Hopefully I can write more tomorrow, but today has been super busy at work.  We have a deadline to release the next version of our software on Monday and we still have a lot of work left to do.  So far this short week I’ve put in twelve hours Tuesday and eleven hours yesterday in the office.  That’s a lot of overtime that I wish I got paid for.  I’m hoping to get out a little earlier tonight, but time will tell.  I’m really just hoping that I don’t have to work this weekend, as that could ruin my plans for WordCamp on Saturday.

The following video was recently shown to our group at work.  It features one of our directors briefly describing the project that I’ve spent a lot of time on recently.  I figured it would help summarize exactly what it is we are trying to accomplish in my new role.

The day has finally arrived! I have my very own laptop for the first time. Sure it is a work laptop, but I am excited nonetheless. Being a self-diagnosed computer addict, it may come as a surprise that I’ve never owned a laptop before, but I have multiple desktop machines to make up for it. I’ve wanted a laptop for some time, but always talked myself out of it. When the opportunity for a new work machine came, I was happy to go the laptop route, especially in my new position where we are constantly moving from cubes, to laps, and to meeting rooms. This machine, a Dell Precision M4500, is a monster and will be great to work with. It features an Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition processor, Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, and NVIDIA Quadro FX 880M graphics card, and 4 GB RAM!

My week in Kansas City has flown by.  I didn’t even get the chance to write yesterday, which is a pretty rare occurrence, though something that seems to be happening recently much more often.  I’ve seen some friends, hung out with coworkers, eaten some good food, and even taken a ride in a Porsche.  They had a farewell lunch for me today, as I hope this is the last time I’m back in KC for work, though time will tell.  If it is the last time, I’m sure we will be back for a fun weekend in the future.  So long Kansas City.

A lot of things have been happening at work recently.  My new team has been hard at work to release a new version of our product, as well as prepare for a big trade show next week.  I started dedicating more time to the project this week, and am now up to 75% of my time.  The other 25% is still spent on the transition for the old project.  But it looks like that is going to change again for next week.  I will likely be taking a last-minute trip to Kansas City on Monday to help directly in the transition, and I won’t have much time to work on my new project.  I’m really enjoying the new project and I’m looking forward to getting back to it after next week.  Another great thing is that I will soon be getting my own work laptop to replace my aging office desktop.  That will really help out, though I wish I already had it for next week’s trip.

I wish I could say I forgot to write because I’ve been watching so much basketball. But I’ve actually been so busy at work and away from an Internet connection all afternoon. The new group I’m a part of had two servers that should have been delivered early in the week. Well they didn’t show up until four yesterday. We only have until tomorrow afternoon to get them setup before they are shipped away. So I’ve been logging some extra hours the past couple days. At least it won’t interfere with the weekend though. Plus I’m actually enjoying the challenging work.

So far this week I’ve split my time between my old and new projects at work.  Mornings have been spent with the old, and afternoons are spent with the new.  It’s actually a pretty nice divider for the day, especially since I’ve worked my mornings from home and then coming into the office for the afternoon.  As of now, I can’t really work from home on the new project, so this is a good way to do it for the next month or so.  After that point I’m supposed to be dedicating more time to the new project, so I’m not sure what I’ll be doing then.  I’m enjoying the new work so far, even though it’s mostly been meeting thus far.  I’m sure that will all start changing really soon though.

Today has been a hectic day!  If you didn’t already know, I’m in the process of moving to a new position with my company.  My current position is actually being outsourced, so I consider myself lucky to have found another opportunity so quickly.  I’m in a transition phase with my current position, and haven’t started moving into my new role yet.  The project lead for my new position was in town today and he scheduled a meeting to welcome myself and two others into the group.  The problem was that I had planned to work from home today.  I didn’t find out about the meeting until half hour into my work day, with only about an hour and half notice.  So I had to rush to get down to the office in time to attend the meeting.  My work from home days may be numbered, but I’m excited for my new opportunity!

My trip to Kansas City is just about over, in more ways than one. I finally got some KC BBQ for lunch today, which pretty much wrapped up the trip. A group of ten of us from work headed to the Summit Hickory Pit. I’ve been many times before and have always enjoyed the food. This time was no different, great lunch!

Now I’m waiting to board the plane to fly back. I’m really hoping to see the sun upon arrival. It’s been hiding the entire time I’ve been in town. And I’m told it’s been missing for an entire week. That’s rough!

I took an early flight this morning to Kansas City.  It is time for my sort of annual trip for work.  The last time I was here was back in July of 2008, so it’s been a little longer than a year.  The office itself hasn’t changed much.  We are in different groups than my last visit, so many people have moved offices and cubes, but the layout is nearly the same as it’s always been.  It’s nice to be able to catch up with some of the people in my group, some of whom I’m meeting in person for the first time.  And it’s also nice to catch up with all of those that I used to work with that are still around.  I’m hoping to see some other folks while I’m in town for the reminder of the week.  It looks like it will be a busy couple of days.