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Tuesday, December 31, 2002 ( 1:16 AM ) iggry YEA, It's New Years Eve! That means it will be even quieter, and I am the only one working. I checked, and there is nothing important scheduled, so I would potentially sleep all shift! (Joking... I haven't slept at work yet, except that one time last year when I had the flu, if any managers are reading this, rest assured that I am sincerely guarding them computers, and cracking the whip so the little mice keep busy.) I found out today that a manager I really respect, he left the company :-(. The official story is that he was hired to do a more salesy position, and he ended up doing more support. So they, the powers above him, suggested that he take a month's leave to look for a new job, and gave him a month of vacation. He was a good manager! He supported us programmers, and jumped through a lot of hoops to make sure we were able to keep cranking out code. He always had time for us, and had a wonderful personality. But our sales were down this last quarter, and someone has to be blamed for the bad economy, so he's gone. I was laying in bed the evening trying to take a nap before work, and thinking of where my life is heading. This time 10 years ago, I was at the end of my first semester in grad school. I wanted my PhD, to teach at a small university in a little university town. A school that was interested in educating, and not the publish or perish attitude of bigger universities. I wanted to be an advisor for an Islamic student union of sorts during free time, and make a difference in peoples lives... Actually this is still my dream, I'm just side tracked with these silly computers right now. Everytime something stupid happens in the office, I start wondering how would be if I had chosen more school instead of work in IT. Alhumdulillah, life is good, and I have a job during economic turmoil, but I still dream of teaching. Heh, anyone want to offer me an assistantship so I can go back to school? :-) I am still looking forward to joining this team, and working as a programmer. When this projected started about 4 years ago, they wanted to do a test cast in Singapore. Unfortunately, the manager then wasn't good at international business, and lost the bid. But If it comes up again :-) I would be in a great position to go there for a couple of years, selling, installing, and supporting this product. I got to see a friend, and she is doing well. We met about 3 years ago when she joined the company. Since then, Alhumdulillah, she reverted, and married a muslim. I imagine I stirred up trouble for her poor hubby, because she asked me a lot of questions, and my answers didn't always agree with her husbands (My school is stricter). Last year, she went on maternity leave, and Alhumdulillah, she has a healthy baby boy. I was her when she was talking to our project leader. First thing she said when she saw me... "Wow, you are beginning to look like a prophet!" Me *blushing*, "urm, Alhumdulillah?" # Monday, December 30, 2002 ( 8:05 AM ) iggry Woohoo, my first day in the office, with my new, empty, barren cube. I need to get some stuff to personalize it. Acutally, I'm not done with my old client yet, but I have some work to do for the new project to get up to speed.... Wow, I was the first person here :-), and it is so quiet! Have to be careful, and not spend all my time on the internet InshaAllah, I will write a more formal entry tonight, while guarding 'dem naughty computers... Hope eveyone has a good day!! # Saturday, December 28, 2002 ( 12:31 AM ) iggry Jumuah Mubarak! Today for Friday prayer, Imam spoke about the importance of guarding our kids faith. We hold interfaith conferences on a weekly basis where anyone is invited, and representatives of Islam, Catholicism, Judaism and Prostantism (? non-Catholic Christian). Last weeks conference the panel was asked how they would feel if their kids left the family religion. Our Imam responded that he would rather die than hear about his kids leaving Islam. Then he reminded us of the importance in guarding our religion, and guarding our children. Like if my son falls to the temptation of Zina because I didn't let him get married, then I would share in his sin... Alhumdulillah! Last week, we were told we couldn't park in a non-pathed area at the Masjid. The city relented due to numerous calls requestion leniciency. We are now allowed to park on the temporary gravel lot that was created to ease the situation. Still no parking on the grass though. We had 3-4 police officers directing traffic and helping us park so that we could know which parts are acceptable, and avoid fines. Also, there was a larger attendence today because a lot of school kids are able to come, who would usually be in school. Wow, work is practically dead! Since I am in System administration, and probably more than half the employee base has taken off this week, it is really quiet up here. I have lots of time to continue reading for my next assignment. Heh, I get to work with my manager tonight :-) He is really quiet like me, and keeps the attitude that as long as everything is working, and we get our job done, he will leave us be, and let us manage ourselves. # Thursday, December 26, 2002 ( 2:18 AM ) iggry Nothing interesting today... Still