It's that time of year...

when I become a bit scarce.

Fiscal year end is September 30th and work as a whole becomes a bit maddening. I suppose what is really maddening to me is that none of my five projects ends with the fiscal year. In all cases, not only do the projects continue, but the money carries over into the coming year and my teams are all covered. Yay me!

This is something that I probably shouldn't say too loudly though. Because when the calendar flips to October 1, many many projects end and there is a distinct lack of money, which means lack of projects among many sectors thanks to the ineffectiveness of the government at getting a budget settled. This often morphs quickly into continuing resolution. And people start sending out e-mails and showing up in offices looking for work. It's what happens. And I have been on that side of the fence. It sucks.

Because the fiscal year end affects so many projects and so many people it becomes a very palpable sense of stress at work. You can feel the stress. You walk down the halls and fiscal year end is the topic. Have you certified your time card? Have you planned your work for the next two weeks (and therefore filled out your time card for the next two weeks)? Are you following the shipping and ordering requirements? Nevermind that none of this is really actually applicable... to me at least.

Anyways. It is a stressful time.

Way back when, when I used to work on projects that ended on September 30th we would pack up our bags and take off for vacation the first week in October. It's a great time of year to vacation, but no real point to doing it this year.

This year I have my regular work to do on my projects that do not end. Then I have a total of five white papers (first stage proposals) going out to two different agencies. And then all the little peripheral things - like the organization I am presenting at in November wants my presentation to clear it by October 8th. And my lab still has loads of things that need to be done in order to do actual work in it. And my kids have parent teacher conferences.

So needless to say... this is just a long post saying I am not really around.

See you next year!

(Fiscal year that is...)

Work Wrap Up - (warning, boring post ahead)

It is 9:40pm and I am exhausted. Just plain tired. I had a long, busy week at work. One of those that left me gasping for air by Friday.

It's fiscal year end and for the first time ever I am not going to be scrambling for work at the beginning of October. I am not going to be whining about continuing resolution. I am not going to be hating work. I am going to be enjoying my fall, like fall should be for me. (I love fall. Everything about it.) I am going to be scrambling to get things done and just like in September parsing my hours out over a wide number of charge codes.

My big project is healthy as ever and we are spinning up and off a new team in the next few weeks to look at a new problem that the client has. Three seperate projects under my umbrella and counting. Oh and I love my client. Love her. My sector manager is retiring in two months, which makes me horribly sad as he is one of the greatest people I have had occasion to work with. Sector management is still being "figured out" as a few people are retiring. I am chomping at the bit to see how things shake down.

I have a couple small proof of concept projects that ended this FY and may be picked up by the client this fall. Am I a bad person to hope that they don't? It is work I don't particularly care about doing. Sad when I come home from work and my husband knows and understands more about the project then I do. The proof of concept projects were small peanuts, which in my directorate is more annoying than anything. I am trying not to be the spoiled brat that says, "I don't need what you are offering, so I am not going to do it. Take your toys and go play somewhere else." Yeah, well. Mean and I would get in trouble for doing that. So instead I will smile. And do the work.

I have funded work through a major "work for others" government entity and I think the client might like me to actually do something. The project has been idle pending my "having more time after the first of the fiscal year". I am sitting tight with the project, however, have mentioned to a few key engineers that I may be looking for help after October 1.

Then I have a moderately sized internally funded project that will be going into its second year. I am teamed with a group of people I didn't know before this year, who I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know and work with this year. I am looking forward to bringing this project to fruition.

Oh and then my meal ticket client for the last six years - the one that defines the pain of "continuing resolution" - my first funded project right after Leif was born, was renewed for another year. Color me shocked. Anyways, nice to have the meal ticket, but I am excited to be weaning myself off the meal ticket... I think.