It's been two weeks, but both my officer keeps silence and my status on the Immigration New Zealand site is "Pending". It's killing me, I want to have an answer already, to be able to adjust my plans and move on! I need to know when I'll have visa in my passport to book airplane tickets, sell my appartment here in Russia and search for a room and a job, and I need to know whether I'm getting visa at all. Argh. Please don't be so slow, immigration officers and give me a Residence. I'll be good for your country, I promise!
For now I'm in a state of hanging between earth and sky, not able to do or think anything serious and efforts-consuming. I hate having to hang there, not knowing what's next and not having any power to make things go faster. =_= And why the waiting? So far even my employment history wasn't considered worth verifying. Does this delay mean that they don't want to approve my visa and will give me a Job Search one?
Monday, 20 May 2013
Wednesday, 8 May 2013
Skype Interview with a recruitement company went well
This morning I had an interview with Rachel, a representative of a recruitement company who currently works to build a Christchurch team for Orion Health. I think that it went extremely well. Rachel is a very friendly person and she asked questions that assured me she really does know what QA and testing is. We understood each other a lot better, than in case of immigration interview earlier. Connection was clearer, and she talked louder. I wonder if that's a skill recruitement specialists are trained in: to speak and understand overseas candidates.
Any way, I'll probably have next interview with Orion Health HR next week, and if that also goes well, I'll have a technical interview next. There is a real chance that they like me and make me a job offer. That would be a little miracle, of course: to get a nice job even before I actually arrive to New Zealand. But even if that wouldn't work out, at least I'll get some experience in interviewing for somewhat local IT market.
Orion Health sounds like an interesting place to work, and I really like the thought of challenge (new domain of knowledge, probably new tools and technologies to learn) as well as the thought of making a real impact on people's lives.
What did I learn from the interview? At least I can sell myself to HR. It has been a long time since I've attended technical interviews, so those might be harder to pass. Though I do know my area and this should be a plus even if I forget some terminology or other matter-of-fact things.
Any way, I'll probably have next interview with Orion Health HR next week, and if that also goes well, I'll have a technical interview next. There is a real chance that they like me and make me a job offer. That would be a little miracle, of course: to get a nice job even before I actually arrive to New Zealand. But even if that wouldn't work out, at least I'll get some experience in interviewing for somewhat local IT market.
Orion Health sounds like an interesting place to work, and I really like the thought of challenge (new domain of knowledge, probably new tools and technologies to learn) as well as the thought of making a real impact on people's lives.
What did I learn from the interview? At least I can sell myself to HR. It has been a long time since I've attended technical interviews, so those might be harder to pass. Though I do know my area and this should be a plus even if I forget some terminology or other matter-of-fact things.
Sunday, 5 May 2013
Immigration interview - check!
On May, 3 I've taken an immigration interview, which means that I am now in the final stage of Skilled Migrant program. I should have results in two weeks, it can either be "Declined", or "Residence visa granted", or "Work Search visa granted". Of course, I hope for Residence, but I can totally live with Work Search one. I don't see reasons to be declined, but that's up to immigration officers...
Anyway, if this works out, I shall quit job in the end of June, then I'll have a month to be in Omsk with my family, and in first days of August I want to be in Aukland. Fast, right? Like in that "Fast car" song: "lights so fast I thought I was drunk". Huh. I've already started to search for a job - I needed some replies from potential employees for my interview to demonstrate that I am actively preparing to start a new life in New Zealand. But I don't count on finding a job before arriving. Getting invited to few interviews is a goal though.
I think I'll get some Brainbench certificates in testing to enrich my CV, and I'll probably repeat terminology in English to be prepared. Maybe I'll even learn some new tools for automation or smth.
As for now, I'm in the middle of best two months in my life so far! My dearest lovely friend visited me for three days, and next week she and I are going to Kiev together. Weekend after that I'll visit her and my other dear friend in Moscow for our birthdays and Star Trek movie. And two weeks later the two of us will go to Praga for a week! I dreamed of visiting Praga since I was in school! And I can't believe that I get to share the experience with a person I love dearely and whos company makes me happy every single time... I'm blessed with this time. I'm blessed with many things, with many people in my life. A lot to be thankfull for. I can have a Thanksgiving every day, and never fail to find a reason to say "Thank you, Lord, life and everyone".
Wish me luck with the visa!
Also. Pigfits, Pigfits, here I come. Pigfits, Pigfits, yum yum yum!