reading Delphi, and still behind. Sorry if I am quiet for the next week... Heh, I'm also grumpy :-) I am so ready to be done with 3rd shift that it is hard to keep a good attitude at work. Don't get me wrong, I am pleasant to be around, just overly work evasive :-) # Wednesday, December 25, 2002 ( 12:18 AM ) iggry YEA ten days left to guard the computers! This being a holiday, I get the place all to myself! this is probably a good thing because I am like 60 pages behind in reading the programming book for my next assignment.... The kids are off school for the holidays, and so excited. Today it snowed all day! We have about 5 inches so far, and it is still coming down. My son asked if he could make an igloo, and sleep in it tonight. Hah, he is coughing, and getting over a cold, and now he wants to sleep in an igloo?!? I think not!!! We have had a fire burning for the past 36 hours, and alhumdulillah, it is so nice to sit by a fire inside, and watch it snow hard outside. But the daunting thought of having to drive to work kept interfering with my blissfulness. Well, off to reading Delphi... # Friday, December 20, 2002 ( 3:05 PM ) iggry Jumuah Mubarak Alhumdulillah! My son won the spelling bee at his school!!! Alhumdulillah, My cousin is getting better, and my auntie is doing better. So my parents came back. They traveled about 2400 miles in four days! Alhumdulillah, two of my uncles will be in town this weekend. One will be taking my grandma back south for Christmas. Today at Friday Prayer, they made an announcement that we couldn't park anywhere except on the pathed parking lot! :-(. Alhumdulillah, our masjid is building a new section so the school can grow. The new building is being build where the back parking lot was. They made a temporary gravel lot to park on, and people usually overflowed into the grassy areas, and we have been doing this since the Masjid was built around 7 years ago... The Masjid was built near two neighborhoods, and as the houses come for-sale, muslims have been moving into the area :-). For what-ever reason, one of the people in the neighborhoods complained about us parking on the grass, and the city is enforcing a land restriction that cars can only be parked on paved (blacktop) areas. There is a $500 parking violation for parking on grassy areas. The poor guy who made the announcement was almost in tears. He had been pleading for leniency because some city inspector intended to start enforcing, and ticketing most of use with/out any prior warning. Alhumdulillah, the inspector relented, and had us warned instead of fining us immediately. But it is going to be a big inconvience for so many people. # Thursday, December 19, 2002 ( 3:13 AM ) iggry Laval University I was talking to my son's teacher today, and it brought back pleasant memories. In high school, I took as much French as I could. I continued this in University, taking more French then necessary for my degree. My sophomore year, I heard about an exchange program with Laval University in Quebec City, Quebec. With some investigation, I was soon enrolled in an intensive French program over the summer. While I was there, I stayed with an elder lady, who was quite a character. I was but a naive young lad and she thought she should take me under her wing. Unfortunately, this involved telling me things that I would have rather not found out ever, such as her current lovers... But in spite of this, we got along pretty good. Each morning, I got up and rode my bike to class. Then in the evening, I would be home by dinner, and study in my room through the rest of the evening. One day, the teacher announced a talent show, and my host encouraged me to audition. I listened to some people try out, and tuned others out. Performers did all sorts of things, from singing, to playing various instruments, to performing different acts, such as juggling, or some magic tricks. . With some anxiety, I impatiently waited around, and was finally allowed to try out. By this time, people had divided in to different groups, and the room was somewhat noisy and we were busy critiquing the different attempts. Some people made first cut, and many people didn’t. The judges seemed to determine on the spot if we qualified. They had a piano, so I walked up, played a couple of notes to get the feel of the keys, then started playing. I nervously waited while the panel conversed back and forth, somewhat shaken up by the mistakes I made. Finally, someone approached me, and told me that I had made it. My teacher and class were so excited, and all promised to come see me. Not all classes were represented, so I got a lot of attention from my classmates. A week passes, and I spend extra time preparing for my upcoming performance. The big day finally arrived, I packed some nice clothes to change into, and started off to school. Unfortunately, while riding to school, some heartless individual in a car decided to stick his hand out the window, and push me from behind while the car was passing. They knocked me on the sidewalk, I rolled a couple of times and ended up in the grass, with several scrapes and cuts and a swollen ankle. Alhumdulillah I didn’t break anything. My poor teacher was almost in tears when she saw me, and she rushed me to the clinic. I was bandaged up, and sent back to class. That