Real World Real Christmas

Several years ago, during a Christmas now anything but a distant memory, my cousin Susan said something. It was one of those moments, when the words spoken meant little at the time, but ring so true now, several years later. Unable to recall her exact words, her train of thought headed in the direction of the fact that, "when your working, you'll only get two days off at Christmas". I ignored this comment, well maybe ignore is too strong an objection. I allowed the comment to drift above and beyond my apprehension. At the time I still had major mileage left in the old excuse for Christmas in the form of two weeks away from school. Then of course there was college and University. No need to think about Christmas holiday beyond those simple two words. A celebration of a birth and time away from teachers, books, PE and dreaded exams.

Now look where I find myself. This is my first official 'real world' Christmas experience. Lucky for me, being in the private sector and working for a generous enterprise, I do not have to return to work during the 'in between period' before the New Year. If you discount my experience on placement, which thankfully followed a similar pattern.

Christmas has changed. Nolonger can I reside in the knowledge that I am guaranteed a set number of days away from work. The real world waits for no man and for once I find myself eager to join the Rat Race. Maybe because now finally after hunting high and low, the dream job lands comfortably on my lap. Some people are lucky, they land the perfect position within a few weeks. For the rest of us it takes time, trials and many tribulations.

This discussion took me to along another train of thought. What does Christmas mean to business? Ultimate the work still has to be done, regardless of the time of year. The atmosphere around the office does change, although I have only had limited exposure to this. Colleagues, whom usually appear to be set in their grouchy ways, have an air of excitement even charisma about them. (Shame it only lasts three weeks before the holiday). Sending Christmas cards, an annual tradition which would appear at face value, to be the most simple of tasks. Yet it becomes a battle to see who can send the most elaborate or most expensive. Then we move onto the final element, the Christmas party. Hmmm. The less said about that the better. However, I would like to point out that my firm has taken a fresh approach of making this social event for employees only. Not sure if this from a financial or the ugly result of a feud during a round of office politics.

With the new year, days away I have a few wishes. That 2005 brings with it success and hope for the future. Life has changed but for good reason, so let us make this final transition as simple as possible. Allowing the focus instead to be on the job the lies ahead, full of challenges and uncertainty. All the best to you and yours as the final few hours of 2004 pass us by.

Some People

So work begins to quicken to a heavy pace and I find a collective of my colleagues neatly lined up on my MSN list. Strange. What will be stranger, when I am having conversations with employees based at the other side, rather than those sitting across from my desk.

Moving into a new industry brings with it many pitfalls. An unknown territory always feels insecure. Regardless of the context, we always feel uneasy when driving on a new stretch of road, or walking through a new shopping centre. Particularly when everyone else seems so well at home. Comfortable is the world I would use but when you realise that the office itself has just been converted from a barn and technology thrown in with the people fending for themselves. They refer to the real world as a being a "jungle" out there.

Along with coming to the terms with the striking way the business operates who also have to understand the various aspects of the business. By 'business' I am referring to clients, the very people I will be supporting over the coming few months. Over the past week I have only started to realise the grave importance of my role. By taking the calls, I would be the bridge between the business and the client. Unlike before, when all my customers (such an inappropriate description) were internally based, now I would rarely make face to face contact. Although I will miss this aspect of my previous position, I know that I have to make the most of the opportunity before me here. I see a long hard road ahead and there is only one person able to meet the challenge with not just ambitious dedication but to surpass all expectation. Above all, one crucial element is key to aid me achieve my goals. Positive Mental Attitude. No matter how bad and inreversable a situation becomes, I will have to tell myself. Look where I've been and just look where I'm heading. For once, the future is bright, if not orange, then of course, maruno blue. Always hold dear to your heart the thought that, "Some people dream of success while others wake up and work hard at it".

I began answering the telephones today. Starting anything is always a daunting prospect, particularly when you are still trying to find your feet with the product. Users asking me questions about the product? How do I cope, when I know so little about the product. Then my manager departed the office at 4.30pm and I was left very much to my own devices. For a while, all was quiet and I hoped that the phone wouldn't ring, anxiously watching the clock to tick over to 6pm. Then, it rang. Within a split second my mind switched into over drive. Hot out sheer nerves but seeing an window to prove myself rather than continue to doubt my own ability. This was an opportunity for me to prove myself. The more I spoke to clients on the phone, the more my confidence would grow, as would my speed and exposure to dealing with various support calls. Not sure why I was so apprenhensive about this to begin with. Yet I notice the same reaction surface once again, as it did some six months earlier (to the day!). There is something about being new that puts you in an extremely difficult situation. You want to develop your skills and product knowledge knowing your barrier is only time. You are also cautious to the fact that you want to do things by the book and more importantly correctly.

