My brain kept reminding me I should post something “soon” but that it wasn’t urgent because I recently shared an update. “Well, shit” (as John would have said) … last post was February 2023.

Time is weird.

On Friday 7/14/2023 I hit a personal milestone that was both rewarding and melancholy. I officially marked the end of 52 weeks (1 whole year) at a new job in NJ. In a field I didn’t think I’d go back to after leaving an incredible engineering consulting firm 10 years ago.

The rewarding part is that I’m doing work that I enjoy (process control engineering at a large wastewater treatment facility). My career at CDM prepped me for a lot (but certainly not all) that I would encounter. And a lot of that was gleaned from working with John … or adjacent to John … or dinner conversations with John. The man knew engineering but he also knew that he didn’t know everything. It’s one of the things that so many of us loved about him … he never stopped learning. And he never assumed he was the smartest person in the room. I try to take those lessons with me every single day I go to the job.

The melancholy part is that John would have been jumping up and down about some of the things I’m working on … and the people I’m working with. He would have listened to my stories; the wins and the struggles. He would have undoubtedly had amazing advice – both engineering-wise and people-wise. And he certainly would have wanted to meet many of these people … serving them some garden-fresh food and an IPA.

The rewards outweigh the melancholy but, damnit, I miss sharing the daily ups, downs, and sideways with him. I’m not going to post pics of my work because … well, it’s wastewater and it’s just not that photogenic. 😉

Instead, I leave you with an image you may have seen (or have burned into your brain if you worked with him) … John enthusiastically talking about some pipe or valve or system. Probably confidently but nicely telling someone that their understanding was just a little off and “THIS” is how we should do XYZ. The hand in the pocket tells me he was talking to someone that he was trying not to piss off … usually his vibrant explanations required two hands moving about excitedly. May we all find this energy and passion for the work and not let the bullshit get us down. He didn’t.