As many of you have already found out, I was introduced last week as the newest member of the ActiveRain team.  Since coming on board, things have been in quite a whirlwind to say the least.  My first major task is taking care of the trouble tickets.  (For those of you who have submitted a ticket, the box has been trimmed to 1/4 the size, but still has over 150 left. So be patient, I'm working on it!) 

By spending the week working on the trouble tickets and fixing things for you, our Activerain Members, I have learned a great deal of information.  This is the good stuff that most of you will never get anywhere else.  So, here are a few observations from my first week with ActiveRain:

1. Claire is the organization behind Activerain.  I have been shocked by her freakishly good organizational skills.  If you need something, you ask her once and the answer is normally waiting in your inbox in less than 5 minutes.  I have also found out that while she is organized more than AROC self, she also has a geek side that likes to do some programming.
2. Jorgen does really exist and has a great sense of humor. The other day while working, my messenger lit up and I was surprised to find out he really exists!  I was surprised that Bob & Jon let him off his hamster wheel long enough to chat for a few minutes.  I thought if Jorgen quit running, the whole place shut down for a few hours.
3. Brad REALLY IS that busy.  I used to call Brad Andersohn as a member at times just to say "Hey man! How you doing!" and normally our call would be ended by, "Sorry Jer, got another call coming in!"  I thought, man Brad, that is my line to get off the phone!, But after one week, I have realized that it is true.  But when you are as good as him, I would call him too for help!
4. Bob is as crazy as you all think. He has been my main point of contact this week as he has been giving me guidance on how to fix most of the issues I have come across.  But in the meantime, the guy has made me laugh my butt off at times with some of the crazy things he says. 
   
5. Jeff and I share something special.  No, we don't have the same mother, and no we didn't grow up in the same town.  We are the only two on staff that love their Blackberry's! 
6. My Laptop isn't gonna cut it long for this job.  While I love my old Dell Laptop, it has about seen the end of it's lifetime.  Luckily, the new iMac should be here today or tomorrow to make things easier.  I used to be proud of how well I could navigate the web with my touchpad and no mouse.  But, with all I do now, I gotta have a mouse and can't wait for it to arrive!
7. Time to do some investing. What am I investing in?  Well, with the long hours I have put in this week, I have need a few extra shots of caffeine along the way to keep me going.  Sadly enough, while the rest of the team is west coast and near that famous Starbucks place, I unfortunately am not a coffee drinker.  So, for me, I need to take out some stock in Mountain Dew. Yesterday I made my first purchase.  I think this should last about 4 days!

Well, these are just a few of my observations from this first week.  I will try to share with everyone from time to time my experiences with this phenomenal company.  In the meantime, have fun dancing in the rain!