Beta Testing Best Practices

No I'm not kidding.

Is Beta testing a new website a best practice for site design?

Are there any standards for how best to go about Beta testing?

C'mon smart kids, tell me what you know :)

We have... More Indecision?

So here's an e-mail I sent to my family a few days ago:

Me: I don't think they will finish on time.

My Mom: They'll finish on time.

My Dad: They might not finish on time.

A Coworker: Um, he may finish on time. But he might not.

The Builder: I still think we can finish on time.

The Real Estate Agent: I'm starting to think that he might not finish on time.

Me: Damn it.

But, if it's not done, he will pay to keep my rates down and to keep my storage, and to keep me in the ExtendaStay. However, closing at the beginning of the month will cost me more in terms of pre-paying my interest rate.

And it's a hastle.

Arrg.

After that depressing revelation, the next day the real estate agent called to say that we could close... Friday instead of Thursday. After an additional day of worrying about the delivery of my stuff (scheduled for my new closing date, would have to be moved to a week later if it had to be changed, at a cost of $3/day for extra storage), my I-always-say-yes-of-course-wecandoit! builder said that I can have the stuff delivered before the close. So all, at least for now, in my constantly changing new home purchase appears to be going well.

And I have walls! Oh, baby! They just need a bit more plaster. Cross your fingers that I'll have cabinets when I stop by tomorrow for my 3 times weekly ritual of peering in the windows.

I went home last weekend. Friday I stayed over at Jenn's, since I didn't get to say goodbye to her, Adam and the kids before I left. We just hung around the house, but it was really nice to spend time with them. The baby, Hannah, has developed an attitude. Jenn says she doesn't know where she went wrong, I said, um, of course your kids have attitude! You have attitude (to spare).

The next day I hung out with my dad, who shocked me by offering to cook me lunch. I kept my request simple (scrambled eggs and cheese, with the brown eggs that I left them when I moved) and happily ate the (from the freezer) pie that he baked me too. And I didn't even have a father's day gift for him - unless you count the stuff I brought him from India (a shirt, coffee, and - don't ask - toothpicks).

Then I hit my hometown's new Ikea with Autumn and Madilyn. It took us four and a half hours to get through the place, but I got a damn good parking place. And some cute glasses, pretty storage boxes, and cork pot holders (2 bucks). Also, it was nice to hang out with people my age who I know and can joke around with in i-schoolese.

In other news: Who has a super-successful former 622 group? I do, I do! But, looking at Noor's blog, it doesn't look like she's made the announcement yet, so I'll stay silent (I can, you know). Let's just say they are lucky to have her!

Coworkers continue to be cool, I'm learning a bit about patents and financials, still sick of the ExtendaStay....

Tomorrow is Friday! And, it may be my last weekend not in my own place, where I will have my own Westie puppy. So cute. And I can walk it in the great park that's about two blocks from my new place. This weekend, I get to see tons of bands at Cincinnati's Desdemona Music Festival. I don't even mind that I'm going all by myself :)

We have a date

For the closing on my condo! Woohoo!!! It's later than I wanted (since it's not, um, tomorrow) but it is before the end of the month. And my rates for the mortgages will still be good, and I won't have to pay anything for storing my stuff. Coolio.

Meanwhile, I'm still stuck in the Extendastay. Which is still a little depressing. I have no motivation to buy or cook real food, since the kitchen and pans kinda creep me out, and I don't want to move anything. So I'm eating 1) goldfish crackers 2) ice cream 3) frozen meals 4) bananas and 5) oreo cookies. At least the food in the cafeteria isn't bad. And the room here has Showtime, so I got to watch the awesome movie Saved yesterday.

Every time I visit my new place, I am happy about the trees and the views in the neighborhood. Plus, the police are doing a big ole' crime crackdown there right now, so maybe it will only be the murder capital of the city for one year. Something to hope for.

Apparently my place will have walls by Monday. Cross your fingers for me....

Sleepy in Cincy

I made it to my new home city today. After 1) 4.5 hours of sleep (combination of partying and a late night call from my sister) 2) leaving about 3 hours after I planned and 3) hitting my one (and only) traffic jam as soon as I got on the highway in Ann Arbor.

My real estate agent showed me the state of my condo first (it doesn't have walls, but should still be finished in time to keep my interest rate - cross your fingers). BTW, if you are buying a rehabed condo, seeing the insides of the ancient walls is not pretty. Then, we looked at the unit in my building where I was going to stay until it was finished. After about 10 minutes, my agent decided (without any protests from me) that I should stay in a hotel instead. Most of the lights in the unit either didn't work, or had no switches, there was no place to put the windo A/C, and the footprints of the last person to enter looked like the ones you see in museums telling you where to go. So I will be in a hotel for a few days, then hopefully I will move to a another of my builder's complexes on my street, with units renovated four years ago (rather than before I was born).

I'm okay with this arrangement, except for two things. I did not pack to stay in a hotel. I have no idea where my toothbrush is, and I had to carry in baskets of my clothes. Tomorrow, in daylight, I will try to make sense of the mass of stuff (which I would have just carried in and sorted in doors had earlier plans worked out) in the hotel parking lot. Also, I now feel even less settled than I thought I would. I'm not only in temporary accomodations, I'm in temporary accomodations awaiting my move into the second set of temporary accomodations. And, I will likely have to do my next move after my first or second day of work. Arrrg.

At least I know my way around town. And I know that I have a nice boss, a good job, and friendly coworkers. So I'm actually pretty lucky. Mostly, right now, I just feel tired....