The job of my dreams

Well where to begin???!!!

It's obvious that I have been ignoring this blog again... Much has been happening lately.
First things first. The remainding interviews had went ahead with 50% success.
The interview out at Syd Tech High didn't go well at all. I forgot several documents and totally botched the entire interview - Totally died. But the principal did give me VERY good advice about interviews. I think thanks to her advice, I managed to do well in the Western Sydney interview.

The Western Sydney interview went splendidly. There were only 2 scenario questions that i had to answer and they were very straight-forward. But there were many ways I could have approached the scenario. To my experience, every approach can be a good approach. The trick is being choosing the 'best' approach.

The 2 questions ran along the lines of:

1. "BSOD occurs. What could be the faults and how would you handle this issue if client required a working machine immediately?"
2. "Student with malfunctioning netbook is in rage and demands you attend to the issue immediately. How would you handle both student and issue?"

The 1st question was very easy and straight-forward. I gave them a textbook answer with a few personal twists here and there.
The 2nd question was more 'how would you handle situations that require psychological experience'. Thank goodness my sister is a 'Masters of Social Psychology' and I have a bit of experience from her. So I took a totally different approach than the usual IT method. That suprised the interviewers a bit and the interview turned from an 'interrogation' into a light-hearted conversation.
I could definitely say that I enjoyed that last interview.
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Well, the resultant is that Western Sydney called me back confirming that I made it through all the background checks and child protection checks and have cleared me for employment at: None of the 5 schools i wanted... and offered me another school BUT!

I asked him whether there were other schools that were avaliable or didn't have someone assigned to them yet. And yes there were! There was one applicant who also applied to the Western Sydney region and another region. Obviously like me, he/her also wanted to try hitting multiple locations. This person had been offered (omitted). And so I requested to wait on the school hoping that the other applicant would take another school in the other region he applied for. A few days later they called me back.

And I got it.

So far they've confirmed verbally through phone and through email. All I'm waiting for are forms for me to sign detailing payment of salary, tax, government employment formalities, etcetc.
I begin on Aug 17 '09 which is 7 days from now and finish on 30 June '12 which is 3 years'ish from now. Starting yearly salary is $AUDxx,xxx which isn't bad for a temporary full-time position. (And for someone who's never worked a minute in their life for a salary before... ^^""")

Everything is moving so quick, it's scary - I've only been unemployed for about 2 months since finishing college and already I'm joining the workforce. Ironically, this current period is probably the most difficult time to get a job anywhere in the world.

The weather is pretty cold recently with small spots sunshine. I've been using the floor heater a lot lately but that's going to hike up the electricity bill again ^^""" It's been gradually getting warmer lately, signalling the eventual end of Winter into Spring bringing it along a new season of anime ^^" (Southern Hemi here btw for those confused)

Due to work, my so called 'holiday' is now cut down to a mere 6 days to go. This marks the beginning of a new section in my life; a different road; "a new beginning".
This also marks a new beginning of my blog where either daily or weekly, I'll be blogging about the workings of a high school in the life of a Technical Support Officer.

Ah- I apologise for the lack of updates on Blue Gravy and the resulting length of this post because of that. Well, that's pretty much all that I can think of worth posting ^^

Interviews, interviews, interviews

That's all that has been on my mind lately - Interviews
Mentioned earlier but to re-cap for the hell of it:
I've applied for a position as a "Technology/Technical Support Officer" for the Aussie Govt's 'Digital Education Revolution' (DER) program where every student in NSW will eventually have a netbook each - A Lenovo S10e - I'm guessing the 'e' means edu model/version. ie: dumbed down hardware specs

So far, I have applied for 3 regions of Sydney: Western, North and CBD schools
Each region has allowed each applicant to apply/try-out for 5 public/govt schools of their choice.
As for my choices...... I've completely forgotten what schools I chose... ^^"""""

So far, I've already had an interview for the North region and I think I did pretty successfully for that - The interviewers were the North region manager and the principal of Cheltenham Girls High - Both were really nice people and were great to talk to.
That interview would officially be my first interview EVER!!! - The region manager commented that I did pretty well for a first-timer. There were 3 questions and they were pretty general and easy to answer:
1. "How do you handle problems"
2. "How do you organise time"
3. "What do you require to work?" Context was along, personal requirements: Do you need an egro chair?, table height?, wheelchair access?... those kinds of 'personal requirements'.

