going into the city, I thought as I mildly said, "Hell yeah," to my former and now current boss-guy. But for the rate, I guess I can take a cab,

Just like last time I worked at Pathfinder (the other names change by the phase of the moon- first it was Pathfinder Associates [PFA]- that changed to Pathfinder Development [PFD] after I was 'flipped' from contracter to employee (they don't have to pay me as much, but I get paid holidays) and now it's (I think) Pathfinder Software [PFS]). That marketing stuff is better handled by the experts, not moi.

So I went downtown exactly once. The two hugely intelligent guys doing the rationale for revamping the non-profit's IT Architecture pretty much handled it exquistely. I did some wiki stuff that nobody will use- just like 2005-1008.

And just like 2005-2008, another project desperately needed help, and I got assigned. It was originally for three days a week, but the non-profit project won't need me until the overall project gets approved and my company gets a piece of it (happy assumptions here).

So I'm working with a, as per usual for PFA/D/S, superb team with an exteremely talented whipper-snapper Project Manager (he can't be a day over 20 even if he graduated at Georgia Tech with a Masters and worked there for a number of years and has two kids). The project is exceedinlgy complex as a result of business requirements (pretty much standard for all the projects I've worked on).

But it's supposed to go through January- probably even longer since it's health related and there's a lot of FDA junk that needs to be done.

While I'm happy as a pig in...um..er...you know, I still can't figger out how the hell I dumbly get assigned to projects with really smart people. Blind luck? Probably....

Update

So my time at large financial company is over. Like October 1.

The time was well spent in a cool project. Except:

• How can you create a new user look and feel when you've already coded, marketed and have begun user instructions when half the application before you hire the UxD or BA contractors, and then demand they adhere to non-existent control and design standards?
• Why does the head honcho not know such a major overhaul requires an As-Is snap shot to make certain the requirement "All previous version functionalities must be present in the new version" is met?
• How can you deal with a project manager that asks contracting companies, half way through the project, to prepare bids without budget requirements and on what basis the company will choose its contracting team.

Yeah. My team lost.

Oh well. I got paid, I created some useful, if convoluted, requirements and diagrams. And worked with some really sharp people.

Since I don't have to support the application on implementation, I'd say it was a fair trade. But I feel bad for the folks that have to stay.