I may have mentioned that I have been working on a military project this past year. Well, that contract is closing soon and I've already been "laid off" by my employer. This comes as no big surprise; I've been treated exactly like this by every consulting firm I've ever worked for and even in permanent positions when the company downsized. It doesn't matter to a business that I sacrificed salary and R&R for this past year, accepting the promise of a raise when this contract was finished.

I was not looking forward to yet another job search. After all, physically, I'm a fat, ugly, 59 year old white guy and age discrimination is just as real as any other. The Tea Party governor here in South Carolina is cutting budgets everywhere, including Medicaid, education and unemployment benefits. We've also just renewed the lease on our apartment and there is a large monetary penalty for early termination of that contract.

Amazingly, out of the blue, I received an e-mail the same day I was given my notice (2days worth, sigh). The subject included the name of the commercial product I'd specialized in for 15 years. Since that product is no longer being sold or supported, I'd been certain it would be difficult to find anyone who would need those skills but this e-mail specified exactly the right program. Since this product shares half its name with several others, I've often been contacted by recruiters who don't know that each of those products is a completely different computer program and experience with one does not mean any knowledge that applies to any other. That's not the case this time.

The message was spectacularly uninformative. The only line was, "Would you be interested in a position where ...?" Of course, I replied, "Of course. Tell me more." The next day, a new message arrived saying, "You didn't answer my calls so call me." Of course, I did. The HR rep and I spoke for a few minutes, establishing terms and conditions for salary, etc. She said she would tell the Technical Team to call me next. The next day, they did.

The first thing these 2 gentlemen said was, "Let's talk for 15 minutes, okay?" That's awfully little time for an interview, don't you think? It ended up that we talked for over an hour! The first real request was, "Tell us what experience you have and what you like to do." So, I pitched my brand -- 15 years with the tool, even guiding its early development and support while only a customer, years of contracting for various companies and industries, years of administering both the product and the computers, databases and web servers it needed in order to work, developing and maintaining a commercial product that interfaced with the program, supporting 3 different releases (versions) on 3 separate operating systems in both English and Japanese!

They kept referring to "the roadmap." I asked what they meant. It comes down to, everyone admits this technology is now obsolete, but there's no easy way to replace it. The roadmap is my responsibility to define how and when we move the data out of this product's database and into its eventual replacement. In the meantime, they will keep using this product but they want its bugs fixed and some features added while it's still being used. Right up my alley. They said they had a team onsite, that I could make use of them as needed, that it would be up to me to mentor them, show them the right way to do things, find the bugs and let them implement the fixes. They called the role the Technology/Technical Leader.

After getting a full description of the job and position, they asked, "Does that sound good to you?" I was a bit stunned but I immediately responded, "Sirs, what you've described sounds like the culmination of my career. Everything I've done the last 20 years has prepared me for exactly what you've told me." They agreed completely. They said flat out that I was a nearly perfect match. They said I'd be given a lot of freedom to do things as I see fit. OMG.

The position is in the Boston area. I have no idea of the address yet. I want to find out so I can make reservations at a motel/hotel that is reasonably close to work and shopping. I'll rent a car, I'm sure. I'll use the MTA where I can, find a coin-laundry, inexpensive meals, generally resume my Road Xena persona. (Road Xena = Road Warrior Princess)

This is not a short term contract such as I've done since 2009. My employer is the customer's selected outsource company for the IT department. They've been there for years already and there's no end in sight. They say they will keep me and use me for the long term. OMG.

The goddess has smiled and the whole world seems brighter and righter.