And there's todays interview - At the prestigious Sydney Girls/Boys Selective High School.
There was a panel of 4 interviewers: The IT manager from the Boys section of the school and one from the Girls section of the school, the CBD region manager and this one other guy... I never figured out who he was; our introductions were limited to handshakes and were very brief. He probably was a principal of either the Girls or Boys school - I guess he had a 'wise' look to him.

Compared to the first interview, I was definitely much more nervous - Saying 'umm' alot and making those classic 'beginner mistakes'. *sigh*
There were 4 questions which were much more 'business styled' which reflected the kind of high calibre person that they're looking for:
1. "What kind of professional skills do you have/can/will you bring to our school(s)"
2. "How would you prioritise these tasks" (3 immediate tasks, reorder to importance and why)
3. "High Schools have people on many different knowledge levels of computers. What kind of strategies would you make to cater for the less 'computer literate' people out there" (paraphrased)
And the 4th one... I forgot again.

For question #3, I don't think I gave a satisfactory answer as one of the interviewers asked "What other strategies can you think of?" - That really hit me at the time and afterwards, as I could only think of one strategy at the time. I could only kick myself in the head while driving home - I guess it happens alot after these kinds of things. You think of awesome answers to questions only AFTER it's all over and done.

All that's left so far is 2 more interviews: One at Sydney Technological High on Tuesday next week and one for the Western region on Thursday next week also. I'm still hoping that the "Conservatorium of Music High School" will call me. I really want to go there...

Oh well, all I can do now is prepare my best for the next coming week!

頑張れぞ～～～！

Cyberchaos

Jobs, Sickness and Xrays

Wow. Nearly forgot I had a blog for a while. Please brace for long post ^^"
So stuff that's been happen/ing/ed:

• Job
• Sick~~.....
• Doctors

Job
Well for starters, I've applied for a job as a L4L 'TSO' (Laptops-4-Learning 'Technical Support Officier') for the Dept of Edu
It's the way of saying: "Hey, lets give every kid in Year 9 a netbook so we don't have to spash out on expensive full-sized laptops every year". And to make sure things run when stuff blows up or breaks down, they need a couple hundred IT dudes to take care of each government (public) school when things happen to go south.

Finding the job was far easier than applying for it. A good TAFE mate of mine contacted a whole bunch of us students and broadcasted that these positions were avaliable JUST THEN. It's like he's always got an eye on the government job website. We were all celebrating when he told us of the news. Most of us were at that point either newly unemployed or just freshly fired due to eco crash.
The announcement was made right before the exam weeks. 2 weeks were given till the appliciation deadline/cutoff and I was standing beside a tower of assignments and exams - Which spanned 2 weeks....
Studies had absolute priority and so I put all my hope in that I'll finish early so I could deal with the job application.

2 weeks rolled by pretty fast. Exams during the day and assignment completion at night. It was a pretty insane 14 days with nearly no breaks. I had finally handed in all my assignments 3 DAYS BEFORE JOB APPLICATION DEADLINE
I knew already the post would take at least 1 day if I used 'Same-day-delivery' and by that time, it was afternoon already. In other words, I had only 1.5 days to get it all done and sent... crap.

I needed to do a complete re-do of my CV/Resume, Write a 'challenge' to the job requirements, and about 4 other long winded documents. Getting it done was no problem, but figuring out what to say... is another matter.
In this Eco weather, I know that there'd probably be a million other people applying for the same job. So, in all conciet, I made it look like I was the most qualified dude out there... I hated writing those documents. I'm not usually the one to 'show-off' my skills since I'm the more 'quiet/humble' type of person. It was an unpleasant but very interesting experience.

