Spanky's Place

All in all, this was the best Lotusphere I've been to. I didn't write a review on all the sessions I attended (just the ones that I thought warranted one). The "Gurupalooza" and "Ask the Developers" sessions yesterday were awesome. Kudos to Julian for bringing up the "where is the class browser for LotusScript" question (it didn't make the cut for 7). Also, yesterday, just after his Object Oriented LotusScript session, Bill Buchan shared a bit (well, a wee more than a bit) of his Highland Park Scotch with me. ....mmmmmmmmm.

The really bothersome thing is that this might very well have been my last Lotusphere, and I am already beginning to mourn the loss. I've been to many, many "technical" conventions / shows / conferences during my career, and the simple fact is that compared to Lotusphere, they all pretty much suck (with the exception of the Advisor DevCons, but those are in a different category altogether).

Because of what is going on with my current employer, I can either

• Give up on ALL Lotus software entirely (granted, I get to learn/do something new).
• Find another job / contract that is a sweet as the one I currently have, that will allow me to continue working with Lotus software.

Face it, things change, and we go on. I've been in the software business for a long time, and have worked on a BUNCH of different stuff. I don't fear learning new things (in this case, LAMP + ColdFusionMX with Outlook/Exchange for mail), but I really love Lotus Notes/Domino, and I'll bet that I'd love Workplace just as much. So that means looking for another job (again), or finding a sweet contract (again), and the simple fact is that I'm tired of that route. I managed to land a really sweet gig where I'm at, and I don't want to have to give it up. I like and respect the people I work with, work is close to home (less than 2 miles away, on nice days I can bike to work), benefits are decent (not great, but not bad either), and the "stress level" isn't too bad (I've done a few death marches in my time, and I don't like them). Granted, the pay sucks, but chances of a layoff or RIF are virtually nil (with a wife and kids to support, this is an important consideration.) So I'm kind of stuck with the unpleasant decision: Do I give up doing what I love in order to keep a really nice and secure job, or do I pony up to the "work roulette" table again in order to keep doing what I love? Where's the Tylenol?

Looking back at this, I realize that I'm sounding like a girlie-man whiner, so allow me to change the topic.

Last night we (John Roling, Chuck Dean (congrats on the wide-screen btw), Jess Stratton, Andrew Kelly, Rob McDonagh, Melissa Gena, and Gerry and Kurt (sorry fellas, I've drawn a complete blank on your last names, and I can't find your cards -you did give them to me, right?) from Amsterdam all went to dinner at Shula's steakhouse in the Dolphin. WOW, I think that was the best steak I've ever had. Dinner and conversation were wonderful (albeit a bit expensive, bring plenty of $$ if you go there), and afterwards we all rambled on over to Kimono's for karaoke and drinks. I had several "girlie" drinks, all they were missing were little parasols in the glass, but I didn't care. Greyhawk impressed me with his singing, and Jess blew everybody away, but I don't think I'll ever forget that great big Marine Drill Instructor looking guy singing 2 octaves above soprano. I think every dog within a 20 mile radius freaked out. If you weren't there, you missed a heck of a fun evening. If you were there, I hope you have some asprin this morning.