night, I entered the side stage, and my name was first on the list. They wanted me to open the show! I had wanted to skip, but I couldn’t pass this opportunity. The host visited me a couple of times to make sure I was OK, then told me it was time to start. The auditorium was noisy, and packed. As I hobbled out on the stage, it got so quiet you could hear a pin drop. There were murmurs through the crow as I sat at the piano. I was so nervous I was sick at my stomach. I had lost a lot of confidence with the fall, and was trembling when I moved my hands toward the keyboard. I took a deep breath, and struck the first note. I played Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu. As soon as I started, everything fell into place, and I got lost in the song. When I finished, my class gave me a standing ovation, and my teacher onto the stage, gave me red roses, and a kiss. The rest of the show went without event, and there were a lot of talented people performing. That night exceeded any expectations that I ever had from a performance. The next day, people were calling me by name, and asking how I was doing, or offering to take me somewhere. I met a lot of new people, and made new friends. By the end of the week, my moment of fame had settled down, I had healed, and life was basically back to normal. # Wednesday, December 18, 2002 ( 1:39 AM ) iggry Assalamu alaikum All, I have post holiday Blah's, and a serious case of 'short-timers syndrome'. Three weeks to go, and I will be on a normal shift. But my motivation to work here is declining rapidly :(. The company made an anouncement during my weekend that more headcount is going to be cut. So the moral around me has declined. Meanwhile, I read 100 pages about Delphi in preparation for my new assignment. My "Wifey" pet name has become a trend in the office. Now three of my co-workers refer to their spouses as "Wifey". I have yet to hear Husbandy, but none of my female co-workers are married... But the term has carried into the office. Now, first shift adds a y to my name, and I refer to them as Richy, Briany, and Bridgity... :( My cousin got seriously ill. So my parents rushed away to provide support to my aunty. It happened so quickly. He seems to be doing better, but the family is stressed right now. I got the call from my parents after they had headed south, and they asked me to check in on my Grandma. I took her shopping yesterday, and picked up medicine for her today. While visiting, she was telling me about pranks she had pulled when she was young. Alhumdulillah, she is almost 88, and in good health. # Friday, December 13, 2002 ( 7:11 AM ) iggry Life as a consultant My new assignment is official. I stopped by the office today, and was given books to start learning Delphi, introduced to my future team-mates, and project manager, and was given software to install at home to start learning and practicing. I found out that Delphi the the replacement/upgrade of Borland Pascal. Even though it is an older language, I used it in school for Numerical Analysis, so I feel a little less swamped. The project manager is very nice, and I got to see my new cube (tucked away in a more secluded area) so I am getting more excited about this change. Wow, last night was busy. I have been babysitting an oracle database, restoring and applying archive files, and we had to roll out an application upgrade to every server on the network. I have been copying files all night, it is boring, but Alhumdulillah, it kept me busy. # Thursday, December 12, 2002 ( 6:50 AM ) iggry Work at the railroad Heh, since I'm killing time before rebooting a server I will talk about the railroad some more :-) Today, I am upgrading Oasis at the intermodal sites. Oasis is container tracking software, which helps organize intermodal railyards. An intermodal yard is a site that loads transfer truck trailers onto flatbed cars to transport them across the country... Enough definitions. A truck will pull up to the entrance, and will get a parking spot assigned to them. They pull into the spot, and wait for the crane. The crane operator takes the cargo invoice from the truck driver, and faxes it. The invoice is picked up by computers at my building, optically scanned, and forwarded to the bank while the trailer is being loaded onto the train. Funds are automatically transferred to pay for the shipment and a receipt is faxed to the crane operator who hands it to the truck driver. # ( 5:48 AM ) iggry Life as a consultant Eek, I spoke to my manager today. There is a lack of web projects so my assignment is to learn Delphi as fast as possible. They are going to put me on a application development team creating a new module for our Point of Sales software. My company has successfully developed the software used at the registers at convience stores, and gas stations. One of the customers wants a new enhancement by June. I don't know much more about it, but will meet with a project manager after work, and figure out the details. I would have preferred Web developement, but Alhumdulillah, I am employeed. With the current U.S. economy, and more companies announcing lay-offs, that is more than some people can say. . # Wednesday, December 11, 2002 ( 3:27 AM ) iggry Eid Celebration Eid was great! I took the night off so that we could go to Eid