Because Life Is Too Precious To Waste

It’s felt like a lifetime since I last posted here. Since my last post Colonal Guddafi has been killed, Steve Jobs tragically passed away, Survivor has started again, Dexter has become my addiction and the earth in two days will hit a population of seven billion people. Seems a lot can happen in four months.

I’ll start with work. Firstly I still love my job and maintain that getting made redundant from Zap Technology was one of the best things to have ever happened to me. The new job has exposed me to the joys of working for a company where the staff aren’t constantly concerned whether they will have a job a week out from now. I won’t mention who my clients are at Unify, but needless to say they are some pretty big ones – both important government agencies and large international corporations. It’s a real thrill to have been given the opportunity and freedom to lead projects after only six months and it’s put me well on the path to the more management orientated roles I would like to be involved with in the future.

So yes, work is fabulous.

I can’t remember the exact date but it’s very possible I moved place since my last update. It’s my third address since moving to Canberra, which in itself is a somewhat chaotic tale but I’m now finally settled down with a lease and am happy with my living arrangements. Canberra really is an underrated city. I don’t say that just to delude myself so that I will like where I’m living, it genuinely is a lovely town. Definitely smaller than Brisbane but to be honest I dont find the two cities too disimilar. I miss having family and friends near by, but in terms of the actual city I don’t find myself wanting.

I’m coming up on seven months in Canberra, which in itself isn’t entirely significant but it does mean there is less than two months until Christmas. Despite what I may have said above, I can’t describe how much I’m looking forward to getting back to Brisbane for a few weeks to catch up with people and hopefully get around to doing some thing I’ve had planned. I’m sure the temperature will murder me after the sub zero winter nights here, but I’ll find a way to survive. Who knows, maybe I’ll get around to jumping out of that plane.

In closing, those that wish to are free to add me to Google+. It’s finally been opened up to Google Apps users, therefore I may occasionally consider the possibility of thinking about whether I in-fact want to use is.

Happy Panda

For those that are aware late last year I was made redundant from my previous work. No hard feeling were had and to be honest the thought of leaving had been niggling faintly at the back of my mind for some time. The convenience and apparent stability associated with having a job, in particular one that was only a kilometer from where I lived, inevitably kept me there. That said the company had been struggling; but I won’t go there.

In any event I found myself unemployed in December with what was a quite decent payout. I began considering my options, including moving to the States if a position at the likes of Microsoft opened up. I sent off a few light hearted resumes without any expectations of a call up given Christmas was fast approaching.

January arrived and I received a call while on vacation at the Coast…it was the recruiter who I had contacted in relation to a job at Taterstalls. He mentioned to me the possibility of work in Canberra at a software company called Unify Solutions. Despite being an interesting proposal I must admit there was some skepticism on my part as to whether it was a move I wanted to make. Despite my applications for Stateside work I’d never really thought about whether I wanted to move away from my family and friends, especially given I was so happy in the accomodation I had at New Farm.

History will show that I decided to take up the job offer and here I am in Canberra now, freezing my toosh off as I write this.

The reason for posting that story isn’t so much to reflect on the move but the changes that have happened in my life both recently and more long term. Given I don’t feel like I am in the same head (or physical) space anymore I thought it was fitting to leave the old site behind. As I archived the 480 posts dating back to at least 2005 it occurred to me there was simply a lot there that isn’t me any more, it contributed to who I am but if you were to read some of it now you’d probably think I was an emotional whinebag. It’s not that I’m trying to distance myself from that, indeed, I kept every single post there in case I change my mind later, but at the same time a reboot or fresh start didn’t seem like a totally bad idea. The move from QLD to ACT seemed like an apt opportunity to do just that.

So with that out of the way here’s yet another relaunch of Smigit.com, this time with more or less a clean slate. No promises I’ll update it frequently, but it is what it is. I haven’t gone through and deleted any page content just yet but old pages like my computer specs will be getting removed. Again those pages feel like a distant fragment memory of my past and my interests now days are more mobile computing oriented and I feel at times that I replace those devices more often than I post on this blog.

For all those I haven’t had a lot to do with since I moved, know that all is well and I’m very happy here. Still yet to make a whole lot of new friends but I love the work and the opportunities it has afforded me. I have a lot more client exposure now and it’s truly thrilling to see something I developed on my own being put in place in government organisations. I’ll talk more about that in coming weeks.

Until then, take care and if you happen to be in Brisbane, I’m looking forward to my next trip up North.

Peace out.