A New Assignment

Many of you do not really know what I do (at work).  Really!  My tasks as a Senior Consultant (whatever that is) have evolved from the exhiliration of programming (composing software, then testing it) to what is called a System Analyst.  SA's don't compose the software, they collect requirements for what the customer wants, then design it and embody that design in a written specification, then give it to programmer's, now called "developers", to create it. SA's test what developers create to see if they got it right.  SA's also find already created software and help in demonstrations to the customer, decisions about what to buy, then help install, configure, test and deploy the software for general use.

About 8 months ago I finished a project for the Agriculture Weights and Measures Dept. of SD County that was basically full time work.  With some project managers leaving the company, and the tough economy, I basically asked management permission to go to all project managers and ask for any small pieces of work for SA's they might have.  I ended up working for 6 project managers on 15 different deliverables, always working to make sure I met delivery deadlines.  This provided enough billable hours to stay employed, but I always lived in fear of too many deliverables coming due simultaneously or having enough to do.  I thanked God for the employment (which is dismal in the computer field right now) and kept on plugging.

Guess what I got for Christmas this year?  A new assignment!

I am taking over for another SA that just left for a position with QualComm. This assignment has me tasked about 150%. I'm expected to carry this ball myself.  This will allow me to concentrate on one customer, and take on a new area of functionality that this old scientist is pretty comfortable with. Yes, long ago in another life I was a staff microbiologist at UCSD medical center and used some of the same equipment that APCD uses to measure pollutants.  Mass spectrophotometers,  gas/liquid chromatographs,  etc. etc.

I will work at the APCD offices M-W-F, and my Northrup Grumman office T-Th.  Nice digs! So for the next two months I will be pretty busy getting this new horse broken in and aiming to recover my personal hours for fun like,  well,  you know,..... blogging, dating (Jeanne), surfing, Bible Study, Super Bowl, or whatever.  I'm grateful for this change, and I believe God had it in mind before I ever knew about it.  I trust, and He provides.  So my posts may be fewer, but you will understand I know.  Thanks!