Anyway, if this works out, I shall quit job in the end of June, then I'll have a month to be in Omsk with my family, and in first days of August I want to be in Aukland. Fast, right? Like in that "Fast car" song: "lights so fast I thought I was drunk". Huh. I've already started to search for a job - I needed some replies from potential employees for my interview to demonstrate that I am actively preparing to start a new life in New Zealand. But I don't count on finding a job before arriving. Getting invited to few interviews is a goal though.
I think I'll get some Brainbench certificates in testing to enrich my CV, and I'll probably repeat terminology in English to be prepared. Maybe I'll even learn some new tools for automation or smth.
As for now, I'm in the middle of best two months in my life so far! My dearest lovely friend visited me for three days, and next week she and I are going to Kiev together. Weekend after that I'll visit her and my other dear friend in Moscow for our birthdays and Star Trek movie. And two weeks later the two of us will go to Praga for a week! I dreamed of visiting Praga since I was in school! And I can't believe that I get to share the experience with a person I love dearely and whos company makes me happy every single time... I'm blessed with this time. I'm blessed with many things, with many people in my life. A lot to be thankfull for. I can have a Thanksgiving every day, and never fail to find a reason to say "Thank you, Lord, life and everyone".
Wish me luck with the visa!
Also. Pigfits, Pigfits, here I come. Pigfits, Pigfits, yum yum yum!
Friday, 5 April 2013
Almost finished the first meeting
Draft is currently 6021 words according to google docs. Richard and James went from awkward politeness to a real freindly conversation which is an achievement for both of them considering the circumstances. And though they are yet to find a single common interest, I think, they already like each other. Also, I learned something new about James today. It's an interesting process: to get to know your characters better while you are writing, trying different angles and choosing what to leave.
Saturday, 23 March 2013
Draft continues
This morning I felt good and dreamy. My good mood is in part a result of all the good things ahead of me, that I keep thinking about. I'll go to Moscow in three weeks to meet with my friends, and then two weeks after that me and my beloved friend will go to Kiev together for 5 days, and two weeks after that we'll meet again in Moscow and watch new Star Trek movie. I really hope all of this works out. It keeps me smiling for the last few days. Anyway, I felt good, and I used the mood to finally get back to my writing. :-)
Now my draft is 5209 words long or almost ten standard google docs pages. Again, it isn't much, but it is better than nothing. I am currently writing the chapter where Richard and James meet for the first time. It was really hard to start. I didn't know what any of them should say, but the thing is: they wouldn't know it either if they were real. That's why my clumsy writing seems appropriate to me. Richard is confused and he is afraid to screw up. So am I. But we are also both determined to get through to James, and I think, we are starting to succeed.
I'll use Richard's thoughts here:
"James seemed to be amused with all the geek references at this point. He probably thought his father was just a big baby. But at least they were having a conversation. And James was interested in getting to know him. That was a start."
These chapters are introductory ones. Main plot would take place after Tamara's death. And still, I feel that it wouldn't be right for me to go there until I draft the meeting properly. This is such an important period for both James and Richard, it determines their relationship in the future. Also, my guilty pleasure seems to be calling the boy Jimmy. I blame captain Kirk and his awesomeness. And Bones and his awesomeness.
Now my draft is 5209 words long or almost ten standard google docs pages. Again, it isn't much, but it is better than nothing. I am currently writing the chapter where Richard and James meet for the first time. It was really hard to start. I didn't know what any of them should say, but the thing is: they wouldn't know it either if they were real. That's why my clumsy writing seems appropriate to me. Richard is confused and he is afraid to screw up. So am I. But we are also both determined to get through to James, and I think, we are starting to succeed.
I'll use Richard's thoughts here:
"James seemed to be amused with all the geek references at this point. He probably thought his father was just a big baby. But at least they were having a conversation. And James was interested in getting to know him. That was a start."
These chapters are introductory ones. Main plot would take place after Tamara's death. And still, I feel that it wouldn't be right for me to go there until I draft the meeting properly. This is such an important period for both James and Richard, it determines their relationship in the future. Also, my guilty pleasure seems to be calling the boy Jimmy. I blame captain Kirk and his awesomeness. And Bones and his awesomeness.
