Leaving NSN

Yesterday, I finally said goodbye to NSN (Nokia Siemens Networks). I felt mixed emotions. I was sad because I had to leave the company which I spent ten years of my life with, and at the same time happy that I'll be fulfilling the career that I really want with another company abroad.

Below was my farewell message I sent through email to everybody in NSN.

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After ten long years, I never thought that it would be my turn to say goodbye to a very great company, colleagues and excellent working environment. I never thought that I would be one of those people who come and go. Never did I think that I'll be in this situation. But I chose to venture into new challenges. I have to follow what my heart says so. It is true that when passion hits you, the only thing that will make you sane is to give in to it. I will be immersing myself into the world of databases, from development to production. This is something that I have been yearning to do, but only realized now. For several years, I have been so mesmerized with IN and OSS technologies. I have been so religiously doing my best as OSS Team Lead. But recently, after giving it a long thought, I decided to do a career shift (if you may call it as such).

I say thank you to my former Globe IN colleagues for the trust and confidence in me, most especially during database crashes :-) I will never forget the sleepless nights that we had counted just to make sure prepaid subscribers would always be able to top up credits and inquire balances.

I say thank you to Rex, my line manager, for being supportive of me, for trusting my technical and leadership capability. You are such an excellent leader who brings out the best in each one of us. You know how to act quickly in times of need and you care for your people. Keep it up.

I say thank you to Smart OBS/SA colleagues for being a team not to be bored with, for tirelessly doing what is best and what is right, for proving that OBS/SA team can reach greater heights.

Finally, I say thank you to NSN and its management. Thanks for being part of my life, for honing my technical and non-technical skills. The experiences and memories with you are truly worth treasuring. The culture is beyond compare.

Now, it is with heavy heart that I shall utter a phrase in French, Au revoir! (Goodbye!). May NSN continue giving Ericsson a run for their money, so that the goal of being number one will finally be achieved. I believe that with guts and determination NSN can do it. When that time comes people in NSN will be the greatest achievers who've ever lived on Earth.

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Goodbye, OSS; Hello, Database Administration

Yesterday, I tendered my resignation letter to NSN as an OSS Team Lead. This is the start of a more fruitful career for me. It's a shift from being a telecoms guy to a pure IT freak, particularly on the area of Database Administration, a career choice which has been burning inside me. It's only now that I give full attention to it. It's a dream come true. However, it's not P a p u a N e w G u i n e a where I'm heading to. I dropped my interest to work in that country as the employment contract still hangs. I can't wait forever.

My last day in NSN is Aug. 21, the day when the world opens the door for me towards a better and more promising career in terms of global opportunities. Database Administrator is my new position in a new employer abroad. I'll be handling Oracle databases.

Passionate about Oracle database

Database Administrator, Database Architect, Data warehouse Specialist, Database Designer, Database Developer, Database Specialist, Database Manager.. The only common thing about these positions is database.

Yes, my friend, I'm beginning to like this kind of job. Anything related to database, particularly Oracle, the number one database software vendor in the world, makes me wild about. I'm so fascinated with the challenge, thrill, robustness of being involved with databases. This is where my heart beats. Unfortunately, this is not the 100% career I'm currently into. My job in NSN mandates me to handle Oracle databases, but it's only part and parcel of my work as OSS engineer/team lead. Being involved with OSS (Operations Support System) means that I will have to lead a team, administer and support HP-UNIX, Linux, Cisco, NSN software, Windows 2003 Active Directory, and of course Oracle. There are just too many to focus on. That's why, it's now my desire to leave NSN. I want to work in a company where I will only deal with database - designing it, creating it, configuring it, migrating it, upgrading it, tuning its performance, securing it, developing some codes to automate maintenance tasks, installing patches for it, backing it up, recovering it in times of disaster, among others.

Oracle database, mind you, encompasses all industries - public sector, manufacturing, banking, telecommunications, insurance, etc. Most of the global firms choose Oracle as their database software. There are other global vendors as well like Sybase, MS SQL, DB2 (IBM), among others, but Oracle is number one. In terms of job opportunities, there are simply high demand for database administrators.

Database is the central part of any business. Crash it and your business is gone! That's why, lots of companies invest on Database Administrators who can make sure that database is up and running at all times. Imagine a world without database. How are you going to store data? Are you going to store them in the index cards? Silly. Stored data are crucial and therefore requires someone who can make sure data are neither stolen nor destroyed. Companies can't afford not to have mission-critical database.

Once in my life during my stint as Intelligent Network engineer had I experienced recovering the live database from a total crash. The experience was simply amazing. I'm proud that I've done it. At that time, the pressure was high, stress level was reaching heavens, bosses were around me watching how would I recover the database successfully. I was too nervous then. But then my determined spirit helped a lot in doing the recovery successfully. This is the experience that I will cherish the rest of my life.

So here I am continuing where I stopped. I felt I have stopped this kind of career years back. I was certified on December 2002, but nothing came out after that because I discontinued developing my Oracle skills further until recently. Today, I'm finally decided that I'll make a comeback. This time, I want a 100% database job. It's coming soon.

