FINALLY! I finally got my copy of ‘Building e-Commerce Sites
with the .NET Framework’ signed by BOTH Jason Bentrum and James Whatley.
I know! I can now cross this off my list. It’s taken me
forever. I feel all of you did this decades ago. Having the signed copy of this
book in my grubby little hands just eases the mind. I no longer need to stress
over this milestone.
What? Your copy isn’t
signed? You are still working on this project?
Hold on, you don’t even own a copy? You don’t know what I’m
talking about?
Let’s back this up. Let’s begin from the beginning.
I work for a very large and famous cosmetic company, Mary
Kay. But they are so much more than makeup. Besides providing women an
opportunity to start and succeed in a small business, they also manufacture
those cosmetics that are sent to close to 40 countries. This allows women in
those locations to start small businesses too.
Another important part of what this company does is IT. Being into IT doesn’t make sense until you
realize, no other company does what Mary Kay does. International solutions were
not as global as they needed. Mary Kay created a lot of homegrown solutions to
allow those women to succeed.
As .NET and internet commerce become the norm and was expected
by the public, this cosmetic company created a solution to help millions of
women all over the world order, pay, and ship product. At the time, it was
bleeding edge.
I started working with this company close to 15 years ago.
The Wife had told me a couple of coworkers published a book about eCommerce
back in 2002. It was based on their work and the launch of the e-Commerce
system being used by May Kay. That always stayed in the back of my mind. Recently,
I was in a meeting and this book was mentioned. I asked a few follow up
questions and I learned the authors names. I actually knew both of the authors.
I did quick internet search. Since ‘Building e-Commernce
Sites…’ is not currently on the best seller list, I couldn’t go to the corner
book store for a copy. I needed to purchase a used copy. And yes, I paid more
in shipping than the cost of a used copy.
That is the price of my autograph addiction.
Jason has moved on to other opportunities. However, His
Wife, was my current manager. I asked for a few minutes of her time and handed
over the book. She laughed when she realized what was in my hands. I asked if she
could get Jason to sign it for me. She gladly accepted the assignment.
After I got the book back with Jason’s signature, I needed
to get the other autograph to make my OCD happy. James still worked at Mary
Kay. He is little higher on the food chain than me. We don’t cross paths very
often. I set up a short meeting with him. The meeting invite did explain I had
a copy of the book.
James signed and he afforded me some time to reminisce. It
was a very busy time for Jason and James. They were busy finishing and
launching the eCommerce system; over 60 hours a week for months. They worked on
the book on the weekends. The publisher changed their representative. The plan
for the book promotion changed. They sold more copies overseas than
domestically.
Since everyone is busy, we ended the meeting. I thanked him
and smiled as I made my way back to my desk. Another successful addition to my collection.
While my tone is lighthearted, I’m very impressed.
Writing a book and getting it published is an incredible accomplishment. I am 'tipping my hat' in respect.
AH