And so I waited... for maybe a week, when suddenly at 815pm, 2 nights ago I recieved a phone call from the 'North Sydney Regional Manager' telling me to "I want you to come in for an interview... blah blah blah... Lets make an appointment... blah blah blah... 2pm on Tuesday okay? blah blah blah... *click*"

tl; dr: Lets just say I had (and still have) the worlds biggest grin on my face.
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Sickness

Well, all I can say is that I caught it from my Dad, who passed it to me, then both of us passed it to my Mum... goodness knows who passed it back to me. If a family needed to be quarrantined, my household would be the best candidate.
So my 'holidays' have been filled with sleep, anime, eat, rest, anime, sleep, shower, eat, anime...
The rest is pretty easy to figure out.

Xrays
Well, that would be todays 'event'. Woke up with a headache, took a shower, left the house on empty. When I got to the xray clinic, there was barely a line. So I waltzed right up to the counter and handed over my authorisation slip, and health card. Turned out to be the wrong card. I had grabbed my 'private health insurance card' (Medibank) instead of my 'government health services card(Medicare). So, I drove home again to grab it and came back to a queue that stretched the length of the practice.
( _ _||| )

Turns out that that card had expired...
Anyway, they contacted Medicare services and authorised my xrays.
The 'shots' took less than 2mins but the wait was 30mins. Not bad for a TOTALLY PACKED clinic. Although, it took 3hrs to develop the plates...
I went home, surfed the net for 3hrs, went back to get my xrays and headed straight to the doc for his analysis. Turns out that my Pectus Carinatum has reduced but my heart... was not found.
My heart was eventually found neatly hidden behind the Sternum bone. It was quite... lets just say I've been healthier than I am now... ^^"
Also had a blood drawn for testing. The nurse had no problems at all finding a vein as I have a plethora of highly visible veins up/down my arm. Yes my skin is that thin... I swear, she could've done it with her eyes closed and by touch only.

What else?

Cooked dinner tonight, sleeping every morning, load of meds, loads of anime...

In summary: フリーダムです！

Cyberchaos

I've graduated

Hooray!
2 years of studying the 'Diploma of IT (Networking)' and it's all finally over.
I've been through some pretty insane ups/downs and all sorts of weird stuff but I've managed to come out fine.

Sometimes I think back and I reckon that I didn't do much at all. It's quite relaxed at college afterall. But I gotta remember: This is only the beginning of the rest of my life. This was only just another stepping stone that WILL lead my life somewhere where I want to be and belong. As long as I PUSH forward with everything I got, I can make something out of myself.
Take chances, Make mistakes, Learn from experiences - That's what it's all about.

After all these 2 years, I can proudly say: "I did it"
------------------------------------------------------
Now as I study the 'Advanced Diploma of Network Security', I've felt like I've lost some of that momentum. Study has nearly ground to a halt, morale has dropped like a stone and health is not fairing so well in these winter conditions.

2 more weeks of classes remain before I finish.
I want to finish HARD and STRONG - Not like how I've always done it in the past; fizziling out into a burnt ember.
But I need motivation. Fuel to keep me going. 'Bait' if you will. That invariable carrot hanging out over the donkeys face as it mind-numbbingly slugs step after step forward at the riders will.

It's not because I don't want to see the future. It's not because I can't see the future. But instead, I think it's that I'm too afraid to see the future.

The past I never worry; it's over and done with.
The present I go forward; what else can you do?
The future I freak; what WILL I do?

I'm sometimes I take on the position of a firm believer of inevitablity. Stuff happens because of variables, that you performed, allow it to happen. There were no such thing as "oh... it wasn't entirely my fault" or "whoops, I really didn't mean that to happen".

