2008-11-19 21:24:00
This new job at $CLIENT sure is a huge change from my previous position. Of course there's the higher pay which is great and all, but there's also job satisfaction! I'm no longer coming home tired from boredom. These days I'm dead beat from hard and intensive work.
At $CLIENT I'm in a highly responsible position, being one of the few experts on BoKS that people can turn to. Due to our current constraints in the field of personnel our workload is high and we're constantly shifting priorities. I also frequently run into rather intricate problems that require a lot of puzzling over a prolonged period of time. All in all this new job is a challenge!
I also find myself doing stuff that I dreaded a few years back; I guess it comes with age ^_^ These days I enjoy roaming among managers (whom I lovingly referred to as suits not too long ago), trying to find solutions to organisational problems my team runs into.
I guess I like the feeling of having real responsibilities, accountability and a mental challenge. It also helps that my colleagues are awesome people :)
kilala.nl tags: career, work, life,
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2008-10-09 10:37:00
About a week ago my contract with Snow ended and my new contract with Unixerius took off. My friend and new boss Dirk had been making arrangements with $NEW-CLIENT a month in advance and so far things seems to be coming together. There's just a little more paperwork and a wad of political red tape to get through. If everything works out I'll start my new job on Monday.
It's nice to make a fresh start though. Slowly I've seen things gather that all imprint the idea in my head that, yes, this -is- something new and exciting!
Yesterday I got my first box of business cards. I've been buying new (and decent looking!) shirts the past few weeks. I got a stack of stationary with the company logo on it. And of course I also got a shiny, new company car. Hooray for that Civic hybrid! /o/
Officially I spent my first week on the contract on paternity leave, to take care of Dana and Marli. This second week was spent on the clock, waiting for the paperwork to clear. And next week I'll finally be able to sink my teeth in! Rawr! ^_^
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2008-09-05 22:38:00
This afternoon I got a call from my friend and new boss Dirk. We'd planned on me driving to his place this weekend to take care of the paperwork. Knowing about Marli's condition and willing to save me a lot of travel time he suggested that he drop by this evening instead.
As the title of this blogpost suggests, the paperwork isn't all that he brought ^_^ It's Unixerius' policy to give each employee a Macbook and an iPhone to work with and he brought my pair in early /o/
I know I've used the pic to the left about 1.5 years ago, but I reckon a re-use isn't an awful crime. Mr Sienna's right: the iPhone is fscking swank :D
The best thing about all of this though, is the fact that my contract's signed and I'm now officially an employee of Unixerius (per 1/10). I've been hearing some great things about my new assingment. It seems there's a whole rumor mill going! "Have you heard?! Thomas Sluyter's coming back!" Seriously, I'd never expected someone to say such a thing :)
kilala.nl tags: career, macbook, iphone,
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2008-08-25 17:38:00
This morning I had an appointment for an interview, seeing how I start a new job on October the first. I'd expected the interview to be over within an hour, meaning I'd be having lunch with Dirk (my new boss) around noon. Well, things turned out quite differently!
I met my old colleague Brendan (who's now a team lead for the group I'll be joining) around eleven. We had a nice chat and got reacquainted, feeling good about me joining the team. A little to twelve we went downstairs to meet with two of the project managers I'd be working with; just for a short chat. Well, this short "chat" turned into their weekly meeting which I was invited to join in on. It felt great to be helping out with the list of issues their client had given them, especially since I was treading old and familiar ground.
This weekly meeting turned out to be exactly as how I remembered the meetings to be at $COMPANY: needlessly long and focussing on anal details ^_^ We needed ninety minutes to go over thirty bullet points and then we still weren't finished :D
But seriously, the work sounds absolutely great and I'll be working in the near proximity of some old friends and acquaintances. I'm very much looking forward to this new assignment! Challenging work and an interesting work environment! Huzzah! /o/
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2008-08-07 22:01:00
The above image is part of the official school papers that I managed to lay my hands on. The above info proves that I managed to score a full 100% on the required ECTS (European standard credits) to pass my first year.
In the Netherlands this first year's scoring is a rather big deal, which is called the propedeuse. If you manage to get your prop a number of doors open for you, including a leg up to a university degree. Also, getting all 60 ECTS in your first year shows that your dedicated to your education and that you're willing to put in the time.
Anywho... It's official: I got my prop :)
kilala.nl tags: school, career,
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2008-07-21 18:31:00
Today's been a big and busy day. Not just because of my mom's visit and all the baby stuff, but more.
Today I submitted my letter of resignation to the directors at Snow. I had decided a few weeks ago that I wanted a new job to fit this new era in our life as a family. Not only should this job offer something new wrt work, but it should also offer enough money for me to take care of my wife and child.
After a few weeks of e-mails, phone calls, interviews and secrecy, I've chosen my new employer. Earlier this month I already dropped some hints, about boning up on virtualization and on a possible business deal with a friend. The latter is the option that I've gone with: starting in a few weeks I'll be a consultant for Unixerius.
Exciting times!
kilala.nl tags: work, life, career,
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2008-07-14 19:20:00
Business etiquette has changed a lot through the years. One thing that seems to have disappeared completely is the notion of having one's boss over for dinner.
I remember from the eighties that occasionally we would have guests over for dinner. Us kids were expected to be on our best behaviour, or upstairs asleep, IIRC. These guests would be from my dad's firm and IIRC they were higher-ups. I also remember the same thing occurring in many of the cartoons of the time.
In Jan, Jans en de kinderen (Jan, Jans and the kids, pictured above) Jan would occasionally have to entertain his bosses or directors to stay on their good sides. You see the same thing happening in series like The Flintstones, where Fred has to appease Mr. Slate after some cock-up.
I'm wondering if anyone else remembers this stuff from back then. I reckon it stopped being "a thing" sometime late in the eighties, because I don't seem to recall anything like that happening in the nineties. I wonder why we stopped doing this. I wonder why we actually -started- doing this :)
Anyone a bit older than me willing to shed some light?
kilala.nl tags: work, career, childhood,
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2008-07-13 09:47:00
This week I'll be boning up on "virtualization", in the computing sense. I have a few very interesting prospects on the horizon, one of which includes this particular field in IT.
As part of the application process for this opportunity, I've been asked to prepare a short, technical presentation on any part of virtualization. Because I do not have that much experience with it yet, I reckoned I might as well make it a learning experience for myself as well :) Today and tomorrow will be spent reading dozens of documents and sifting the useful material. The rest of the week, I'll prepare for the presentation, which'll happen on Friday.
