BioInnovations Gateway

I finished another website!

I wanted to gain experience working with a client to build a site. It just so happened that Ryan is working at a life sciences incubator called BioInnovations Gateway. They needed a website built.

The first step was to learn to write a professional proposal. I spent a lot of time searching through examples online and picking the best wording and most comprehensive terms. It took a while to put together, but I learned quite a bit. The process challenged me to think ahead and try to foresee some of the minutiae that would come up.

I chose to build the site in WordPress. I've used Drupal and Joomla before, but WordPress seemed appropriate for a largely informational site. Most of the copy comes from their marketing materials. I took charge of the design style of the site and ended up purchasing a template and modifying it to meet the client needs.

Check it out! BioInnovations Gateway

Boston Scientific

As most of you know, I work for Accenture, an IT consulting company. For the past two years I've been at the same client: Boston Scientific. The make medical devices (stents, catheters, pacemakers, etc). Our project went live in August, and we're finishing up our post-go-live support period.

On Wednesday, I'll be moving over to a new client: Avery Dennison. They make lots of office supplies, labels, etc. My role on our project sounds like fun. I get to work with a lot of senior-level people and will be fairly autonomous. Wish me luck!

Perhaps the best part of all this is that I get to stay local. They wanted me to go to a project in Ohio for Cooper Tires, which didn't interest me at all. They also tried to get me to join a project we're doing for the Army which would involve lots of travel to different bases. That would be fun if I weren't getting married in a month. But I am. So it wouldn't be fun.

Blue Hills

This weekend was going to be epic. First, we were going to go up to Portland Maine on Friday and sea kayak out to an island to spend the night. But then work got really busy and none of us could get off early enough. So.......

Plan B: Climb Mt. Washington. It's the tallest mountain in the northeast, and extremely dangerous. About 150 people have died climbing it. It's 3.5 hours away, 8 miles round trip, 4000 feet of elevation gain, and up to 200 mph winds at the summit. That's not a typo. We would leave at 6:30, arrive at 10, hike until 5, get home at 8:30.

Friday at midnight I realized I was utterly exhausted from my week and didn't want to kill myself. I sent out a few texts, and we moved on to Plan C.

After a great breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and ham, we left at 9 AM, drove 30 minutes to the Blue Hills Reservation, and embarked on a leisurely hike. Not so epic, but better than nothing. Highlight? Impromptu swim in a beautiful pond.

Another highlight was the group - one old friend and three new friends - one of the most well-traveled (India, Ukrane, Sierra Leone, Morocco, Cairo, London, etc) and well-read (classic literature) groups I've ever spent time with. I've realized that I'm woefully behind on my reading of the classics.

I love camping

The nicest 7-11 in the World

Why I Love Garage Sale Season

$20