If that’s not confusing, I don’t know what is.

Anyway, in response to some of the comments made yesterday…

Why don’t I go to the social gatherings? A couple of reasons, actually.

First, I am not the socialite. It’s more stressful than anything else, and striking up conversations about things with people is nigh unto impossible. In a business setting it’s easier - talk business during business hours. Talking business in a social setting is hard for me.

Second, if it’s anything like the other SharePoint group gatherings I’ve been to (the user group, seminars, etc.), it won’t offer me anything anyway. I already have a direct line to communicate with the product development group for SharePoint Portal Server through my work connections; they’ve heard all my gripes and continue to listen. And I’m one of the vastly more advanced users of the product - my implementation is much larger and more convoluted than anyone else I’ve talked to - so when I talk to peers about the product, I usually get reactions like, “You solved that? I didn’t even know it was possible. How did you do it?” Then I end up teaching other people about the product rather than learning something new myself.

An example of that actually occurred very recently. We’re working with a contractor to do some SharePoint Portal Server stuff now. Their resume lists several customers that they’ve done Portal Server stuff for. Part of their introduction was me showing them what we currently have implemented. They were awed - they’ve never done anything on this scale yet. A lot of the stuff they didn’t even know you can do. I have a feeling I’ll be doing some teaching once this project gets under way.

Anyway, interactions like that are more value for them than me. So I’ll skip it this time. Maybe next time I’ll go.

Isn’t a week alone heaven for me? Actually, I don’t think it’ll be too bad in that respect. I might get a little bored since I’m used to interacting with Jenn when I’m home and whatnot, but I’ll do all right. I’ll call her on the phone or whatever. Plus, no Playstation! I think the biggest downside will be what to do in my off-time. Maybe I’ll have to head into downtown Seattle or something and cruise around. Or maybe I’ll finally get some decent reading time in. I’ve been working on The Sum of All Fears since Christmas.