Exciting! ^_^
kilala.nl tags: studying, career,
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2008-07-07 21:55:00
A few years ago I learnt a hard lesson, a very hard one, which led me to the following principle: do not do business with friends or relatives. (I'm surprised I didn't list it in my list of beliefs) If anything should ever go wrong, it can only end in tears and heartbreak, which is not something I particularly enjoy.
To take the earlier proverb to an extreme: Who has been scalded with hot soup blows on cold water.
These days this principle's grown into a caricature of its original form. I've grown so weary of making deals with loved and trusted ones that it took me a few days to ask my father for a loan (which happened a few months back).
Tonight though, I'm being put to a test. My friend Dirk has made me an offer which is good. Very good. But in spite of that, a very large part of my reason is saying that it's too risky, even though there is no real risk to us. I will have to mull over this for a while... Maybe sleep will bring the answer.
kilala.nl tags: work, friends, career,
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2008-07-07 07:37:00
Over the past few weeks I've been updating my resume, just to make sure it makes a good impression. I'd been using the same resume for three years now and have never changed much about the format, nor the layout. I guess I'd gotten so used to doing it this way, that in my eyes it was The Right Way(tm). Just to be sure, I asked the guys in the Ars Technica boardroom subforum for their opinions. Let's just say that I had a lot of work to do! ^_^;
In the version 3.x format of my resume I'd posted all of my technical skills at the jobs where they'd been used. Ie, Solaris was to be found with every client, Nagions was listed with client X and Tivoli was listed with client Y. And so forth. The job descriptions that came with each of these jobs were also rather bland.
With version 4.x I moved all the technical skills into a section of their own, thus removing clutter and making things more legible. I also changed the job descriptions in such a way that they didn't just list the basic/obvious stuff. Rather, each description would focus on some of the achievements I made at each client.
This prompted an interesting question from one of the Ars subscribers:
Your second period (top of second page) is exceptionally content free. Apparently you were in a lot of meetings with some other people. Compare this section to the next. It almost looks as if you took a demotion, or were on vacation.
In this case, LordFrith is comparing the work that I do at $CLIENT with the work at $PREVIOUS-CLIENT. He remarks that it seems that I'm doing much less ambitious work and wonders whether I was demoted; and rightly so!
Yes, the work I'm doing at $CLIENT is little more than basic systems administration. I go through our daily routine and don't have many "exciting" projects. This isn't a matter of demotion, but a matter of consulting (detachering in dutch): sometimes you get an exciting job and sometimes you just do normal, dull work.
So why did I stick with this unchallenging work? Why didn't I ask for a heavier project which'd shine on my resume? Because at the time I was still going to school :) For the past year I've held two full-time jobs (2x 30h a week) simultaneously: one during the day and one during the night. By staying with a client where the workload is light I've allowed myself the room I needed to work on my second BSc degree.
Anywho... I'm really happy with all the feedback given by the Ars folks. With their help, my resume's improved a lot.
kilala.nl tags: career, work, writing,
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2008-06-23 20:54:00
*sigh* That was it...
Today I had my last two exams of this school year and, barring any mishaps, I won't have to redo them. Meaning that now my college career is officially over... For now. *sniffle* I'll definitely miss it.
Ah... *stretch* I'll be back in a few years; no doubt about that. Now! Off to do some work around the house!
kilala.nl tags: school, career,
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2008-06-05 12:14:00
Wow! Between yesterday's interviews and my allergies, I'm completely worn out. Stupid allergies D: The interviews went quite nicely though!
In the morning I paid a visit to the Via Nova College in Utrecht. They're quite modest in size (the current student body weighs in at around 450 and next year's will be around 600) and they're very progressive in their didactics. I had a great talk with one of their team leaders and we're going to try and find a position that would be suitable for me. We're also exploring the SOS (Samen op Scholen) project, which would offer me the opportunity to work and study at the same time. I'm really enthused about the Via Nova!
My chat with Remco Verhoef of Red Five was rather fruitful! He's going to compile a list of tasks that they've had for a long while and that they'd like to hand over to a freelance admin. This ought to give me a few interesting jobs to fill any holes I'll have in my income. Besides, it'll be nice to at least stay involved with IT a -little- bit.
Finally, my chat at the SG Maarsbergen was short but sweet. Unfortunately the person I was meeting had to cancel our interview, due to personal circumstances. He did have about fifteen minutes to show me around the school though. Seriously, this is the kind of school that I wanted to go to as a kid: all kinds of beautiful machinery that reeks of diesel, large kitchens and bakeries and a few nicely stocked workshops. I'd love to teach maths over there, but unfortunately all they can offer me are one or two internships. I'm not going to write them off though, simply because their school seems awesome :D
kilala.nl tags: health, career, school, rhythm,
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2008-06-01 20:16:00
Man o man, is this week going to be exciting and busy! ^_^
For starters, tomorrow will be completely jam-packed! I'll start off with a morning at one of the schools I'm interviewing with, to get a taste of their atmosphere. After our very pleasant meeting two weeks ago, we wanted to make sure that I like the school well enough before getting down to real business.
I'll then head off to school, which lasts from 1200 until 2000, mixing three different courses with a small project that we're working on. After that I'll meet up with my ever-so lovely guidance counselor, to have a chat about my progress at school. She's been of great help to me this year and I think we can both be pleased with the progress I've made. :)
Tuesday, thursday and friday will be spent at the office, doing what we always do :) I'm working on a rather important project, which consists mostly of paperwork, to ensure the SOX compliancy of $CLIENT.
Wednesday will be a rather special day... I've taken the full day off from work (man, school is really cutting into my vacation hours!), to tackle no less than three interviews!
In the morning I'll visit a school here in Utrecht. They're pretty big on that New Learning thing and I'm quite interested to see how their school works. My classmate Badegul has told me a little about their school and they seem like a rather interesting lot! They're on the up-and-up when it comes to modern teaching methods.
Around lunch I'll pay a visit to Red Five in Woerden. They're the software developers and hosting company behind most of Ephorus' products. I spoke to Ephorus' director a few weeks ago and he set up a meeting for me at Red Five. Maybe I'll be able to provide some consulting on the side for these guys, while I'm working in education. Who knows? ^_^
Finally, in the late afternoon, I'll have a second job interview at a school in Maarsbergen. They only focus on the VMBO level of high school education, meaning that they're focused on getting kids ready for blue collar jobs and the service industry. Their school seems very nice, insofar that it's a bit small and everyone's acquainted. Also, their school's located in an old monastery in the middle of the woods. How cool is that?!
