Six months
Would you believe I’ve been at MPOW six months? A whole half-year? Yes, well, I’m not entirely sure I do.
How have I done so far? Well, let’s see:
- Learning my job’s technical component: A−. I can sling the Java pretty good now, and ascent up the learning curve continues. I can do darn near anything with psql if you give me long enough to suss it out. I’m not happy with what I still don’t know about OSX Server, Apache, and Tomcat, nor am I completely confident in my command of DSpace back-end architecture and administration.
- Initial redesign of the DSpace UI: A. I did a solid job with this, within my limitations. It’s been heavily beaten on since, and is holding up fine.
- Outreach: B− for effort, D+ for results. I hope I put the idea in a few brains, and I think the upcoming six months will be more productive than the last six now that I’ve tried and discarded a bunch of things that don’t work… but still. I could and should have done more and better.
- Professional development: B. One conference attended, two conference proposals out, a co-writing proposal in progress, a guest-speaker gig upcoming at one of the local library schools. Couple of committee appointments, couple of local presentations. Not bad. Could be better.
- Collegiality: B+. I haven’t to my knowledge made any serious enemies, though I seem to have a mutual arms-length thing going with one or two people. I have a few solid backers. No major social missteps so far. My boss basically trusts me, as I do him; when stuff happens, neither of us has any problem bugging the other one about it, and it gets solved. Life is pretty good.
Overall, a solid B, which isn’t too bad for right out of the starting gate.