I can't believe that I've been at EBiz Technology for four months already. It still seems like almost yesterday that I left Comerica Bank for a return engagement in consulting. Time has really passed quickly at my new job because I typically have spent 99% of the time on average working on projects. Sure, I miss the down time I had with my previous job, but I'd much rather spend my time programming than trying to figure out what's happening next.

Last week, I created two Domino web services. I know, I know, this is probably old news for many of you who've been using Notes 7 for the past two years or whatever. Still, I have to say that IBM/Lotus did right by us humble Notes/Domino developers when they added this capability to Notes/Domino. I'll discuss my impressions of the Domino web services implementation in a future blog.

2008 will mark my thirteenth year as a Notes/Domino developer. My career in Lotus Notes started out innocently enough back in January 1996. I was hired by Perot Systems to help customize a Notes-based QS9000 application called QSxPERT for Kelsey-Hayes, an automotive supplier. (After several years of acquisitions and divestitures, that company is now known as TRW Automotive.) I had no idea back then that I'd still be working in Lotus Notes/Domino so many years later, but I haven't regretted my career choice a single day. Interestingly enough, the person who gave me my big break all those years ago is still one of my clients. Either I'm doing a fantastic job of keeping him happy, or he's the one person I haven't pissed-off yet!

So why am I sticking with Notes after all this time? Simply put, I enjoy what I do. The best career advice I've ever gotten is that when you find something you really like to do, you should make a career out of it. The fact that my career in Notes has been (and continues to be) a well-paying one definitely helps to confirm my decision! But if I didn't actually like what I'm doing, I wouldn't have stuck with it even if it paid a million dollars a year. Yes, I'm one of those strange people that has to like what I do in order to be able to do it day-in, day-out.

I'll be the first to admit that developing in Notes/Domino can be a frustrating experience. I was telling a co-worker the other day that getting complex programming to work in Notes borders on alchemy. In spite of that, I still enjoy working with the product and plan on doing so for the immediate future.

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