Apr 30, 2007 | blog
So, I’ve picked up a new Acer Aspire laptop for my consulting work. It was a pretty good deal – $750 for a 1.86GHz Dual Core, 2GB DDR2, 160GB HDD, Dual Layer DVD Burner, 802.11abg WiFi, and a 15.4″ Widescreen.
Spent a good portion of the day loading up Windows Vista Ultimate, Office 2007, Firefox, Virtual PC, OneCare, and a whole host of other software. So far, I’m impressed with the device, it is really responsive. I’ve not had a new PC since the Pentium 4 HT’s came out several years ago.
So, finally its ready to go – guess I better get to work!
Apr 28, 2007 | asides, blog
Finally, after a summer of construction, a difficult and disappointing winter we are able to sit outside on the patio. It’s sunny, quiet and really relaxing. So I’m just blogging a quick aside while sitting at our patio set we picked up last fall and just listening to… nothing!
Apr 26, 2007 | blog
So I’ve completed my last day with Michael Foods. The last two weeks have been an almost non-stop brain dump and documentation marathon. It’s taken extra hours each day and left me drained of ambition to do much else when I got home.
Now that this transition is over, I’m going to be able to focus my attention on clients. I’ve also got a lot of work to do yet with that – there is a tremendous amount of work on the web site that needs to be done, marketing materials (glossies, cards, brochures, letterhead, etc…), and numerous other items.
Still, I’m excited about getting started with Avatar Consultants, the name of my consulting firm that I’ll be working to launch over the coming weeks. If you visit the site, please be aware that it is still under construction. I’ll be getting a lot more done this coming weekend, but it may look a little sparse on the services and such.
So stay tuned, I’m going to be pretty busy, but I’m going to be blogging a lot more. I’ll also be on Twitter much more than today as well, just due to the nature of working in different environments and having the opportunity to network more.
Apr 26, 2007 | blog
This is a difficult post for me, and an exciting one as well. There are many good times that I’ll remember from working at Michael Foods, and I have to admit that I’m going to miss working with such a great group of people. Anyone looking to join Michael Food’s IT department couldn’t look for a better team of people – seriously, the people are great and the environment is a good one – don’t hesitate.
So why am I leaving? Because it’s time. I’ve been with Michael Foods for a total of 9 years, the first two as a contract employee, the remaining as an FTE. The experiences have been numerous and varied. It is simply time for me to take the next step in my career – my goals no longer match the needs of the position I held, I simply need more room to grow in the directions I want to pursue. Simple as that.
So, to my former coworkers, and friends that I leave behind on a day to day basis I need to say goodbye. I’m sure that I’ll get a number of calls and questions on a number of topics, but for many I’ll probably not be in touch. While this is a shame, I look forward to the possibilities of working with any of my former coworkers again someday in the future. Simply to all, I want to say thank you.
There have also been many, several people that I want to thank individually – and I couldn’t fit it all in my goodbye email, so here it goes.
- Jon – For patience & answer for every question – you’re a good friend
- Pat – For teaching me how to appreciate individuals potential & look for new ideas
- Jimmy – As a mentor in leadership & team building
- Craig – For the importance of bandwidth, details, & the big picture
- Pete – For project management & planning
- Deb – For people skills & career coaching
- Guy – For a different perspective & approach to things
Again, to everyone else I’ve worked with at Michael Foods, both in IT and the business – thank you for 9 great years. It will not be forgotten. Best wishes to you and your future endeavors.
Bring It On
Sincerely,
Rick Mahn
Apr 23, 2007 | blog
Sorry to not have posted for so long, but I’ve been extremely busy getting things arranged for me to leave my current employer. Surprising how much hard work is involved in preparing your own transition out of a company. So its not a big surprise any longer, I’m in the transition phase working to hand off a number of technologies, systems ownership, and knowledge as smoothly as possible.
I’ve been fortunate to work with a group of real pros, and so, transferring responsibility and such has been fairly simple in many cases. There is still much to do, and it is taking more of my day than before I contemplated leaving the company – strange irony to it I suppose.
Anyway, I’ll be trying to catch up on some topics and address the launch of my consulting web site all this week. Hopefully I’ll have something to post about here as I get the work done. Again, sorry for the intermittent posting this month!
~Rick
So, I’ve picked up a new Acer Aspire laptop for my consulting work. It was a pretty good deal – $750 for a 1.86GHz Dual Core, 2GB DDR2, 160GB HDD, Dual Layer DVD Burner, 802.11abg WiFi, and a 15.4″ Widescreen.
