The Solspace Team
While leaving the world of PHP programming and heading into the outdoors makes me a bit giddy with excitement, there is the sad part of leaving Solspace.
Mitchell and I have known each other for many many years now, ever since he started writing some of the very first third-party Add-Ons for ExpressionEngine, which culminated in the well-known Tag module. A module that I severely flogged him over so that EllisLab could make it the first Certified Add-On. I am fairly sure he has not forgotten the beatings and still wakes up at night cursing my name.
Over the years we became friends and when I left EllisLab we kept in regular touch. Until one fine day I decided I would not mind doing programming work again and he just happened to not mind having me on the team as a developer. That continued for nearly a year until we both decided that it might be a bit more fun if I joined full time and started molding Solspace's DevTeam into a more organized force. Though all of our work he has been my friend, colleague, coworker, and even my boss. He's suffered amicably and professionally through serious business talks, insults, long and tedious debates, and more than a few jokes and pranks at his expense. May my IM Buddy List never see you gone, Mitchell.
Kelsey, aka Pie Man, has been a royal thorn in my side from the very first moment I looked at Solspace's code. Even now, I can see that his IM Status is "Forever holding a grudge against Paul." I don't think he has changed it in over a week &emdash; he might just be a bit sad to see me go. Kelsey is the foolhardy Canadian who got suckered into being in charge of support and software releases for Solspace. Naturally, this means whenever there is a software problem, he comes online and coos me with "Paul...buddy..." And yet, even with such a sweet voice, he has argued with me constantly on what is crucial for Solspace software and which bugs/problems need to be addressed today, soon, later, or quite possibly never. A solid worker. Now, if only we could break him of that nasty emoticon habit.
Christy keeps Solspace in balance. Whenever Mitchell and I want to hatch an evil master plan to rule all of Eternia, she is the voice of reason who informs that we do not, in fact, live on Eternia. That usually helps snap us all back to reality. And, she has helped me talk through more than a few software and personal issues when I knew I needed a non-biased, non-programmer point of view. Last week, I asked for a letter of recommendation for one of the outdoor educator positions I was applying for, and she wrote a letter so sincere and wonderful that my heart grew three sizes.
Greg is my newest PHP Padawan, who joined Solspace just a couple months ago as a developer, after applying for a separate position. Mitchell and I both recognized his potential during a phone interview, and he has lived up to it both as a geek, friend, and programmer. I expect great things from him at Solspace after I leave.
And to the rest of the team, who I no doubt have tortured quite a bit with my constant demands and loving but prickling personality: all the best.
Mitchell and I have known each other for many many years now, ever since he started writing some of the very first third-party Add-Ons for ExpressionEngine, which culminated in the well-known Tag module. A module that I severely flogged him over so that EllisLab could make it the first Certified Add-On. I am fairly sure he has not forgotten the beatings and still wakes up at night cursing my name.
Over the years we became friends and when I left EllisLab we kept in regular touch. Until one fine day I decided I would not mind doing programming work again and he just happened to not mind having me on the team as a developer. That continued for nearly a year until we both decided that it might be a bit more fun if I joined full time and started molding Solspace's DevTeam into a more organized force. Though all of our work he has been my friend, colleague, coworker, and even my boss. He's suffered amicably and professionally through serious business talks, insults, long and tedious debates, and more than a few jokes and pranks at his expense. May my IM Buddy List never see you gone, Mitchell.
Kelsey, aka Pie Man, has been a royal thorn in my side from the very first moment I looked at Solspace's code. Even now, I can see that his IM Status is "Forever holding a grudge against Paul." I don't think he has changed it in over a week &emdash; he might just be a bit sad to see me go. Kelsey is the foolhardy Canadian who got suckered into being in charge of support and software releases for Solspace. Naturally, this means whenever there is a software problem, he comes online and coos me with "Paul...buddy..." And yet, even with such a sweet voice, he has argued with me constantly on what is crucial for Solspace software and which bugs/problems need to be addressed today, soon, later, or quite possibly never. A solid worker. Now, if only we could break him of that nasty emoticon habit.
Christy keeps Solspace in balance. Whenever Mitchell and I want to hatch an evil master plan to rule all of Eternia, she is the voice of reason who informs that we do not, in fact, live on Eternia. That usually helps snap us all back to reality. And, she has helped me talk through more than a few software and personal issues when I knew I needed a non-biased, non-programmer point of view. Last week, I asked for a letter of recommendation for one of the outdoor educator positions I was applying for, and she wrote a letter so sincere and wonderful that my heart grew three sizes.
Greg is my newest PHP Padawan, who joined Solspace just a couple months ago as a developer, after applying for a separate position. Mitchell and I both recognized his potential during a phone interview, and he has lived up to it both as a geek, friend, and programmer. I expect great things from him at Solspace after I leave.
And to the rest of the team, who I no doubt have tortured quite a bit with my constant demands and loving but prickling personality: all the best.
– Wednesday, 2010 March 03 @ 10:50 AM | 3 Comments -