Keeps on Rolling

Fitting in with the new company. 30-day review was positive and rather typical. 60-day review was missed. 90-day review is now over 30-days late. Got my first project deadline nailed. Did much more than a Design Development set and did it all in two weeks. 19 sheets at an average 4.5 hours per sheet, which includes learning the CAD menu (not Revit). Turned over a set of plans to a partner for review.

Since there is a limited amount of spare hard drive space on the work computer I use I've upgraded my USB stick to 32GB for my Gmail accounts using Thunderbird (always backup Tbird elsewhere to avoid data loss!) I also us the USB stick for a serious amount of reference material. I created a web page front-end so I don't need to go through Windows Explorer. It has worked out very well. Got quick access to all the ASHRAE Handbooks and other similar documents.

Being a very new member of the Mech Tech committee I was assigned to standard detail activities which included making sure a PDF existed of each detail, updating the detail list document and moving it to an Excel spreadsheet to maintain hyperlinks that open the PDFs while the list on-screen and confirm the variation of a detail they want to use with a checkbox. It can also be printed and manually checked off.

At long last I've had an orientation session on Revit MEP Suite, 4 hours, primarily for mechanical. Does it mean I'm doing Revit? Nope. The one project I have to design is not using Revit since it's a one-story building with the previously remodel on the existing structure done in AutoCAD 2004. It was fortunate for me since AutoCAD was more familiar to me.

Do I like the new place? Friends and relatives tell me I'm not acting like I do. I think that's due to me not being firmly assured I have a secure job yet. After all, I had a 22-year run with a company I thought would last my entire career to retirement. So it's understandable I'm not placing all my bets on this company. Nonetheless, I do think it will be around for a very long time, at least to cover me until I decide to get out of the business. At least at the new place I don't have any invested money.

The old company continues to wind down. Only one lawsuit continues and it appears to be heading for a very low cost resolution. The plan is for the old company to be dissolved sometime late this year so that it will be done and gone for tax purposes, both for the company and us stockholders. The positive note is that money continues to roll in for aged invoices and in sizable amounts. Nothing like a jackpot but when a company shuts down due to a lack of money and business getting those final payments to cover bills and leave something behind for distribution is truly a good thing.