I've come to realise that when things occur unfavourably, it happens merely by recognising that it MAY happen. - Pessimism, if you will, Murphys law, Finagles law, etc

okay, im going to stop right there. Ranting on will not be healthy for me. I've gotten myself pretty worked up typing this and it IS after-all 1am in the morning.

Goodnight everyone~~

It's been awhile again

Well, i've neglected this blog yet again... it seems to be a pattern on every blog have/had.

Anyway, life is boring as usual, but i'd like to share some pics... because there is nothing better to post about on a Saturday afternoon.

To the denziens of dc.com!
You may have come to realise that I, in fact do not have much anime/manga/merchandise around the place. This is due to the limited funding for my hobbies and my reluctancy to get a job. I will be getting one after i graduate from this course (in 2-3 months'ish) and will probably will be a push bike courier for 'Mail Call' until the IT emploment market looks better. Until then, i'll continue on my strict $50/w allowance that i smooch off my parents since the government is being an ass in giving me my student allowances.
WHERE THE HELL IS THAT $900 STIMUALTION MONEY THAT IM SUPPOSED TO GET K.RUDD!?!?!
(Our current PM for the aussieland for those not-in-the-know)

1. My room in its current state:
2 . Ze bedo in its current messy state (Yes, i have 2 pillows):3. The study/office after the desktop monitor upgrade:
4. My sisters room before she moved out since she got married:
5. And now 'my' lab room for loads of computer hardware:
The "lab room"s current status is UNOCCUPIED and merely a temporary storage and workroom for myself.

We're looking to rent out the room to 'someone' who:
*Doesn't mind living +1hr public transport from the city
*Can walk the 15-20min trek to a train station where you will probably wait +30mins for a train
*OR can take an 8AM'ish train where you will be driven to the station on a daily morning basis. (I take that morning service)
*Has strict hygiene habits/lifestyle
*Doesn't mind being nowhere near a decent mall or public gathering place.
*Light internet user (ALL THE BANDWIDTH IS MINE... mostly torrents, etc)
*Shared bathroom facilities (with me ^^)
*Gender+Age is not an issue... for now.

The room measures 2.4x3.15m and we will be supplying you with a bed, desk+chair (to come) and a rebuilt PC.
Taking into account the current housing and rental costs in Sydney, rent will be $150/w - Haggling will be allowed if you're really in a tight pinch.

If you are in desperate need of a place in Sydney and you can fit these requirements, drop me a line and i'll get back to you.
(Yes, i am serious)
--------------------------

Yep, life is boring.
I can only hope that something interesting will happen... a girlfriend, a job, more bandwidth... something.

You have plenty of time to sleep... When you're dead

Well, i promised a post about the Festival magazine, but that will have to wait for now

I think for today, i'll just post what's happening/on my mind - The next few days are going to be a killer.

Prepare for a VERY long post....... ^^"

Okay, first of all, im sick - I caught a cold. Not from just 1 reason, but from several reasons...
Contribution #1:
Last night, I was at Parramatta church for my sisters wedding rehersal (oh yeah, i haven't mentioned that yet) and there was an electrical storm and wind/rain... the works. I had to basically stand at the boom gate to let cars come into the carpark and one of the groomsmen was very late.
So i just stood there in the cold with occasional droplets falling onto me. I was wearing shorts and a tee shirt and sandals - for a good +half hour

Contribution #2:
That night i slept with the window open - There were a few mosquitos and it was hot in my room. Little did i realise that the wind changed direction and the temperature dropped fast at around 2-3am while i was sound asleep. Come this morning and i was in a pretty crap condition.

Contribution #3:
Our computer lab where all my classes are held, we have this awesomely powerful airconditioner. What makes matters worse, is that my lecturer is Siberian and kinda short and pudgy - He loves his near-minus weather. So i sat in class the whole day (6hrs of classes) freezing my arse off and quickly caught the cold.