Just as I am finding my feet and learning many things, not specific to the job but more general to the life in a new position. I stumble upon some very useful advice. Plenty more were that came from, even if hunting down the home grown material is a little more tiresome. Just my luck that such priceless reading is never close to hand the day I need it most. I don't know, some people, just don't have the luck.

Case of the OS

Evolution is an interesting process, in or out of the technology realm. Watching technologies be replaced before your very eyes, is perhaps the most revealing. The best example of this is with everyday consumer formats. In the computing world, there is something more important than hardware that needs to be updated every few years and brings with it, several blessing and pitfalls.

Software, in this world dominated by one man, one vision and one unbelievable way of doing things. (Not always the decision of common sense.) Perhaps if the Big Blue had been slightly more picky about their bed fellows then we would have had perhaps a different story than the one written.

Looking through my more recent, IT related employment history, I see the devil at work. Let us begin with my industrial placement, where I find myself coping with tantrums of Windows 98 some four years after its initial release. Fast forward two years later, I find myself working for the biggest law firm on the planet and my biggest assignment to date. With the new position came not just greater responsibility but a new operating system. My exposure to Windows 2000 had been somewhat limited to this point. Of course, a few friends at University had preferred the stability of this compared to the latest offering from Seattle. When you look deep down at some of the more integral features, the differences are purely cosmetic.

Now the wheel of evolution has turned once more and I am working on Windows XP. Having a standard platform across both my professional and personal landscape makes life much easier on several levels.

Yet to be quite honest, I am still only most comfortable back on the old 'not quite' 32 bit environment. Perhaps because over the years, I was able to rummage around the arteries of almost each byte. Nothing can beat raw desktop experience. (Even if it does effect your quality of your eyesight!)

A New Dawn, A New Day

You know you have arrived at a firm that takes a rather unorthodox approach when you are advised to install and sign into MSN Messenger. This becomes more understandable when you consider the globe as merely a Big Blue Ball. For me this was not an easy task, afterall I had a secret identity to protect. Also there is also the difficult of having a virgin installation of the IM client, which looks like.

Then of course, I have to spend twenty minutes fooling around and reconfiguring MSN Plus. Without the sponsor program of course. Then MSN 6.2 becomes much more bearable.

(These are the actual 'live' images from work, rather than recreations I had stored previously.) Now, just what is the appeal of bespoke applications?. From a support point of view, I was rubbing my hands at the thought of supporting one product and a finite set of issues. Somewhat shortsighted but never the less, not too far from the truth. Maybe open source is not quite, open sesame!

Please note for future reference, when I am signed into MSN as 'Andrew' it is a clear indication that I am at work, so therefore refrain from communicating unless your request is urgent. Normal service resumes when of course, the man behind the mask, returns.

Situation Vacant

Position filled.

Like The Stars

You Still Keep On Shining Down Your Light On Me

For a change, luck is on my side as I have been invited back for a second interview following on from last Friday. Some positive feedback for once and an opportunity finds itself at my door. How different and unique from my last position. Looks like my imposed holiday will have abruptly come to an end. Not a minute too soon.

When Words

Sometimes, I listen and wonder if this man is for real. Words alone, are not enough.

"I am not pleased," said Mourinho. "I cannot be pleased when my team loses because I am a professional. Only stupid people don't understand that I want to win every game. The difference was that motivation, desire and self-belief which Porto had."

The Hunt Continues

Been hunting sixteen days with very little success. There is never an ideal time to be looking for a job but the last few months of the year are extremely quiet. The jobs that are available require at least three years of extensive experience, which has been my main obstacle. Having expanded the scope and avenues of my job search the response has still been somewhat limited. Early phone calls with the promise of exciting roles, have failed to deliver any results. Not all bad news though. I have an interview on Friday and have just found out I have another interview later on the same day. Maybe, just maybe lady luck is looking down on with me smiling eyes.