Finally, finally, next weekend will be Snow's annual summer get-together. This year, the whole company will gather on Texel (one of the islands on the dutch coast) to have some fun in the sun and sand. A whole bunch of them are going skydiving, but I opted to take along my homework and to ride my bike around a little bit.
So! Busybusybusy! But I'm actually feeling quite well under all the stress! ^_^
kilala.nl tags: school, career,
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2008-05-22 21:49:00
Today I took a few hours off from work, so I could go out for an interview at Oosterlicht College high school. I'd seen on their website that they were looking for math teachers and thought I ought to give it a whirl.
Their school is quite large, with around 1800 students at their main location, but I've heard good stuff about them. Besides, the school's been divided into two virtual departments, meaning that I'll only interact with about half of that number of students. In this case the job I'm shooting for is part of the VMBO track (the bottom of three ranks in the dutch high school system).
I had a nice talk with the section chief and the head of the maths team, which lasted for about 75 minutes. I think they were at least moderately interested in having me on their team and we agreed that I'd come and observe the school in full swing RSN(tm). If, after those few hours, I'd still like to work at the OC, then we'll have our official talk about the terms and such. So far, things are looking good :)
I was also reassured that, as a teacher, I wouldn't have to earn a lot less than what I'm getting right now. In the dutch educational system (primary and high school), personnel is divided into four salary groups: LA, LB, LC and LD. As a high school teacher I'd rank in LB, meaning that I'd start out at 2250 euros a month. However, since most schools are willing to match your current paycheck if you're leaving another field, I'd be making more. This would put me over halfway of the salary playing field in the LB class. In the end, this means that I won't be taking a pay cut, but that there is definitely less space for me to grow in the future.
Anywho... I'm quite excited about my first interview in the educational system! I was a bit anxious before we got started, but I soon felt at ease. It was just like any other interview I'd been too. Just a bit friendlier and for once I wasn't the stronger party :)
kilala.nl tags: school, teaching, career,
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2008-05-14 21:08:00
Wow, I am -beat-! =_=
The 1.5 hours I spent at the Banenmarkt at college really took it's toll on me :) It was a great gathering and I managed to speak to everyone I wanted to just barely within the time limit.
I dropped off a total of eight resumes, spoke to reps of eleven schools and have a few very good prospects. I also spoke with folks from three other educational organisations and their information was rather valuable as well (such as the perfectly swank Het Utrechts VO in kaart booklet).
A few reps seemed moderately positive about my suggestion of combining a teaching position/internship, with a full-time supporting role at their school. So that's a good sign :)
Right now, while I am still able of forming coherent sentences, I'm making sure I get all their contact info into my address book, so I can't lose it. After that I'm off to bed... I need some sleep...
kilala.nl tags: school, career, teaching,
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2008-05-14 09:27:00
An ironed shirt, a stack of resumes and a pouch of calling cards... This can only mean one thing! We're going networking again! ^_^
Today my department in college (hint: the .edu dept) 's holding their annual banenmarkt; call it a "career day" if you will. For about three hours, students will get a chance to talk to reps from all kinds of high schools in our region. The objective, of course, is to get your foot in the door for an internship or a teaching position.
As I mentioned earlier, I'm on the lookout for a real teaching position. I need the experience and I'm anxious to try my hand at a steady teacher's job. So, while I will definitely grasp any internships I can get, I will be on the prowl for fulltime jobs. Or at least to get my name out there.
This is going to be interesting! :)
kilala.nl tags: school, career,
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2007-12-16 11:46:00
For the past few months we've been thinking about what we're going to do once I land that teacher's certificate. That's still three years away, but a little planning never hurt anyone.
One of the things we'd been pondering is to move away from the urbanised west of the Netherlands. Don't get me wrong, I really -love- living in Utrecht, but housing doesn't come cheap over there. Let alone in the bigger cities, like Rotterdam and Amsterdam. And at one point in time we will want to move to a bigger place. Again: I love our apartment, but wouldn't mind have a two, or three storey house.
Which is why Marli's been drooling over the Funda housing website since last night. She's been going over houses in Friesland (one of the Netherlands' rural area) and she's been falling in love :) For same amount of money that we paid for our 85m^2 apartment, we'll be able to afford a nice house with a garden! If that doesn't sound good, I don't know what does!
Thing is: in Friesland there's next-to-no call for ICT specialists at all. So we'll have to put off moving there for at least three years. And when you're already browsing through all these neat looking houses, that's not what you want to hear :)
kilala.nl tags: career, life, house,
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2007-08-31 07:00:00
Last night was the school year's official opening at Hogeschool Utrecht. Around 17:00 all aspiring tweedegraads teachers gathered in the cafeteria for a speech from the rector. It was interesting to see that the group was both large and varied. I reckon there were about a hundred people there, maybe one-twenty. Aged between twenty and somewhere in their fifties I saw a lot of caucasians, mixed in with a few turks and moroccans.
One startling realization was the fact that almost 50% of the group were there for the same degree I was after: tweedegraads maths teacher. I guess either it's a popular passtime, or people have caught on to the fact that maths teachers are sought after. All in all there's sixty people starting the maths course this year. Wow!
After the whole introduction and a tour of the school building (which we'll be leaving come January, to move to a new one) there were drinks. I finally got the chance to meet some of my fellow students. It's slightly daunting to know that a whole bunch of them are already in education, but I'm not going to let that get in my way :)
So far they seem like a nice bunch of people! There's the strong-and-silent guys, the rowdy drinking-after-playing-footbal guys, the silent-and-mousy women and so on. There was also this one woman (I think she's in her forties though I'm horrible at guessing ages) who's great! She's absolutely bubbling with enthusiasm for the course! Kind of like how I felt after my intake with the coordinator :)
Yes. This is going to be an interesting year!
kilala.nl tags: career, school, teaching, maths,
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2007-08-24 14:11:00
About an hour ago I had my final meeting from the long list of appointments I'd made in light of my career change. After talking to teachers, schools, students, my employer and so on I finally got to talk to the government. The CWI (Centrum voor Werk en Inkomen / Center for Work and Income) is the part of the government that jobless people go to talk to. They are the ones who cover finance of those missing out on (a part of) a job.
