Journals and diaries – a thing of the past?

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As I was cleaning the house today I noticed that up until last year (2010) I still used physical diary to take down my appointments and summarise important aspects of the day. I’ve been getting by this year on my smartphone’s calendar function alone. Considering that I bought my first smartphone in October last year, it makes sense that I had a 2010 diary.

So before deciding whether to shred it or not I had a quick look through it. What a year it was! It started off pretty poorly but ended on such a great note! I remember thinking at Christmas 2010: “I’m so pleased with what I’ve achieved this year, I don’t know how 2011 could match this”

I guess it was good to think that because 2011 definitely hasn’t disappointed. There are many things to be grateful for. Both in my personal and professional life. There’s no need to summarise them here but it’s been a grand year!

It was nice to go back through my diary. Nothing quite replaces the ability to flick through and find important notes that have gone down and left an impression on your life.

Where have you been

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So…

My content is missing. For those of you who check into my blog from time to time, you may have noticed that these past few days, funny things have been happening.

I’ve been trying to migrate the content of my blog over to a new installation.

At the moment, this task seems harder than what it’s worth. I still have time to complete the migration but for now I will start a new path for my online presence.

I am very fond of the articles I have posted over the last two and half years. Some articles aren’t as tidy as others but it’s always good to be able to read them from time to time.

On the other hand, it would be refreshing to start again and really treat my domain as my temple.

So I’d like for you to bear with me as I attempt to bring anything across. If I don’t then it’s not the end of the world but an opportunity to take on this task(blogging) at a much more mature time of my life.

Thanks for stopping by.

Reinaldo
November 2011

Whether to study a post grad

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After completing a Bachelor’s degree, some students go straight into post-graduate studies, other students declare “school is out” and others enter the workforce to before making the decision.

In my last year of studies, I was so desperate to have a post-student life that I didn’t contemplate going back, not until I had spent a few years in the workforce.

After working in the public service for 15 months, I’m still unsure of when to pursue further formal education. I have been told that it’s best to work for a few years as a career path will become clearer once I have some industry experience. This makes sense as then I’ll be able to decide whether I’d like to specialise in one area or study a new stream altogether. It also allows me to explore what options are available to study while I work.

At this point in time, I’m not sure what area of studies I’d like to pursue. One interest is to learn more about accounting and ensure I have financial knowledge to complement what I’ve already learned. It’s known that once you get to the managerial level of ICT, budgets and cost come in to play much more. Being financially literate is an advantage when justifying expenditure and conveying ideas. The only issue with studying accounting is that I may be planning too far ahead.

So the other study streams I think are plausible would be to pursue project management or business analysis courses. While both are expensive, they would be a step in the right direction. Prine2 or PMP courses would be great to have under my belt. Similarly, specific courses relating to business requirements and business analysis would put me in good stead also.

I’ve seen people complete their Bachelor’s and post grad diplomas all at once before entering the workforce as a graduate. While this would be desirable, I didn’t have any fuel left in me to continue studying at the end of my degree.

I hope to check back in a year’s time to see how I feel about it then. Maybe I’ll have some courses under my belt by then. Here’s hoping.

New theme new direction

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So I’ve updated my theme to change things up. I’ve also decided that I will use this space to track the progress of my goal to become a business analyst. For some of you, it may seem like a modest aspiration but for me it’s one goal I haven’t achieved. I know that when I do become a business analyst, I will have a different goal in front of me.

Back to the new theme.

I’m using a default theme that came with the new version of wordpress, it’s called “twenty eleven”. I think default themes have come a long way since I first glanced at kubrick. The new theme is quite minimalist and I think it’s a great match for the new direction I’m taking. I don’t think a blog or a theme should get in the way of someone who wants to write and share opinions. I think this theme will serve me well over the next two years.

I’m done with experimenting with plugins and widgets. When I use wordpress, I want to only write. I’m glad I’ve got the spring clean done and can now get on with the job of documenting my journey to becoming a professional business analyst.

Vocation is not your occupation

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I had a discussion with a friend of mine yesterday that started off with: “what is your personal vocation in life?”

The first thought that came to mind was “I don’t have a vocation, I’m not a teacher and not a nurse” so I asked if he meant what’s the motto I live by.

It was then established that neither of us had a clear grasp on the word “vocation”. One of us thought that vocation meant your occupation or career aspirations while the other thought it meant some sort of principled attitude to life.

So the reasoning behind the question was that besides our occupation, there isn’t much else that we contribute to during our lives. I made the comment that when we die, nobody stands up and remarks at how good you could code in SQL, implying that our jobs are of minor importance in the grand scheme of things.

Our current job is just one aspect of our lives but it doesn’t define us as a human being. That’s not where we have our biggest impact on humanity (for most of us at least).

This is what my friend wrote on the matter:

I think an occupation can fall into 3 categories: a Job ( lil satisfaction) a Carear ( career improvement and life fulfillment until retirement) and then your vocation (the activity that is your birthright and something you were born to do, complete life fulfillment)

I’ll finish with a quote on vocation that I found on the web:

Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life; everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated, thus, everyone’s task is unique as his specific opportunity to implement it.

-Viktor E. Frankl