Long time, no write...

Hello everyone. I realize it’s been a while since I last wrote…but I’ve been really busy with work and with other things.

I’ve had a couple large projects lately at work. We went from having some old switches to me ordering gigabit capable switches and replacing them. We had a fiber line that ran between two buildings that was basically working as a copper wire because we were using some outdated converters. Well, I ordered new converters that will make full use of the potential of the fiber. So, our other building will now be running basically at the same speed as our main building which will be awesome.

Another big project that I’ve been working on is that our Citrix server was very old and hadn’t been updated in several years. I ordered a new Citrix appliance that will add a secure layer between the outside world and our box as well as new Citrix software. We have an office in Missoula that connects to our system now that will make good use of this new appliance and should see fewer problems as a result.

The biggest project I’ve had was to replace 38 laptops that our attorneys use. I was supposed to take a list of software and hardware requirements and find several different laptops that met these requirements. Once done, I had to send out a request for bid to several different vendors. When they sent me the information back, I was supposed to determine which vendor would give us the biggest bang for our buck, then negotiate with them over the price and order them. With the help of my supervisor, a trained negotiator, this project ended on Thursday.

The last thing I had to do was find funding for these projects through a leasing agent. After finding out what the prime rate was as well as how much we were going to end up paying per month, we set up a lease for the 3 projects.

The thing about these projects is: I’ve never done any of these things before. Sure, I’ve set up networks and stuff, but I’ve never had to research, determine best price, negotiate with a vendor and set up payment schedules. To say this has been a learning experience would be a severe understatement.

Other cool things that have happened: groovy, Mrs. EPA and I are doing this thing called “Boot Camp” which, loosely translated means “Hell on Earth”. Imagine this: You wake up at 5:30 to get to the gym by 6. Once you arrive, you spend 45 minutes doing exercises that push you to the very limit of (and sometimes beyond) your abilities. Usually, before you begin these exercises, you run ½ mile or so to get there and then, once you are done, you run back to the gym. Oh, and lest I forget, it’s been in the upper 30’s and lower 40’s every morning that we’ve done this…and we go 3 times a week. Oh yeah, and on top of that, it’s been raining off and on, so the ground is wet and usually muddy in places. It’s rough.

Last Saturday, I woke up, looked out the window, and noticed that it had been snowing for a while. Yeah, it was snowing on September 16th of this year. How awesome is that?! I can only imagine that if it’s snowing this early, the winter will either be long, or rough (or both!).