Finding the place turned out to be harder than the talk itself. I had a quick chat with a friendly lady who was rather amused by my case. The only way I could get an appointment at the CWI was to register a new account with them, faking that I was going to be unemployed ^_^ After we got things going it soon became clear that I'd already covered all my options and had explored all avenues.
So, while the talk itself didn't give me any new insights, it did provide me with something important: reassurance that I'm on the right track.
kilala.nl tags: career, money,
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2007-08-22 08:58:00
There you have it: my school roster for this year. It may be a bit hard to read the first time around, but let me break it down for you.
The table shows all courses for both the first and second years of my study (english math teacher). All course are given on Monday and the appropriate times are shown on the left. The four columns to the right indicate each semester: there's four in a year and most courses are only given once a year.
Due to my prior experience and BCS in electronics I get to skip on approximately 100 - 130 ECTS out of the 240 ECTS required for the whole study. ECTS are the pan-European equivalent of America's credits. Because of that I can manage to squeeze in some of my second year courses in the first year. W00t! /o/
SEMESTER 1:
* Statistiek 1. I'll need to study both the math and the didactics behind statistics and the calculation of changes.
* SLB. This roughly translates as Study career guidance. We'll discuss my progress, the school itself, the materials. It's a bit of a meta-course.
* Vakdidactiek 2. A second year project on didactics and the interaction with students. I'll need to find out whether I can take this in the first semester without any big problems.
SEMESTER 2:
* Analyse 1. I can skip the math behind analytical math (differentials, integrals, logarithms), but I'll need to study the didactics.
* SLB. The same as the first semester.
* WER. Preparing for my internships, later in the year.
* Kijk op leerlingen. A project on the psychology and behaviour of students.
One challenge that I'm going to have to tackle is this. In my first two years I'll have the course WER, which stands for Work, Experience, Reflection. The second-year WER requires me to teach ten consecutive classes, one a week. This would mean that I'd have to convince Snow to allow me to take ten three-day work weeks. Ouch. So far I don't know how or when all of this will take place, but I'd better prepare a good story for Snow :)
kilala.nl tags: career, school,
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2007-08-21 14:37:00
Oh dear ^_^;;
Right now I'm at school, waiting for my 1500 appointment with the course coordinator. My $DEITY, am I nervous!
I left work around 1230, handing over my operational shift to Edmond. I quickly rushed home, 'cause I still needed to get pictures taken as well. The plan was have to that done at city hall, while Marli got her passport renewed. We left around one and I was already feeling my nerves :D I was tense and my stomach was playing hell on me! It only got worse when I left city hall around two to catch my bus. In my book that's cutting things rather close, since I like to be about half an hour early for big meetings. I had no clue how long my bus ride would take.
Well, turns out everything was fine. I got here half an hour early, took a trip to the john and found the office I was expected at. And now I'm here, typing up this little thing. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out.
This is -so- funny ^_^ This is the first time in -years- that I've felt nervous to the bone! The hour before our wedding was even easier than this! As I mentioned earlier I believe that this is down to the fact that there's a real possibility of me failing at this endeavour.
*shudder* Well, here goes!
kilala.nl tags: school, life, career,
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2007-08-16 10:28:00
Damn. I should've seen this coming.
I just phoned the IBG to check up on my college application. The school coordinator'd told me that my application would come through in time, but I decided to check up on it anyway. Nope. No sign of any application or registration yet. Apparently they take three to four weeks to process. Ugh!
Now I'm going to have to make arrangements with school to either study there unregistered, or to do some other red-tape trickery. It'll work itself out, but it still feels a little stressful.
kilala.nl tags: school, career,
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2007-08-14 22:22:00
Last night, as I was trying to fall asleep, something suddenly dawned on me. I was feeling anxiety, or even fear about making my career switch!
This is the first time in years that I've felt anxious about an undertaking, because I might actually not be able to do it. I know that I love maths and I know that love teaching people. But there's no guarantee for me that I will actually succeed at my college degree.
And you know what?
It feels great!
It's been years since I didn't feel like I could easily tackle a task! Or knowing that I could at least wing it. Nope, this is for real! I love it :3
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2007-08-07 07:55:00
Well, now there's absolutely no way back: I've sent in my application form for the local college. Hopefully I'll receive more information in a few days time.
I have to say that I rather dislike the application process though. In the Netherlands, there's one big organisation that handles 99% of the college and uni applications: Informatie Beheer Groep. They also take care of all student loans and grants and the resulting debts. As they are a governmental organisation, they allow one to log in using one's national DigID. This DigID is tied to one's social security number and allows one to get a lot of stuff done through the web. Thus one will not have to fill out endless forms, or to wait for hours at city hall.
Theoretically speaking that is. Because for some reason the IB Groep doesn't allow you to any applications online. Oh sure, they've made a very nice web app that'll walk you through the process of filling out the form with all the requisite data. Sure! But once the whole process is done, you're still going to have to print the form, sign it and send it in. :(
I thought we were getting that DigID (which includes SMS verificatin) to sign crap like this?
Anywho: the application is on its way! /o/
kilala.nl tags: career, school,
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2007-08-02 15:41:00
Wow, that felt weird...
I just signed my new contract with my employer, taking a 20% pay cut. Damn, putting pen to paper felt odd, if not awkward. Having my nose shoved into the fact that I'll be going from 3000 to 2400 a month made things very definitive. The real loss after taxes isn't that horrible (about three hundred), but it'll still take some getting used to. I now officially earn less than when I joined up with Snow :D
At least it'll properly prepare me for a teacher's salary ^_^;
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2007-07-16 14:23:00
As part of the preparations for my pending return to college I've talked to a few of my colleague's who're in the same boat. Either they're currently in college, have dropped out, or are presently entertaining the option of going to school.
All of them agreed that working part-time is the best option I have. Combining a part-time college course with a full-time job is nigh impossible if you enjoy having a private life. They also stressed the importance of proper time management. It came highly recommended to make a weekly schedule that dictates when I study, when I work, when I do household stuff and very importantly: when I make time for my wife. The general opinion was that combining work and school is definitely possible, but that it will also impose a lot of stress on your personal life.
kilala.nl tags: career,
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2007-07-11 13:14:00
I've bitten the bullet and had my talk with my employer, or more specifically the CTO of our company. He was already aware of my doubts about working in IT (I told him during our latest review meeting), but was still surprised by the suddenness of my change of heart. He also was surprised by my choice of direction. I guess he was expecting me to stick around IT.
