Woohooo!! i am officially now an Associate Software Architect!!!
The much awaited PAR's were finally completed. The main focal point of everyone (including myself) was to see how much our increment was going to be. But to my surprise, when i went to collect my PAR letter, i discovered that they had promoted me to Associate Software Architect!
This was something totally unexpected... But something i wanted to achieve since i started my career in 2000. True, i have been playing the architect role for around a year now. But having worked with people like Chandika Mendis, Sanjaya Karunasena and Shiham Naufer i know how much more i need to learn and experience before i can be a really good architect. I have truly learnt and benefited a lot by working closely with these gentlemen.
I truly want to end up like one of them. Someone everyone looks up to and admires. Wish me luck !
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Monday, April 3, 2006
She's going to CMU...
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This has got to be the best thing that has happened this year!!
I'm soo happy for her. i know she's going to do really well.. in fact i am actually expecting her to be very much involved in the next expedition to the moon. I'm pretty sure she's going to have something to do with that rocket !
Anyways.. Here's wishing her all the very best..!!
i'm going to miss her quite a lot...
Sunday, March 12, 2006
University Applications...
i have come to an important junction in my life. It was time for me to start thinking about where i would like to be in the next 5 to 10 years.
All these thoughts resulted in me realizing that a masters qualification from a reputed university was of utmost importance. Why? well, this was what i was thinking,
1. i have grown within the organization i work for and have now come to a certain level of seniority. However, in order to differentiate myself from the others, and to improve my value proposition, i need something else. A boost. A different experience. An edge in technology know-how. (this can be challeged though, as people in the industry may actually be the trend setters and the ones who use and evangelize cutting edge technologies)
2. To go back to the books now would actually give me a well deserved break from the stress and high adrenaline lifestyle i now am very much a part of.
3. It would also allow me to view information technology and its usage from a different view point. I'm saying this only because i have been in the same company since i graduated 6 years ago, and my world has been this organization. I think its about time i experienced how other companies tackle the same problems we faced, etc.
4. It will create an environment in which i will be able to meet, form relationships and work with others with similar interests, thus giving me the opportunity to have friends in the industry all over the world.
5. If i am able to excel in my masters (hopefully :) ), i will be able to have the backing of the university and the professors i studied under. This could be important later on in my future endevours.
I'm sure there's more....
Anyways all this thinking resulted in me
- Going in search of recommenders, worrying the life out of them until they provided me with countless recommendation letters.
- hunting down suitable universities which provided the courses i would love study
- Feeling disappointed after realizing that i do not meet the minimum academic entry requirements as i have a second lower honours undergrad degree. (Bloody hell ! They dont seem to care about all the hard work i have put in the last 6 years, and that i have come to a level which is just short of being a software architect. :) ofcourse i need more years of experience to be a really good one !! )
- Filling in many university application forms
- Photo copying and certifying transcripts and other certs
- Studying for a freaking GRE exam which was another saga on its own
- and finally spending an obscene amount of money fed-exing my applications to all parts of the US and UK.
I just hope its all worth it in the end.... (fingers crossed)
All these thoughts resulted in me realizing that a masters qualification from a reputed university was of utmost importance. Why? well, this was what i was thinking,
1. i have grown within the organization i work for and have now come to a certain level of seniority. However, in order to differentiate myself from the others, and to improve my value proposition, i need something else. A boost. A different experience. An edge in technology know-how. (this can be challeged though, as people in the industry may actually be the trend setters and the ones who use and evangelize cutting edge technologies)
2. To go back to the books now would actually give me a well deserved break from the stress and high adrenaline lifestyle i now am very much a part of.
3. It would also allow me to view information technology and its usage from a different view point. I'm saying this only because i have been in the same company since i graduated 6 years ago, and my world has been this organization. I think its about time i experienced how other companies tackle the same problems we faced, etc.
4. It will create an environment in which i will be able to meet, form relationships and work with others with similar interests, thus giving me the opportunity to have friends in the industry all over the world.
5. If i am able to excel in my masters (hopefully :) ), i will be able to have the backing of the university and the professors i studied under. This could be important later on in my future endevours.
I'm sure there's more....
