(The Dale Blank) REDEMPTION

[WhiteValleyHerp]

WARNING: Rambling Drivel To Follow.....

As some of you may know, I've been in a more-than-mild financial crisis over the past year or so; there have been some health issues, automotive issues, and most importantly, "under"-employment.

I recently rolled off of my prescriptions of Warfarin and Hydrochlorothiazide, from when I had my DVT/Pulmonary Embolism episode a couple of Novembers ago. One down, two to go.

In January, my black hole of cash ('92 Ford Ranger) finally kicked the bucket. Two down, one to go.

And as of yesterday at 4:00 pm CDT, I was offered a new job. Finally, the trifecta.

I'll be working (on a contract-to-hire basis) for Whittman-Hart Interactive, one of the country's best web development shops. It's going to be a long commute of 40 miles to their office, but dang, it's going to be worth it. Why?

1. Their reputation is unbelievable; their client list is almost exclusively "Fortune 500", and with this experience on my resume, I'll be able to "write my own ticket". Let's put it this way - the guy I'm replacing left to work for Google.
2. I am, finally and again, part of a team of geeks. The only way I improve my work is through peer reviews, and researching functionality and/or bugs is more efficient as part of a team than doing it as a singleton.
3. Even though it's an interactive marketing firm, all of the marketing-type suits - those buzzword speaking glad-handers who are without a soul (yeah, how do I really feel?) - are down in the Chicago HQ office. I'm essentially working in a "technology incubator".
4. I'm specifically working on bleeding-edge "rich internet application" projects; I get to work with Flash/Flex and the JavaScript "effects" libraries like Prototype/Scriptaculous, jQuery, and Mootools. All due respect to the mom and pop's in this world, but writing "brochure-ware" websites just doesn't cut it anymore.
5. Most important, I get to leave the hell-hole of a job that I'm currently in. Since losing two big clients at the end of '07, my hours (and thus, my pay), have become a mockery. Since November, I'd have actually earned more working retail at Petco again.

My first assignment? To take this web 'mash-up' from its current Beta release to a full production release. And living in Wisconsin, I couldn't have a better client on my resume.

Forgive my horn-tooting - it's just that it's been a helluva long time since I've been able to do so. To steal from Carlos' line about his first eggs, the text you're reading is woefully inadequate in describing how I feel.

Dale