Anywho... We had a good talk and it was a big relief to finally get it of my chest and tell the people paying my monthly cheque. Such a relief that it even triggered some reactions in my throat and eyes ;) *cough*
Luckily the boss was rather supportive of my choice, opting to help me get where I want to go rather than sending me away. He told me it shouldn't be a problem to let me work 32 hours a week (or even 24 if the need arise), given my record with the company. And finally he gave me some names of colleagues who went through the same process, which adds another group to my list of people to talk to: fellow part-time students.
All in all that was a very positive outcome.
kilala.nl tags: career, part-time,
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2007-07-11 09:16:00
So far I've talked to the people in the field, the folks I should end up working with. Now, in order to get there I've started talking with the college I'm eyeing.
First off, here's the pages for the two courses that I need to decide between:
* Second degree teacher in English
* Second degree teacher in Math
I've talked to the secretariate of the english course. They told me I'd be able to enroll until the end of August, so that seems fine to me. They also suggested that I e-mail the course's coorinator to pose specific questions and to arrange for an intake meeting. At said meeting we'd discuss my curricilum and how it can be adjusted to fit my prior experience.
So. Off to send an e-mail I am!
kilala.nl tags: career, school,
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2007-07-10 23:47:00
I can heartily recommend anyone considering a career switch to go and have a chat with people who work in their aspired field.
I made a little visit to my old high school this morning, to talk to their HR guy. He gave me a lot of valuable tips and suggested that a part-time study would indeed be the best and safest option for me. He indicated that it would be nigh on impossible for me to get a zij-instroom position, due to my lack of experience.
He also suggested that I go have a talk with the CWI (Centrum voor Werk en Inkomen), the part of the dutch government charged with work and job security. He reckoned that I might strike a lucky deal with them, getting a subsidy for hours I didn't spend working for Snow. In order to make time for my education I'd need to cut back on my working hours (and thus my monthly wages) by about 40%. This grant might help cover for at least part of the money I'd miss out on.
Tomorrow I'll also make a phone call with the CO of another high school. His number was given to me by my father's girlfriend who happens to work with the fellow. I'm curious if he has some other useful tips for me :)
kilala.nl tags: career, life, money, school,
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2007-07-10 23:34:00
Now that I'd decided to become a teacher, it left me with even more questions (duh). Which subject would I teach? At what kind of school? What kind of education do I need? Where do I study? How will this fit in with my job? Will I even be able to keep my job? OMG, will we be able to pay our mortgage and still have food on the table?! ONOZ!
Stuff like that.
Well... I quickly decided that I'd like to teach english or math at a high school level. I can wax lyrically about both subjects and both fields offer me with loads of new stuff to learn and explore.
So... How do you go from having a completely unrelated job, to being a teacher? Here's how... (mind you, all of this applies to the Netherlands).
You start out with two options:
1. You take up a part-time or full-time college education. (deeltijd or voltijd in dutch).
2. You take up a part-time teaching position and follow additional classes to become a real teacher.
This second option is called zij-instroom in dutch and really is only an option if your ambitions lie in teaching the same field you worked in. So for example, I could get a zij-instroom position teaching Comp Sci at high schools, whereas a biologist could start teaching Biology. Zij-instroom however requires you to have real and provable experience in said field, including the degrees that come with it. You will also need to take an entrance exam because they won't let just everybody start teaching. Should you be accepted for zij-instroom, then you'll get a two-year teaching permit, which is directly connected to a contract between you and the school in question.
Anywho... What with zij-instroom not being an option for my two chosen fields (I have neither a degree, nor work experience in english or math) I have to opt for the longer path. Getting into a full-time education (voltijd) really isn't an option for me anymore: I wouldn't have any income, I'd be bored stiff and I'd be in a class full of eighteen year olds. Which automatically guides me towards a part-time education.
Luckily every college in the Netherlands offers deeltijd educations for professionals looking for a career switch, or an upgrade to their knowledge. The Hogeschool Utrecht offers teachers educations that are actually reputable and it's close to my home as well! Now all that remains is to convince my employer to let me work either three or four days a week. *gulp*
kilala.nl tags: career, life, school,
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2007-07-10 23:25:00
This blog post was made invisible initially. It has now been made available to the Internet at large. Sorry for breaking continuity :D
Actually... I didn't decide to go into education right from the get-go.
On the 27th of June I first had that breakdown, followed by a lot of talking with Marlijne. After that came a lot of soul searching of what I'd like to do and what I -could- do. While I wanted to do something radically different, I also needed to stay realistic.
So I started reading up on career switches, visiting the Ars Openfora and various dutch websites dedicated to the subject. And then I started to think of career options... I'd repeatedly expressed interest in becoming a craftsman, building furniture or getting into metalwork. Big, mechanical machines turn me on. I enjoy gardening and being outside. I considered becoming an office assistant. I even thought about joining the military!
And then, one evening, Marli reminded me of aspirations I'd harbored a few years ago. Back then I'd thought of getting a part-time teaching job at the local college, educating the next generation of sysadmins. This little nudge made me remember that, yes indeed, I do enjoy teaching! I love explaining stuff to people, making sure they understand all they need to and want to about the subject. This made me browse the Gathering of Tweakers fora, to search for stories about IT folks studying to become teachers. Well, I found these stories and they enticed me even more.
So the decision was made: I'll become a teacher!
kilala.nl tags: career, teaching, life,
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2007-07-10 22:25:00
This blog post was made invisible initially. It has now been made available to the Internet at large. Sorry for breaking continuity :D
Back in April, I felt like crap. Then, in June, it came back. Now, with the start of July I've made my decision:
I'm getting out of IT.
That day in June something snapped inside of me and I decided that I could no longer carry on working as a sysadmin. The work no longer motivates me, nor does it offer me some shine of glamour. I know that, while there are still endless, uncharted seas for me to discover, this field no longer holds a challenge for me. I know that whatever I'll need to learn, I'll be able to do so in a few days. Lather, rinse, repeat, until I grow old.
No thank you.
No longer will I be shifting bits and bytes around, being a faceless peon in a huge corporation. No longer will I be burning midnight oil at the altar of Unix.
Instead I will make difference in this world and I will be of use to the general public. I will try to educate this world's children, nudging them into directions they might otherwise ignore.