Anyways all this thinking resulted in me
- Going in search of recommenders, worrying the life out of them until they provided me with countless recommendation letters.
- hunting down suitable universities which provided the courses i would love study
- Feeling disappointed after realizing that i do not meet the minimum academic entry requirements as i have a second lower honours undergrad degree. (Bloody hell ! They dont seem to care about all the hard work i have put in the last 6 years, and that i have come to a level which is just short of being a software architect. :) ofcourse i need more years of experience to be a really good one !! )
- Filling in many university application forms
- Photo copying and certifying transcripts and other certs
- Studying for a freaking GRE exam which was another saga on its own
- and finally spending an obscene amount of money fed-exing my applications to all parts of the US and UK.
I just hope its all worth it in the end.... (fingers crossed)
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Openreach - Release 1
Its been 6 months of hard work. But we've finally done it. What seemed like an impossible task has been acomplished.
Openreach Release 1
The task at hand was to architect, design and deliver a content managed portal application for UK's largest telecom vendor. The challenge was set and it was nigh impossible.
The technology stack was impressive. Struts, Tiles, Hibernate, Spring, Apache's Log4j, Apache's commons configuration project, Oracle, Weblogic, Sun One and Interwoven all proven technologies in the industry. All classes were wired together using Spring. We had to learn and master the chosen content management server, and then figure out how best to integrate it with the Portal. It was truely an exciting and testing period. It became more personal than doing it merely for the organization we work for.
Many many late nights; in fact we did serveral 24 hour days; tons of pizza, countless portions of tom yum soup, and batter fried prawns later we finally did it.
We were the only vendor, among many big names, to deliver on time. The sweat we had put in was all worth it.
Openreach Release 1
The task at hand was to architect, design and deliver a content managed portal application for UK's largest telecom vendor. The challenge was set and it was nigh impossible.
The technology stack was impressive. Struts, Tiles, Hibernate, Spring, Apache's Log4j, Apache's commons configuration project, Oracle, Weblogic, Sun One and Interwoven all proven technologies in the industry. All classes were wired together using Spring. We had to learn and master the chosen content management server, and then figure out how best to integrate it with the Portal. It was truely an exciting and testing period. It became more personal than doing it merely for the organization we work for.
Many many late nights; in fact we did serveral 24 hour days; tons of pizza, countless portions of tom yum soup, and batter fried prawns later we finally did it.
We were the only vendor, among many big names, to deliver on time. The sweat we had put in was all worth it.
Sunday, July 24, 2005
My last day onsite...
Today was my last working day in the US of A. Hmm am I sad to leave? Am I going to miss working here? I really don’t know…
Well it’s true, I like the challenge, the environment, the pressure of working onsite. It provides a real drive to give off my best. However this visit was lacking most of those traits. Maybe its cause I have lost that enthusiasm and it has become just another stint, or maybe I am distracted by other happenings back home… I really don’t know…
However I have learnt a lot during my stay here. I have grown to understand the potential and value of pure raw data and if properly manipulated how valuable it can be to an individual and an organization. I have learnt the techniques of such manipulations. I have also understood the art of storing the data in an efficient, informative manner. (REF: ETL: Ab Initio, Datamarts and stars)
But I guess this trip was filled with a few unpleasantries which left me disgruntled. One; the introduction to the most annoying person ever! Two; some silly, foolish decisions made by the organization for which I work for.
Anyways I guess its all experience… and I’ve had my share of it this time.
Well it’s true, I like the challenge, the environment, the pressure of working onsite. It provides a real drive to give off my best. However this visit was lacking most of those traits. Maybe its cause I have lost that enthusiasm and it has become just another stint, or maybe I am distracted by other happenings back home… I really don’t know…
However I have learnt a lot during my stay here. I have grown to understand the potential and value of pure raw data and if properly manipulated how valuable it can be to an individual and an organization. I have learnt the techniques of such manipulations. I have also understood the art of storing the data in an efficient, informative manner. (REF: ETL: Ab Initio, Datamarts and stars)
But I guess this trip was filled with a few unpleasantries which left me disgruntled. One; the introduction to the most annoying person ever! Two; some silly, foolish decisions made by the organization for which I work for.
Anyways I guess its all experience… and I’ve had my share of it this time.
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