Unlike most of this blog this post is not technical in the slightest, instead it's a personal update. Though, I have been wanting to write this post for a long time now!
Many things have happened in the last few months, and life is still swirling all around me. Many things seemed uncertain, other things still do. Irregardless, things are pretty darn cool.
Anyways, here's what's happened lately.
The First Degree
I went Camosun College in late 2010, and transfered to the University of Victoria in 2012. As of June 2016, I've finished my program and recieved my degree!
I'm now the proud holder of a Computer Science (Networking) with Distinction degree. I wasn't sure what the 'with Distinction' meant but according to this it means I was in the top 20%! Wild.
As the heading suggests, I plan to do more academia in the future. I'd like to work and explore a bit first. Which brings up my next topic!
A Change of Location
I'm moving to Berlin, Germany on August 13th! Travelling has been in my plans for years, and Europe is one of the destinations I've wanted to visit most. It's more than that though, I want to see many places and cultures, so choosing any particular one is hard!
Berlin is an amazing place not only because of how interesting the city and people are, but also because of how central it is to the rest of Europe. As a Canadian, where a flight to another part of the country can be over 6 hours and a busing can take hours out of your day, the threat of a few hours on a train between countries is something I kind of look forward to.
Over the last months I've had the chance to meet some amazing people in Berlin, too, as well as the surrounding areas. I can't wait to go visit my friend Adolfo in Utrecht, check out the CCC, and meet all sorts of interesting people.
It's been a very long adventure trying to get my visa, and it's still not over. Perhaps it is a story for another blog post. Suffice it to say, the process has been incredibly frustrating.
There's more for me in Berlin too, including a job...
Building a Career
I'm very happy to announce that I'll be joining Asquera next month as a Junior Developer!
Asquera is a back-end consultancy. I originally encountered them through my friend Florian and realized they might be a perfect fit for me. They work with many of the things I'm familiar with, and will introduce me to plenty new things to satisfy my appetite. It's going to be fantastic.
Asquera does a considerable amount of work in the Rust, Ruby, and Elasticsearch communities. This is very important to me and I'm very excited to get involved on the other side of the planet. I'm temporarily leaving several very awesome communities here back home, and I'm sure that ebing involved there will make me feel more at home.
<img src="asquera.svg", alt="Asquera">
Over the last few weeks I've gotten to know the team a bit, and gosh are they ever cool! I can't wait to work with them. It will be a big change from where I what I currently do for work, and I'm both nervous and excited about it.
Eyes to the Future
When making choices in my life, I try to choose things that will put 'future me' in a better position. These changes are all good, and will all teach me valuable lessons.
Over the next year I'll be learning about an entirely different culture, learning to learn languages, and broadening my technical abilities. I'm sure there will be many challenges ahead of me, and I'll learn much from suceeding (and occasionally failing, I'm sure) at them.
It'll be a wonderful adventure.