I received some bad news last week, friends. At work, I've been part of a team that's been building this product for 2+ years. Recently, the higher-ups elected to change the company priorities, and the end result is that my beloved project is getting shelved for the time being, just as we were at the tail end of development. My message to the execs: "You guys seriously think that people won't buy a robot to unroll their fruit roll-ups? Are you KIDDING ME?! I'll give you 10 grand for one right now!"
In actuality, I was/am pretty bummed about it. We spent a lot of time on it, we were doing some pretty great stuff, and we were this close (holds fingers closely together) to finishing. Being a complete egomaniac, it's hard to me to remember that it's not always about me. I'm keeping a brave face, but my heart weeps at the thought of RollUpBot.
The one good thing about all of this is that it keeps me from making a very scary presentation. My company is having a big conference in a few weeks, and I was supposed to speak at it for an hour and a half, doing a demo of the product. Firstly, I don't think I've ever spoken for 90 straight minutes on a single topic. I could try to summarize every day of my life, and that's probably a solid 40 minutes right there. Secondly, I think I could speak for 90 straight minutes, not on a single topic, if I were allowed to make extensive use of lengthy, off-color jokes. I don't think this strategy would fly, as I'd be speaking in front of strangers who also happen to pay my salary. Third, the last time I was at this company conference, I got a death virus that culminated in me nearly soiling myself in the Walgreen's parking lot. I'll miss working on the project, but I certainly will not miss this pending near-death experience.
I have my new assignment, and it's something new, weird, and hard, which is what I like. It's definitely the newest, weirdest, hardest thing I've had to work on; I guess that's a good progression. Nonetheless, I still wish I'd been given the time to finish the other product, just so I could say that I had.
Posted by Cody at January 22, 2007 8:40 PM