A Web App Went Live Today

A new web app went live today, and I shed a tear.

The Power of Good Questions

Some history.

Years ago, I was starting to question my decision to become a hydrologist. Not because I hated hydrology, I did– and still do– deeply love it, but because I couldn’t find a job. Since I’d been a programmer for 20+ years (indeed, I programmed all the way through 10 years in the sciences), I decided to see what options were out there in that field.

So I interviewed for this software development company. I was nervous because I hadn’t actually worked as a programmer in a long time. My title had been “researcher” and “scientist” for a decade. Even though I’d been programming that entire time, I was nervous about being labeled as a “wannabe.”

My interviewer saw through that nervousness right away and immediately started asking me questions that were not the basic “do you actually know programming” but were much more geared toward “what do you think of this subtle programming construct.”  It was, without a doubt, the best interview experience I ever had, and made me respect the interviewer and want to work with him even if not at this job– which I didn’t even get.

I never forgot that interview.

What Goes Around

Fast forward a few years, and last year I happened to see that same interviewer at the coffee shop. He said that he’d just left his last job and was looking for work. That, to me, was a wide open door. Finally, a chance to work with this guy!

“Really,” I said, “It’s not much, but I’ve got some Ruby work I could use some help with for my company if you’re interested”

“I don’t know Ruby, I’ve been learning a little bit, but I can’t do work in it.”

“Tell you what, work with me. I’ll help you learn Ruby while you do small bits of work on my site. Fair trade?”

As I suspected from this now barely remembered interview so long ago, he was a sharp tack and things progressed fast enough that he never even did any work on my site. Rather, I took another contract that was a wee bit too big for me, and brought him on as a sub. And so, finally, I was working with this guy, and helping him learn Ruby, and getting him paid to do it.

A Favor, Returned

A couple months later, I got contacted by another company who wanted me to create a web app. I was just too busy, so I brought this fellow to the first meeting. My response was, basically, “I’m too busy to do this, but I can speak from experience that this fellow here is a good candidate. I’ll let you take it from here.” And I walked away. Now, here we are, a couple months after that, and MyLunchIn.com has launched for our local restaurant Nora’s Table. It’s another Rails app that he created, start to finish, entirely free of my involvement.

I don’t know I started to cry when I placed my first lunch order today. I didn’t create that site, and honestly, I didn’t teach this guy Ruby– I just happened to be around while he was teaching himself. But it still feels good.

All those years ago, I was a scientist scared that I wouldn’t be accepted by “serious” developers and I was. It feels good to think that I brought some happiness back to that person, a favor returned. It just feels like this new website is part of a rising tide that floats all of our boats when we work together, when we look out for each other. When we remember a good conversation.

I’m on my way now to pick up my first ever lunch ordered on this new site. It’ll be the best tasting lunch I’ve had in a while.

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