A milestone, I guess
Mar. 11th, 2008 12:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cryowizardLast Friday we have completed a project that has started about four years ago. We have released the last piece of functionality that replaces a legacy system with our stuff, and turned off the links to the legacy app.
I was one of the two original crew members who started this project, and I am that original crew's last survivor. Over the course of four years, I have witnessed an unbelievable gamut of things: ultimate dedication, true team spirit, love for thy coworker, insane work hours, unfathomable deadlines, lots of drinking, lots of backstabbing politics, walkout of the half of the crew including the leader, snitching, nasty powertrips, whispering into the boss' ears, firing of the second team leader, dismissal of the original team for purely political self-serving reasons, legal action, firing of the two third co-team leaders, and finally assembly of the latest incarnation of the team which completed the project - all shards of other teams that moved around. Except one kid on the out of college program, the rest of us are all veterans (the bank hasn't been hiring for two years).
Time flies. I learned a lot. Ever the cynic, I think I learned more than I signed up for -- lots of this was a gravely negative experience. But as the wise man said - what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.
Today the bosses, whom we made look really good in the eyes of their bosses, took us out to an expensive Italian place to celebrate the success, confirmed on the desk this morning. Waterfalls of expensive Barollo and good food, everyone toasting everyone else. I said a toast "to all the dead people -- they went to a much better place". We then listed everyone who left or was fired for political reasons and we drank to them.
After we left the restaurant and the bosses went off into the night, we gathered around the corner for yet another round and toasted each other again :)
PS. Great work notwithstanding, the bonuses this year sucked. If they get the new investment money, I'm getting mine guaranteed...
Time flies. I learned a lot. Ever the cynic, I think I learned more than I signed up for -- lots of this was a gravely negative experience. But as the wise man said - what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.
Today the bosses, whom we made look really good in the eyes of their bosses, took us out to an expensive Italian place to celebrate the success, confirmed on the desk this morning. Waterfalls of expensive Barollo and good food, everyone toasting everyone else. I said a toast "to all the dead people -- they went to a much better place". We then listed everyone who left or was fired for political reasons and we drank to them.
After we left the restaurant and the bosses went off into the night, we gathered around the corner for yet another round and toasted each other again :)
PS. Great work notwithstanding, the bonuses this year sucked. If they get the new investment money, I'm getting mine guaranteed...