I have decided to go into education and become a high school teacher.
kilala.nl tags: career, life, school,
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2007-05-05 11:30:00
It's no secret that I've been down in the dumps for about a month now. No motivation at work, no energy to enjoy stuff at home, no libido worth mentioning... stuff like that. Let's call it a depression. Not clinical depression mind you, just an ordinary depression.
It's obvious to me that this moping around is being caused by me not being happy about the state of my life. One of the most important factors I believe is that I'd like to do creative work as opposed to the maintenance and upkeep that I'm doing right now.
I found it awfully interesting to read something on Freud's ideas about depression and the process of self improvement. The snippet below (from Wikipedia) supports what I already knew, while also suggesting that this rut is going to last until I've changed my life sufficiently.
The depressed mood is adaptive in that it leads the person towards altering his thought patterns and behavior or way of living or else continues until such a time as he does so. It can be argued that depression and clinical depression is in fact the refusal of a person to heed the call to change from within his own mind. [...]
Depression appears to have the effect of stopping a person in his or her tracks and forcing him or her to turn inwards and engage in a period of self reflection; it is a deeply introspective state. During this period, which can last anywhere from days to years, the individual must find a new way to interpret his thoughts and feelings and reassess the extent to which his appraisal of his reality is realistic. [...]
Some psychologists have speculated that the depressed state more accurately reflects reality than normal perceptions due to reduced self-image, a theory known as Depressive realism.
The way I read this, it means that:
1. I'm feeling crappy because I am not happy about some thing(s) in my life.
2. This crappiness allows me to find out what the heck is bothering me, by stripping me down to the bare essentials.
3. This crappiness will linger until I have changed the thing(s) that I am unhappy about, or until I have changed my opinion on the subject.
Or to put it succinctly: put up, or shut up!
Well, I've decided to put up simply because I'd like to do something useful with my time, instead of lying down and taking my days as they come. In order to get a good hold on things I'll need a plan. So let's start by making a list of all the things that I need to do and that I want to do.
Anime 2007: I have less than a month to finalise the Dealer Room paperwork and designs. I'll then run the festival with my friends and afterwards I'll spend some time documenting my work so it can be transferred to my replacement. I expect to have finished my work for the festival by half July.
Assembly 2007: I'm organising a trip to the Assembly demo-party in Helsinki. I'll be going to Finland for a week with a few of my colleagues from Snow. This means that I'll need to get together with our lovely girls in Operations, to sort out things like hotels and flights. It's not much, but it's still something weighing on my shoulders. ASM07 is over by the first week of August.
LPI 201 and 202: My employer requires me to get certified on multiple subjects, including the Linux Professional Institute stuff. I need to pass two large exams before the end of the year. Instead of spending free time on this in the evenings I will take leave from work for eight to ten days, to spend on studying. I expect to have all this out of the way by January.
Physical condition: Remember how I started riding my bike to the office back in December and how I flunked out by February? On the one hand I want to stop beating myself up about this, since such negative vibes are rarely helpful. On the other hand I'd like to start getting back in shape again... By riding my bike, by taking my best friend Menno up on his offer of going climbing together (in spite of my vertigo) and by trying my hand at the couch-to-5k plan. My biggest challenge will be twofold: to get that ass off the couch and to not let myself get distracted by the idea of leaving Marli alone at home. My goal? I'd love to nail that running the three miles within two months deal.
Also, thanks to Wynk for telling me about the couch-to-5k plan at just the right moment.
Getting creative: As I've said earlier, I would like to start doing something creative. I'd love to get started with etching. This requires that I build a proper workshop first, which is more creative stuff. Yay! I would like to have a complete workshop by the end of August, then I'd like to start etching sometime in September.
Thankfully I have some good friends and colleagues who're already rather busy with woodwork and such, so I know where to go for advice on the workshop.
Now... *sigh* ... I've done this whole here's the plan deal before and it didn't amount to much. So this time around I'm going to have to try my best and stick with it! Any tips on how to go about that would be greatly appreciated. I do think that I'll ask some of my friends to help me out in this...
/me reads it all back... Wow! That's some blog post! Typing it all out took me thirty minutes o_O Now I'll go and get dressed and go out to the shops! It's time for groceries!
kilala.nl tags: health, life, meh, career,
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2007-04-10 06:35:00
* Family
My mother and her husband had flown over to the Netherlands for a long weekend, so we went to see them at my sister's yesterday. It was very nice to see them again since it'd been at least a year! I'm sorry to say that we had to leave early, in part due to the crap I described in my previous blog post.
@ Anu: we're sorry for leaving so early, we really -do- miss you you know? :)
* Website
I've been cooking up ideas for a completely new build of Kilala.nl. Most of the content will remain the same (although some parts will be taken offline) and the change will be mostly visual. I plan on finally -really- learning CSS so I can implement some nice, graphical trickery.
In order to get to a point where I can start working on the new code I'll first need to get some things sorted. I'm already working on moving all archived blog posts into the database (only 2002 and 2003 remain) and I've set up MySQL + PHP on my Powermac so I can run a local version of the website. Still, it'll be a very long road 'till I finally get to the end result and I hope that the creative process involved will keep me a bit happier.
* Doubts about work (see yesterday)
One of the doubts I was talking about earlier, about work, is that I would love to do something more creative than systems administration. Of course I "make" stuff now as well, but I can never go: "This is me! This is what I've built! Marvel at my handiwork!". Scripts and proposals and solved incidents just aren't tangible like that.
I think this website is here to at least partially fill that gap: I'm trying creative processes that I never would get to use otherwise. Thing is though, jobs with tangible, creative processes start to sound more and more enticing! Jobs like gardening, cooking and carpentry where you make something and people care.
That's something jobs in IT are renowned for: most people outside your sphere of influence, but inside the same organisation, don't really seem to care about what you do. So if you're part of a team of sysadmins the "we care"-level drops steadily once you moved outside your department.
For now I'll stick to my current job and get more creative hobbies. There's still that sewing project lying in the corner and woodwork sounds rather relaxing by now :)
kilala.nl tags: family, website, career, life, relaxing,
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2007-04-09 20:49:00
You know? I don't think I'm doing too hot :[
The past few weeks I've been feeling stressed out, constantly tired, overall mopey and to top it off there's some doubts and confusion. I'm doubting about life, about work, about decisions I've made so far. Thinking about how different things could've been if I'd made a few different choices here and there. Thinking about what-ifs and what-nows in general.