prayer as a family. Alhumdulillah, there was a large turn-out, and the Gym was packed. Unfortunately, I was cranky because of my disrupted sleep patterns, and took a nap while the rest of my family went to the open house at the Masjid. I was told that I didn't miss anything except the usual messy people who come to the Masjid only for free food, throw their tissues on the floor, and leave their big mess for other people to clean up :-(. For dinner, we went to a friends open house, with lots of delicious food. Alhumdulillah, the day turned out well, inspite of having to take a mid-afternoon time-out. Then on Saturday, we went to another Malay open house, and Wifey cooked randang. Mmmm, I love Malay food! # Thursday, December 05, 2002 ( 1:52 AM ) iggry Selamat Hari Raya!Eid-al-Fitr will be on Friday here. The community has rented the Gym at a community college for Eid prayers. Afterward all of the local Masjids are having an open house with lots of delicious food, and we get to go to several open houses. Alhumdulillah! I get to take tomorrow night off, so I can be nice and rested for Eid. For those that I have offended, please forgive me, and allow me to start with a clean slate. ACK! It snowed Wednesday morning. I should count my blessings, since I was going against rush hour... but it took me five times longer to get home (2.5 hours). For the poor people going to work, a truck blocked the highway, and people turned off their cars, and were walking around the interstate talking, drinking coffee, and complaining about the weather. I hadn't seen traffic backed up so far in over ten years! It would have been a nice day to snuggle up infront of a fire, and sleep! I hope everyone has a wonderful Eid, good weather, and safe traveling. # Wednesday, December 04, 2002 ( 6:10 AM ) iggry Well tonight, I have a lot on my mind, so please forgive me for the lengthy post... First things first, My coworker is trying to start a dream interpretation column, and get syndicated. His web-site is DreamWalker. He has put a lot of work into it, and offers a dream interpretation service to anyone interested... iggry the teacher Alhumdulillah. I got tired of waiting, and decided to inquire into my future status as an IT instructor. I got a letter back in the evening stating that the position had been closed. There wasn't enough of an enrollment increase to justify the new class, so it was canceled. In many ways this is a relief because, although I was looking forward to the challenge, I didn't feel comfortable teaching those classes... So Alhumdulillah, all is good. Now, on the other hand :-) There is a recent announcement requesting math lecturers for next semester at a new extension campus. Class openings include College algebra, and the Calculus's. Since my background is in Math, and this is where I want to be several years from now, it is even more tempting... The down side, next year I will be working 20 miles to the west, and the campus is 20 miles to the east of my house, so that will be a lot of driving. Also, there are family commitments coming up that will require more time. But still, I thought I would submit an application, and spend more time praying for the best outcome. It's time for continued discussions with wifey :-) iggry the consultant Alhumdulillah. I got a call from my office manager today. The ax has fallen, and my time is near. Due to budget cuts, my position at the railroad will end January 3. This brings up a lot of different emotions which I will be sorting though shortly... I have been here for over 17 months, and have grown to respect, and appreciate my co-workers. The position is easy, and the work environment is relaxed, and enjoyable. As long as nothing breaks, we are allowed to read, cruise the internet, blog, talk, play... Just not snore too loudly, else we wake our manager. If something breaks, we have to be ready to work hard and efficiently to get it fixed. It requires a broad knowledge of server/network administration, and the railroad actually try's to stay on the cutting edge of technology to maintain it's efficiency. It is a wonderful environment, and I have an awesome manager, who stays out of our hair, as long as we get the job done. The con's... It is 3rd shift, and my weekend is Monday/Tuesday morning. It is easy to become complacent, and have too much fun talking, playing, etc. Practically speaking, I should spend more time learning new skills and making myself more marketable. Working nights is physically and mentally draining, and even on a good day, I feel tired and not completely mentally alert. I will get normal weekends with my family, and be able to enjoy my kids more before they grow up :-) Essentially, I am being laid off due to budget cuts which is stressful. I talked to my client manager, and he said they cut everything else before me, including pencils/pens paper, and all other office supplies. He dropped his budget down to $0 hoping to find a way to keep me. Over the past 6 months, there has been about 35% budget cuts, and some departments have three desks per person, having lost almost two thirds of their head count. Alhumdulillah, my manager fought hard to keep me, and has always gave me incredible reviews calling me one of the pillars holding up the team. But way above his head, they have announced