Into the mist

  I finished my 2 year stint working in town today. It was a semi nerve-wracking 3 weeks as I was trying to wrap up 2 projects but in the end had to turn them over to my fellow programmers in a finished but untested state. The projects were complete but not tested. According to Murphy’s dictates, some changes were needed during the last week. I got an unspoken vibe that I should have anticipated that the changes would have been needed sooner or later. Since I had some practice 2 years ago leaving my job, it was much easier this time to let the projects and their inevitable problems go on to the next person. Just like when Jesus said “The poor will always be with you”, software will always have bugs, miscalculations and unforeseeable changes in needs. If you have software that never needs changes, no one is using it.

  I’m looking forward to my new job. I got my last job because a programmer I supervised (and who left on strained terms) went to the same chess tournament that my wife took my son to in December of 2007. It was the last tournament he went to and got me in contact with the recruiting company that got me the job. Then the events of this year (pay cuts, layoffs) led me to look for a job and lo and behold, this one appeared for me. Serendipity or the hand of God, it is almost as if I have been led to this point.