Unfortunately this has had its repercussions on my environment as well: I've been a dick to Marli for the past few weeks (less attentive, more bitchy), I haven't had that much oomph! at the office and I've let my work for Anime 2007 go down the gutter :(
What makes things worse is the nagging voice in the back of my head that's telling me that all of this is nothing and that I should easily be coping with it all. Guilt++.
I've known about these feelings and doubts all along, but I've only realised just now how deep things are getting. While on the phone with my friend Kaj, who's just come back from Japan (glad that your back!), I noticed a tremble in my voice and some moisture cropping up in my eyes... That ain't no good sign as far as I'm concerned.
I think I need to think things over...
kilala.nl tags: health, meh, life, career,
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2007-03-08 09:51:00
Thanks to a tip on Ars Lounge (thanks DrFaulken) I sauntered by the BBC What am I like? test. It's a sort of Myers-Briggs Light if you will. Apparently it's part of some new TV show they're running: answer twenty questions and you get some insight into your own psyche.
Well, my outcome had no surprises as you can see in the image above and the verdict was: realistic. Although there is the excellent remark made by DrFaulken:
A shortcoming with any of these tests is that people sub/consciously select answers that matches to their perceived lifestyle, and not always their actual self.
So, maybe I've just been answering the questions in such a way to reaffirm my own mental image of myself. Not entirely unlikely and there's also the fact that I really do have a horrible brain when it comes to remembering things! One day I think I hate X but two months later all of a sudden I love X, for example. My brain often does weird things and doesn't remember interesting/important stuff. Sort of like an inverse colander, where the big, important things fall through and the grit is caught.
Also, I just love saying colander ^_^
kilala.nl tags: career, life, internet,
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2007-02-25 02:33:00
Not many people know this, but if it weren't for my bad eye sight I would not have gone into IT. I'm not even sure if I ever told Marlijne, because this was way before her time. Right after leaving high school I looked into one option that I have left eschewed.
You see, I would have pursued a maritime career as first officer or as shipboard engineer if I had the chance. I have no logical explanation for this, but I feel some odd, deep draw to the sea. It's not like I've lived anywhere near the sea, or that I've been involved with Her in any way, but still that feeling exists deep down in me. Heck, I might not even be that suited for a life at sea!
And the engineering role brings me to another thing that has a strange draw to me, one that I've also left completely ignored: heavy machinery. I love the scent of diesel and oil and find lure of huge engines enticing. I think I would greatly enjoy a line of work that will allow me to maintain beasts like those.
But *sigh* For now those are two career tracks that I'd better leave alone. The first would take me away from home more than I would like, while the other would require such strenuous re-schooling that it is currently unfeasible.
What brought all of this on? Ah! I just sat through the director's cut of Das Boot, on ARD-1.
I leave you tonight with a wonderful quote from the movie (some background to the quote).
Aber wir wussten auch dies:
Einmal vor Unerbittlichem stehen,
wo Gebete entrechtet, Gewinsel zu Gott lächerlich ist,
wo keines Mutter sich nach uns umsieht, kein Weib unsern Weg kreuzt,
wo alles ohne Liebe ist, wo nur die Wirklichkeit herrscht, grausig und groß,
solches macht sicher und stolz.
kilala.nl tags: movies, career,
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2007-02-11 13:59:00
Over the past year a career in the military has started to sound pretty good to me.In the past I was always very much against the idea of joining up, mostly because of my distaste for anything related to war, which is what makes me so surprised about the change to my inclination. It's been a gradual process mind you, fed in part by my brother in law who's in the airforce, by Menno who tried to get into the commandos and by getting glimpses into dutch military life (televised they may have been, yet still they were glimpses).
As I said I'm rather opposed to the whole idea of war and I have no particular fondness or pride for my country, but there are other parts of a career in the military that attract me. Now I'm not saying that I'm going to make a switch at the drop of a hat or that I'm even going to. It's just something that I'm adding to my list of possibilities if I ever get tired of corporate IT. In case you're curious, other items on the list include carpentry, cooking and gardening/landscaping.
This blog post was brought on by one of JeffX's buddies suggesting a military career to Jeff, knowing that he's not that interested.
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2006-12-03 08:45:00
Last night we visited Menno and his folks back in Veenendaal, to say goodbye. See, Menno's leaving for Austria next Wednesday and he won't be coming back until some time in March next year. So it's only natural that I want to wish my best buddy ever a safe trip (and hook him up with an MP3 player, so he'll have _some_ music of his own.
A little over a year ago Menno made a career choice that I have the utmost respect for: he was working a steady and well-paying consulting job, doing landscaping and city planning for the government, but he wagered it all to start doing something he _really_ enjoys. After a heavy training and trying out for the Netherlands' army's commandos he wound up working in the outdoor sports field.
As far as I know, he's never looked back :) He seems really happy. Making less money, but very happy.
So: have a safe trip Menno and come back in one piece, you hear? We're going to miss you a lot, but there's a steady supply of cartoons waiting for you when you come back :)
kilala.nl tags: friends, career, work,
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2006-11-10 19:16:00
Growing up with the BBC I was often exposed to British classics like "The young ones", "Dad's army", "Fawlty towers" and "Porridge".
Another one that I kinda liked, but that was also a bit confusing to me was "The good life". I never did quite understand why that silly man and his ever-so-cute wife had put all those plants, vegetables and animals into their back garden. I always figured they were rejects from the hippy era, come back to haunt the late seventies.
That is, until this evening when I saw the first episode of the whole series.
It shows that the "silly man" (also known as Tom Good) is actually a technical draftsman who is completely fed up with the futility of his daily work and the rat race in general. He convinces his wife Barbara to take a gamble and go back to "the good life".
"The good life" in this case being a self-sufficient life, where they will not have to rely on jobs and money for their daily sustenance and where they sell part of their produce to get what they cannot make themselves. And would you believe that this is _exactly_ what I've been dreaming of for the past few months?! Quite an eye opener :)
And it's not just me! Several other colleagues at Snow have confessed to dreaming of a simple life, living on a farm, being completely self-sufficient. We've always concluded that this would be quite hard to get off the ground and that you probably couldn't do it alone. But in the end it is _not_ unpossible!
Get together with a few people you can really trust, pool together your resources, find some good property and a roof over your head... It'd be hard work and no doubt you'll run into problems, but aren't those sprinkled through life to make things interesting?