another 10% cut, and since he has nothing left, us two consultants are being let go.... But they are so nice, and sincere about it, it makes me feel special that they fought so hard to keep me. What does this mean for me? Well, as a consultant, this is a way of life. Contracts come, and they go. My client company is moving it's headquarters to Omaha, and I knew this job was going away next year anyway. I have been preparing for this to come anyway, just not so soon. Working for a reputable consulting firm, which cares for it's employees: I will not miss a paycheck, and will get reassigned to another position. This is the forth client that I have been assigned to in the past seven years. My client manager stressed to my firm that it was a budget cut, and emphasized how hard they tried to keep me. He is writing a letter of recommendation for me to take with me, and sending it to my consultant managers for my work history folder. This looks wonderful in my employee history, and should I decided to settle down, there is an open job offer at the railroad waiting for me. My next assignment will be on a rapid deployment team, as a web developer. I will have a standard day job, and normal weekends, except for the occasional deployment, at which point I will have overtime, and have to spend a weekend somewhere implementing their software. The job is much more technically challenging, and I have gotten soft over the past 18 months. More time with books, learning new skills. It will be more stressful working in the office, and I will have to get use to rush hour again... Frankly speaking, I am scared, and nervous. I was on this team two years ago, and it was no fun, and very stressful. But two years ago, the department manager was horrible, and it seemed like she was doing everything in her power to destroy moral, and micro-manage all of us. But she was let go, and now the team is under new management. I have been working with my new manager to start picking up new skills, and he is a wonderful person, and seems like a great manager. I just have all this baggage from my last stay at the office, and have to make sure it doesn't hold me back this time. My work life has always been systems administration, and I have little development experience. So this is like a career change to a new area. It will broaden my experience, and make me more marketable in the long run, but the initial adjustment will be stressful. Please make dua's for me, that I can come up to speed in this new area quickly, grow in knowledge needed to succeed, and adjust to the new environment. # Monday, December 02, 2002 ( 5:51 AM ) iggry Visit to Malaysia I'm so old... Eeek! Alas, I have been aged beyond my years! *sulking* We went to visit my sister-in-law in Johor Baru (JB), and this little girl came up to me, and said "AssalamuAlaikum Atok". But anyway, my neices, and wife started laughing so much! I'm like, Okay, what did she say. Between fits of laughter, they finally told me that she called me grandpa! OUCH! They explained, since my wife's oldest sister is a grandmother, and I am along the same generation... I qualify as an extended granddad. After I got over my denial, it made sense. Alhumdulillah, she is so cute and smart! I would happily be her grandpa. Later they took us to a park with several playgrounds. I took turns playing with the kids, and talking to the adults. I took my 'grand-daughter' across a ropes bridge, and was having a lot of fun. But too soon, it was time to go back. And then the manipulation came! This sweet little girl ran up to me, took my hand and was pulling me back to the playground saying something. She was telling me that she didn't want to go yet. I could tell them to stay at the park, and she would keep playing with me on the playground. In her mind, they would listen to me since I was the oldest. Fortunately, I didn't have a car, and told her I was afraid that they might decide to make us walk back. She accepted that, and we headed back to my sister-in-laws house. # ( 1:11 AM ) iggry How I became 'sister iggry' I have visited sound vision for over a year posting very rarely as a visitor. I got to the point where I wanted to join in and test the waters, but still wanted to be anonymous. So I posted as iggry, figuring it could be either male or female. I related a story about shopping with a friend; where a little girl asked her mom if my friend was a princess. Several people assumed that the story was about me, and I became known as a sister. When asked, I neither confirmed nor denied being a sister, and my silence was considered consent. This was my mistake :-(. At first, I hoped that by ignoring the issue, it would go away, but it didn't... It was never my intention to mislead people and I felt guilty about this. When I announced going to visit my in-laws in Malaysia, I determined that I would find a new pseudonom before posting again on SV. I failed to find another reasonably unique pseudonom on the web, so I haven't been active at SV, except to post unregistered on rare occasions. I still like 'iggry', and didn't want to rename the blog. I enjoy visiting other muslim blogs and decided to make my blog public. I apologize for misleading anyone, and hope to start with a clean slate... # |
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