Yaeger, Treviso & Associates, Inc.

I’m pleased to announce the release of the NEW Yaeger, Treviso & Associates, Inc. website! It was great to work with Jon and Chuck on redesigning their existing website. They’re excited about the idea of clients being able to upload Quickbooks and other financial files directly to them. And because tax season is so busy, they’re always on the lookout for additional talent. Prospective employees can upload resumes as well.

What’s New With Me…

It’s been a while since I’ve written here.

I always say it’s because I’ve been busy. And it’s true. In the last month, I’ve moved this site to a different host and started everything but the content from scratch. Oh yeah, I also moved cross country.

Aside from the move, the important stuff is that I’m no longer with CUNet. I’m currently freelancing and looking for something web development/design related that really interests and inspires me. If you think you have the thing, please check out my portfolio site for examples of my work and contact information.

I summed up the latest changes to this site in another post so I won’t go into it again now. The newest of the new though is the LinkedIn icon that appears at the top of the middle column. I’ve always gotten good traffic and leads from my LinkedIn profile. Now that I’m left to my own devices for employment, I’m going to try to better leverage LinkedIn. Afterall, there’s a wealth of good information there about me. It acts as a resume of sorts, outlining my work experience. Even better, it contains loads of endorsements and recommendations from my coworkers and clients.

On My Way to .NET

Last week I finished one of Citigroup’s Online Learning Courses and got certified in “Upgrading Web Development Skills from ASP to Microsoft® ASP.NET”

They made the mistake of giving me access to their entire online learning catalog (which is like giving a kid free reign in a candy shop) so this week I’m starting an introduction to C# course.

I also received a trial “ASP.NET Using Visual C# 2005 ” training CD-ROM from www.appdev.com so I need to try that out.

It feels good to finally be learning .NET/C# after putting it off for so long. Or not necessarily putting it off but finally making it a priority and being able to cross it off my To-Do list. Hopefully you’ll see me posting some .NET-related Brainbench certifications here in the next few months before my subscription there expires in November.

Michael Richard Murphy

If you’ve wondered what I’ve been up to all this time,you’ll be glad to know that michaelrichardmurphy.com is almost complete.

That will be home of my web development business. I’ve mentioned here a few times that I’ve been working with some clients on the side and now I’ve started to get more serious about it.

The announcement will be made here within the next few weeks so stayed tuned. Hopefully when that’s complete,I’ll have a little more time to start writing here again since I’ve been working on some cool things that I’d really like to talk about.

(Some) Big News

I’ve threatened to reveal big news here many times in the past and lately has been no exception. So here is some of the latest…

1. I’m working on three new web sites for clients. The URLs will be revealed here when they’re complete but I’m pretty excited about them.

2. The biggest news however is that the employee recognition program I’ve been writing for The Student Loan Corporation will be reviewed by North American Information Technology for possible use within all of Citigroup. NAIT has really gotten serious about standardizing technology across Citigroup’s multiple businesses.

   One of the ways they’d do this is by rolling out certain applications to the entire business. Since my recognition application already meets a lot of their requirments and is well liked by The Student Loan Corporation employees,I’ve been told it will be considered. It’s really going to be pushed up since it’s great visibility for the technology department at SLC but also great visibility for me. I never imagined I’ve been writing an application for the world’s largest financial institution. It would be nice if it works out that way. Stay tuned…

Congratulations!

I got a call yesterday from a good friend and former coworker of mine.

A year or so ago he sat next to the CIO of well known company on a flight back here from the West Coast. They talked,he impressed this gentleman,and they stayed in touch.

He called to tell me that he was offered one of their coveted project management internship positions this summer (he has one semester left). He also wanted to thank me for my support all these years and the opportunities he had while working for me to get the experience necessary to get this internship.

Clark,I wish I could take credit for your success but that’s all you. I just let you do what you’re good at. You’re one of the most motivated,hardest working people I know and I’d work with you on any project,any time.

Congratulations,you deserve it.

Corporate Challenge

I’m pleased to announce that this year I’′ll be designing the shirt worn by the local Citigroup companies in the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge. This includes local offices of The Student Loan Corporation,Citibank,and Solomon Smith Barney (my apologies if I forgot any group). Check back for an unveiling of the design after final approval by the powers that be.

Read This

I find this person’s writing and insight so spot on that I would consider going to work for them immediately if:

1. I lived in Silicon Valley
2. I knew who this person was
3. I knew where this person worked

Numbers 2 and 3 are relatively easily solved with a little detective work but it’s just not worth it considering number 1. So for now I think I’ll simply continue to enjoy his writing.

Visit the link above to soak in some ideas on how decisions are made and ideas created. I find I work much the same way. Maybe that’s why I enjoy his articles so much.

Top 10

The Student Loan Corporation has a new CIO. One of the programs she has carried over from her work at Citigroup is the Top 10 program. Each month the organization honors the top performers in each department.

I am pleased to announce that this past Friday,my boss presented me with the Top 10 award for January after only 8 weeks in my position. Ok,they’re a little behind but that’s not the point. It’s quite an honor to be chosen out of a department of 60 people whose work I respect. It’s also nice to know that my work is having an impact and being noticed.

• I could be your top performer. Download my resume.

Superhero

Listening to NPR the other day. Diane Rehm was talking to a young woman with a learning disability. She was saying how she had gone to schools specifically tailored for LDs all her life but since no one was going to cut her any slack in the real world,she decided to go to a non-LD college so she’d get used to it. Diane asked her if she liked it. She said yes but she wasn’t sure if she was going to stay. She wasn’t sure what career she wanted to have when she grew up but she knew she wanted to be a super hero. A super hero. They never said what college it was but I’m pretty sure they don’t have a super hero program there.

I want to be a superhero too. I want to be a super hero to my family. I want to be a super hero to my friends. I want to be a super hero to my coworkers and clients. Is that too much to ask?

Luckily the two Andys (Budd and Clarke) have me covered in the web design department with their SXSW presentation,How to be a Web Design Superhero.