Who knows! Maybe in a few years?...
kilala.nl tags: tv, life, career,
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2005-11-27 16:14:00
My best friend Menno took a ballsy decision a few weeks ago. He'd been working as a contractor in the field of landscaping and such for a few years, but desk work really wasn't what he enjoyed. So he decided to make a 180 to follow his dream ^_^ He quit his job and moved back home, so he could dedicate all of his time training and exercising for a job with the royal dutch navy. Stupidly enough I've forgotten the real name for it, but he's trying to get into the commando programme.
So we spent yesterday moving all of his stuff back home and into storage. We had fun, we had exercise, we had good coffee and we drove around in a big truck through snow. All in all, it was a very good day :D Also, our allergies combined with copious amounts of dust spawned the now immortal Monster Dance, which is quite similar to this (no I didn't make that graphic myself). Don't ask... It's a long story... I'm just very happy that even after about twenty years we can still flawlessly connect :3
On the home front, things are working out nicely for our own move into new living space. Next wednesday we'll the hand-over will take place and we can get started on cleaning and decorating the place. About 80% of our stuff is already in boxes, ready to be moved over there. Unfortunately we've run into a few minor setbacks/delays (our new furniture will be delivered at the start of Feb and our new cable and Internet connection will be patched up halfway Feb), but I hope that's the last of it.
I do still have the feeling that we're forgetting to take care of a lot of things, but I guess that's inherent of the whole "moving and buying a new house" deal.
kilala.nl tags: friends, career, house,
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2005-06-26 09:51:00
Currently at the office, so I'll make it a quick one :3
I must say that it's quite refreshing! The last couple of weeks I've gone to work without any reluctance whatsoever! Not something that could be said while I was still employed at $PREV-CLIENT.
Instead of working on menial chores and being confronted with mis-management I am now able to give my best effort to building something real ^_^ Gone is the need for procrastination (trust me, I wasn't the only one) and welcome are the days that are filled with hard labour! I may be tired at the end of the day, but I'm also a lot happier!
kilala.nl tags: career,
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2005-06-13 20:26:00
Currently speaking to my brother in Finland, through the miracle of MSN
So! It's been way too long. Come on with the updates already!
First and foremost: Marlijne and me bought a house! Starting from November we'll be living in a nice and cozy apartment right in the middle of Utrecht (a major city in the Netherlands). It's a three room apartment, about 85 square metres of living space. The main living room (3x10m) used to be divided by a wall into separate rooms, but at some point in time that wall was taken away... Thus was created a wonderfully large living room! The kitchen is stunning and only two years old, although it's maybe one fifth of the size of our current kitchen. The rest of the rooms are pretty basic, but pretty nicely kept. All in all we're quite enthusiastic about our purchase!
Second off, I started working for Snow on the first of June. While I was doing some paperwork at the office on wednesday morning the Sales guy stormed in, wanting to know if I had some time that afternoon. Naturally I did, so I was immediately sent to my current customer. The way things look now I'll be sticking around there for a month or three (possibly a bit longer), to build a proper management infrastructure for them. We're looking at building everything from scratch: backups, security, management tools and an installation platform. A pretty cool and challenging job, given the time frame.
And finally: this weekend ^_^ Snow treats their employees to a nice outing twice a year, including their wives/partners/SOs and the children that come with it. This weekend they rented a big bunch of bungalows at Port Zelande which is located near the ocean and is quite peaceful! The bungalows were stocked with good food and Snow'd organised two dinner parties for their employees. On Saturday they provided us with various activities to choose from, although joining in was not mandatory (which to me totally rocks!). Anywho, I did end up joining ten others on a sea fishing trip. We were out at sea for eight hours, fishing for mackerel. Seven or eight of us got sea sick, including me (for about an hour and a half) but in the end that only drew more fish to the boat :P
All in all out of that weekend we got a lot of relaxation, good food and conservation and eight mackerel filets :3
kilala.nl tags: house, career, snow,
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2005-05-25 16:15:00
Currently listening to "Maximum wave" by Two-mix.
Well, today was interesting :) I'd made an appointment with an account manager from Snow, so we could go to $CLIENT in Schiphol for an intake / interview. The account mgr was nice enough and we had an enjoyable chat. The same thing goes for the guys at $CLIENT: their environment (three test labs for digital television) seem very hectic and don't seem to be much of a challenge UNIX-wise. However, they've got loads of work to be done when it comes to documentation and basic management tasks (monitoring, patching, security, etc).
Yesterday was our the first year's anniversary of our marriage :) We'd arranged a couple of nice things (among which the opportunity for Marlijne to drive around in her dream car), but unfortunately the day turned a bit sour due to our irritability and general sleepiness. We'll do better next time! Yay!
What else is there? Not much really. Tomorrow I'll be visiting the NLUUG conference in Ede. The whole conference focuses on e-mail, so most of the topics covered will be new to me since I've never had to setup an e-mail server myself. I glanced over the agenda for the conference and a few of sessions jumped out as interesting. I'm sure I'll have a nice day. And after that I'll finally have a couple of quiet days. Friday we'll take a look at a house we could end up buying, Saturday will be filed with mostly household work and Sunday we'll be paying the Airforce a visit. They've organised an info day to tell us how our family's doing (for those not in the know: my brother-in-law is a Chinook engineer in the Airforce).
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2005-04-06 17:50:00
Currently listening to "Voi kuinka me sinua kaivataan" a cover of the Eppu Normaali song, performed by Canto Finlandia
Gah! *cough* All this running around in trousers and thin shirts is getting me under the weather. Last week everything was nice and comfy, with a lot of sun shine. But luck would have it that this week, now that I have to travel a lot by public transport to get to interviews, the weahter's abysmall. Wet and dreary.. *achoo*
/me bites down on another piece of licorice. It helps smoothen the throat, you know?
Anywho. They guys from A-Mac with whom I had a meeting yesterday were a blast. Genuinly nice people and very enthousiastic about their plans. I sincerely hope their shop succeeds in attracting shoppers. Their location really is A-grade, so it shouldn't pose too big a probem. When you're in Utrecht, look them up after they've opened on the 15th.
kilala.nl tags: career, apple, health,
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All content, with exception of "borrowed" blogpost images, or unless otherwise indicated, is copyright of Thomas Sluyter. The character Kilala the cat-demon is copyright of Rumiko Takahashi and used here without permission.
