Coredump

Originally uploaded by iandexter.

(Obligatory “the year that was” post, with your indulgence.)

If I could describe 2006 in one word, that would be “change”.

The year started with me rolling out this Wordpressed blog, from the previous Blogger-hosted one.

The Open Academy’s ICT roadshow kicked off in Northern Luzon. It was a resounding success, which eventually led to the building of an IT bus for Nueva Ecija. I’m proud to say that I was part of this project.

In April, I moved to another company.

We also learned that we’re having a baby. (We’re expecting him this January.)

Here’s yet another addition: I got me Mathilda! Schweet. Also, I moved to my own (vanity) domain.

I went on a blogging rut the next few months after that. (I resolve to change that this year. {More on that in a later post.}) I also took (and passed) the RHCT. I plan to pass the RHCE this year.

The year ended with a bang — well, lots of it. On the night of 30 December 2006, a stray kwitis (small rocket fireworks) exploded among a bunch of fireworks in the Cabanatuan City (my hometown) public market. A large fire engulfed a corner of the public market, as well as a drugstore and a bakery across the street. My wife’s lola has a small RTW store in that same corner. Fortunately, it wasn’t gutted down. The stores beside it didn’t have the same lucky fate. Our families were thankful for the miracle.

I’ve just started building up connections on LinkedIn. I opened up an account about a few months back, and then forgot all about it. It’s supposed to be a great way to network with other tech-inclined people, so let’s see.

My profile is here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/iandexter.

I wish!

I was just lounging around, checking out the Pinoy Blogger “A-list”, when I came across Marc’s article, looking for any Pinoy Googlers (er, is that even the right term?), which in turn pointed to Migs’ post.

(I know, they’re old articles, but hey, it’s been a while since I’ve kept up with reading blogs — aside from the usual cut-and-paste-and-link posts I did off of my RSS subscriptions.)

Anyway: I, too, got a shot at an interview for Google, early this year. It was for an engineering position. It was actually a surprise, getting an email from Google (a recruiter told me they got my resume off the web {searched, of course}, were interested in me, and wanted to arrange for an interview) right at the start of the new year. I was dubious at first, but when I got the call, I got this cold, cold feeling down my spine: OMG, Google!

To make the long story short: I didn’t make it. Oh well. At least, I got considered — and I didn’t even apply. *shrugs*

I’m still gunning for working in the Googleplex, though. Even a blue collar position would do. Heh. (How’s resetting some of ‘em Big Daddy servers sound to you? Cool, eh?) So what do I do now? Beef up my knowledge, of course, and continue doing what I love to do. Somehow, I hope Google will take notice again, and when that time comes, they’d be foolish not to take me in.

I wish!

NB: I should have written “Working with Google”, not for them. Same difference.

LMAO on this one.

Speaking of job hunts, I’m on one right now. Not that I don’t like my current work — heck, I’m in for more interesting things — but I need fresh opportunities. [via Pearls Before Swine]