What's a stemy? And where can I get one?
What's a 'stemy'?
I guess my name needs a bit of an explanation. My given name is Stephen Mynhier which most people (family included) will attempt to shorten to Steve, Stevie, Steverino, or any of another dozen variations of the name Steven. Yeah... huh uh... not my name. So when I started as an insourced contractor with Microsoft back in 2001, I was asked my name. "Stephen," I replied. "Nope. Got too many Stephen's already... What's your alias?" "A dash stemy." "Cool. Stemy it is." So it stuck. And it might require a little explanation from time to time, but I know exactly who they're talking about when they say 'stemy.' Now, I won't say who it was, but I think that you can figure it out.
Your degree is in what?
I've always loved computers. Playing with this... tinkering with that... I asked my parents for an Atari 2600. They gave me a VIC-20. The VIC led to the C64/128 and all was good. I didn't need any friggin high tech 5.25" floppy discs for my computer. I had a tape drive! Not a DLT... or an LTO... or a DAT... all I had to do was go down to the store and pick up a Memorex 60 min tape. That suited me just fine... ok, not really. Tapes sucked, but I could start loading my game, watch an episode of Transformers, and then run back my computer just in time for it to finish loading. True multitasking. Bottom line is that I was in computers from early on and I loved it. And 'everyone' knows that you don't get a degree in something you love. People who do that become art history majors... or dance majors... or theatre majors. I went to college and got a degree in Textile and Polymer Chemistry. And trust me, no one in their right mind loves that. But it's the type of field for 'good' and 'responsible' people. And so I graduated from Clemson University (Go Tigers!) in 1995 and started working in sulfur dye chemistry research in 1996. (The 95-96 school year was an 8 month experiment called Graduate School that is best forgotten.)
And your point is?
The chemical industry (especially Textile Chemical) is not the best place to be employed. Free towels and sheets will only get you so far in the world. I moved from Greenville, SC to Dallas, TX in 1999 to take a job as a lab manager. Some of you (especially those around NC) will remember the riches to rags story of Pillowtex. I went to night school after work to work on marketable skills (read as 'NT 4') in the IT industry. After getting my MCSE (and after Pillowtex bounced a check to me), I took a job with an outsource partner of Microsoft. My job was to support Exchange 5.0 and 5.5 (with a dash of Exchange 4.0 thrown in for flavor). After about a year, I moved in-house and started supporting all Microsoft messaging products on the 24x7 shift at the Las Colinas campus. Near the end of my one year contract, I moved to Kingsport, TN to work as an AD and Exchange administrator for Eastman Chemical. In a move that I can only interpret as God reminding me that the chemical industry is not a good place for me, Eastman Chemical announced layoffs in late 2003. Conveniently, my manager from the 24x7 days contacted me right after the layoffs were announced and asked if I was interested in coming back to support Exchange for Microsoft. I started another contract in early 2004 at the Charlotte, NC campus. Late in my contract, I was offered a full-time position as an Alliance Engineer with the Premier Federal group in Arizona. I now sit onsite with my customer handling both political and technical situations in what I can only describe as a very 'unique' environment. Just remember... it's a dry heat.