Why migrate to another country?

While still young, migrate to other countries as soon as possible. I suggest Australia or Canada.

Dati ayaw kong umalis ng bansa, pero things are evolving. I don't see bright future for our country in the coming years to come. Dati I thought GMA could make a very big difference sa pamumuhay natin, pero after more than 8 years, things are getting worst pa. Corruption was institutionalized, influence peddlers are so rampant, people in authority are brazenly disregarding laws. And many to mention.

There's no honest-to-goodness plan to be self-sustaining. Everything is being relied upon the foreign capital which is not actually coming. It's only the OFW's who make our economy afloat, but at very high social cost. Population is growing almost the same thing as our economy. In the end, more and more Filipinos are availing our already meager resources.

We may have very good macroeconomic fundamentals sa time ni GMA, but then if you have a look on the pattern, the next administration will just do the same thing, i.e, attract foreign capital. Science and Technology are not given much emphasis. We are not developing. We are not producing, We are not investing. We are rich in human talent, and natural resources, but we don't harness those. We just consume, that's all.

Crime, peace and order problem, lawlessness are another thing which add to our headaches. These are intolerable as far as I'm concerned. It will take decades (kung darating nga) before we could say that we are finally a developed country.

Kung meron mang serious candidate na may different mindset other than the rest. for sure, he/she is not popular and the masses will not vote for him/her.

While it's true that "Ako mismo" will initiate change, it's easier said than done. It will take a longer period before it finally happens. Probably, your kids would have kids already by the time it happens. (Worst, if it's doesn't)

Leaving the country doesn't mean we don't love this country. Kung may opportunity naman to uplift the quality of life ng minamahal mo, why not grab it? Say you earn more than 100K a month here, the thing is security, safety are always your concern. Taxes keep on rising because meager revenues just go to waste -- kickbacks, commissions in every gov't project, pocketing. wasteful spending by gov't, etc.

Masses are not well educated, thus, they choose mainly because of popularity. You might not know it, but their choice is impacting our lives bigtime!

Losing my phone again and again!

On May 18, the thief struck again. This time, in a holy place like a church. Yes, the thief spared no place at all. Even the house of God is a place for thievery. Well, it's not surprising at all since even the church's artifacts are often best targets by bastards.

This is now the second time that my phone (this time a Nokia N93i) was stolen straight from my jeans' pocket. Am I just silly or just too trusting? I never learn. The last time it happened to me was inside the MRT train (Damn this number coding that I had to commute!). Same methodology, same pants. Damn, I really have to get rid of that pants! Grrr.

I have already informed my employer about this. In due time, I will have my same number back since my subscription is postpaid. It will come of course with a new phone (again!), but this doesn't come cheap. I have to shell out money (again!) payable in three gives through salary deduction. Arggh!

Mother's Day

Together with my wife, my mother, my two siblings, my two 'pamangkins', and other 'sabits', we went to Tagaytay particularly Leslie's. We arrived there at around 1:30PM and was able only to eat our lunch at 3:00PM. The said restaurant was jam packed. We were numbered 22 on queue. I just can't imagine if there's really the so-called crisis in the Philippines. We had no choice but to wait for our seat. We didn't consider moving to other restaurant because it was just the same thing -- restaurants in Tagaytay were simply jam packed.

After Tagaytay, we paid a visit to Sisters of Mary School (SMS) Adlas, Silang, Cavite, but it was just a very short visit. Then, we went to Baclaran church for a mass. Afterwards, we went to Mall of Asia's seaside.

It was a tiring day but it was one of the happiest days for my mom. She just can't express her happiness especially with all the care, hugs and kisses she got from us.

P a p u a N e w G u i n e a ' s (P N G) blunder

Just before the Holy Week, our agency said that our employment contract for P N G (P a p u a N e w G u i n e a) had arrived, only to be returned back due to some discrepancies. The contract stipulated a wrong number of years of employment and the salary was not the agreed one. Now, it's another waiting time. It's been a month since the wrong contract was sent, but still we are in this dilemma. We are a total of 9 IT specialists waiting for the contract. Five are Oracle developers, two are network administrators, and two are Oracle database administrators (including me with a senior position).

I have read that P N G government has a notorious bureaucracy. One forum site said that even those Chinese workers already in the mining field in P N G had to wait six months for the work permits to be issued. Another site mentioned that even missionaries waited more than six months for their visas to be issued. Is this the kind of government that I will be dealing with in the next chapter of my life? Am I ready to deal with this kind of bureaucracy? I will be working with P N G's Department of Finance, and being a future government employee, I will be part of this bureaucracy. Tsk, tsk. But I hate this kind of slow-paced processing of papers. Grrr. If not for the juicy offer, I would not have waited this long. Luckily, all of my future colleagues are still willing to wait. According to them, the fortunes that we'll be receiving are worth the wait. Probably, that's the reason why P N G is hiring a lot of IT specialists to improve its processes.

Lord, please give me more patience.