I've taken some meds to help but i still feel like crap, but OH~~~ The world must continue on. With or without me.

~~~Here is the next 5 days of my "Sleepless schedule"~~~

Friday 27th: BIBLE STUDY AND THE AIRPORT
I have bible study at a friends house a good 45min drive away. That kicks off at 7pm and goes to 10pm. IMMEDIATELY after that, i must head to the airport to pickup my auntie and cousins who are attending the wedding. The airport is a good 30mins from my friends place and their flight arrives at 1030pm - The drive home takes a good hour, so factoring in customs and their time wasting idiocy, I estimate that i'll get home at 12am - Just in time for the next day.......

Saturday 28th: THE WEDDING
Basically that's a whole day affair and draining on anyone who is directly involved. I am tasked with parking guidance for guests, so i get a CB radio - sounds kinda fun.
After that, i switch jobs to 'Refreshments co-ordinator' for right after the ceremony. Yep, i have to co-ordinate the entire setup to packup and movement of people during this time. +20 helpers and 'x' guests.
THE CAKE:
I need to head west (Back past my house - +30min drive) to pick up the tower cake in its parts (of course) and then drive an est. 1.5hrs back towards the city to the restraunt.
THE RECEPTION:
Im the A/V guy (Audio/Visual) - Sound equipment setup, projector and screen setup (x2), Music, Photo slides, Mic placement, AND THEN packup, etc - It's pretty full on from looking at the schedule.
I'll have to leave at around 11pm to drive the 'gramps and grannies' back home before they nod off.

Sunday 29th: AIRPORT AGAIN
I need to wake at 7am to drive my cousin (another one) to the airport at 8am for his 10am flight.
Then i have a few hours until 2:30pm where i have A/V duty at my church for the musicians to practice - That goes on until 5pm when the service starts. Service lasts for about 1.5-2hrs and then everyone heads to the 'Mando centre' at Chatswood for dinner - I'll then leave the centre at (normally) 9-10pm and drive the full 1hr trip back home.

Monday 30th: AN EXAM
But i only have a half day at campus - But note from the above, i'll have very little time to study for anything.

Tuesday 31st: THE BLOODY AIRPORT AGAIN
At precisely 6am, my parents leave for a short holiday trip to... somewhere ^^"
That means a 2am wakeup (1hr drive) to get there at 4am, so they can check-in (Arriving 2hrs b4 flight is normal practice for domestic flights btw)
Then i guess i'll head to campus a whole 3-4hrs early for my classes at 9:30am - Which i'll probably sleep in my car and then find a McDees nearby for brekkie.
I then have classes from 9:30am to 5pm - Basically an "all-day'er" which is normally completely draining for me.

Ah yes, to top that all off, the fact that i am still sick.

So, if you actually read all that text, i congratulate you if you could understand all that incoherent blabbering nonsense.
These few days is going to be one of the ultimate tests of my stamina - I just hope i don't keel over on the wheel while driving around...

Sorry everyone

Ok, its nothing too serious but i think need to apologise

I've been extremely busy with college work these past 2-3 weeks that i actually forgot that this blog was even around ^^; Anyway, sorry everyone who actually has been reading/following this blog hoping in anticipation that i would update/post something. yeah ^^"

To those from dc.com, i don't think i'll be doing the dakimakura review... ever.
I still don't have a pillow to actually use the covers i have. So in order to not give you guys a dodgy review, i decided not to review it. Instead i'll just do a general overview of the product+magazine+merchandise. Is that k?

My college timetable is quite crazy. I go to classes during Monday mornings and get the afternoon off - And the same goes for Wednesday.
Both Tuesday and Thursday is a full day of classes ><"
Well, you must wonder "What about Fridays?" - サボりカよ？？？

No it's just... THAT I GET THE WHOLE DAY OFF-WHOOOOO~~~!!! *insert hardo gay pose here*

Well, this post was very brief but ti'll leave it at that since i must continue my studies.
Hopefully the short overview on the 'Dengeki G's Festival' magazine will be the next post and maybe a photo or two that i've snapped around the place!

Cyber_chaotic