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
New words and new writing
Another week, another non-written part of my draft... my writing course started yesterday, and in a week a course in quantum mechanics starts. So now I have 5 of them simultaneously. I fight very mild panic attacks when I think about it, it feels like a huge pressure is applied to me by all these courses since I try to attend to all of them. This weekend I was supposed to finish the last programming assignment for my Algorithms course, but I procrastinated. And yesterday I felt so sick I didn't even go to work, and I didn't study either. :-(
But I did wrote first assignment for the writing class. It's an introduction essay. I think I did pretty good, and it's also delightful to see how many people are there in the course who are enthusiastic writers just like me.
I am a writer of my life
First time I felt like a writer was in elementary school. Our music teacher gave us a task to write a poem about feelings we had while listening to Vivaldi's "Seasons". I wrote a short poem about spring. That was my first. It felt amazing, it felt natural, and I liked it so much it never wear off to this day. I'm twenty six now.
I enjoy writing. It helps me to think, and it helps me to express myself in the most precise way possible since I'm not that good in talking or touching. Writing gives me freedom and strength to be who I am. Through the years I did all kinds of writing: school papers, university projects, technical documentation, love poems, fairy tales, letters, reviews, co-writing games, fanfiction... I also have a daily updating blog since 2003. Lately I became interested in writing in English. It's my second language, so I don't feel confident with it yet, and I take every opportunity to learn. English is beautiful, and I love it almost as much as I love Russian, though it is completely different in rhythm and in spirit. I believe that writing is to some degree independent of the language itself, though I am ready to be proved wrong.
Sometimes I feel that I not as much live my life, as I write a story of it, picking dialogs and laughing at irony, assessing my troubles for dramatic effect rather than full heartedly suffering through them. Whether this is healthy or not, I am forever grateful to have such gifts as a language and a written word.
***
New words for today:
But I did wrote first assignment for the writing class. It's an introduction essay. I think I did pretty good, and it's also delightful to see how many people are there in the course who are enthusiastic writers just like me.
I am a writer of my life
First time I felt like a writer was in elementary school. Our music teacher gave us a task to write a poem about feelings we had while listening to Vivaldi's "Seasons". I wrote a short poem about spring. That was my first. It felt amazing, it felt natural, and I liked it so much it never wear off to this day. I'm twenty six now.
I enjoy writing. It helps me to think, and it helps me to express myself in the most precise way possible since I'm not that good in talking or touching. Writing gives me freedom and strength to be who I am. Through the years I did all kinds of writing: school papers, university projects, technical documentation, love poems, fairy tales, letters, reviews, co-writing games, fanfiction... I also have a daily updating blog since 2003. Lately I became interested in writing in English. It's my second language, so I don't feel confident with it yet, and I take every opportunity to learn. English is beautiful, and I love it almost as much as I love Russian, though it is completely different in rhythm and in spirit. I believe that writing is to some degree independent of the language itself, though I am ready to be proved wrong.
Sometimes I feel that I not as much live my life, as I write a story of it, picking dialogs and laughing at irony, assessing my troubles for dramatic effect rather than full heartedly suffering through them. Whether this is healthy or not, I am forever grateful to have such gifts as a language and a written word.
***
New words for today:
discomfited
confounding
cumbersome
incredulity
infinitesimally
Wondrous
Thursday, 14 March 2013
Oops?
Oh, wow, so I haven't written a thing for more than two weeks. That's me. I do this. Well, it's not like I didn't see it coming - that is why I am not gonna cry "I ruined all of it! It's a point of no return!", and instead I'll just update this blog, and then try to return to writing.
Below are not excuses (maybe, a little bit excuses), but factors that I think are in the way of my writing.
1) Sleep habits. I am still sleep deprived, though I sleep 8-9 hours a day, and I go to sleep around 2 or 3 a.m. even if I try to do it earlier. Which results in getting up around 11 and going to work late, and coming from work late, and that's a devil's circle. No time or energy to write in the morning.
2) Coursera. Lately I've been doing a lot of studing via coursera.org and science related podcasts. Mostly coursera. It takes a lot of my time and energy, and it isn't like I spend them to watch tv shows all day, so I feel it's justified. But it also means I have less time to write.
3) ...nope, that's it. If only I could normalize my sleep pattern and stop trying to do many things at once (not happenning), I would be able to create a rithual where I write a little every morning. At least, I think so now.
Of course, I spend time to tv shows and reading fanfiction, but that's my leisure time, I need it to function. I cannot be productive 24/7 all of a sudden, that's just not me, who's been a lazy ass since forever.
What good in all this? Is there any good? Yes! Yes, there is!
1) all my courses and podcasts are in English;
2) one of my current courses requires writing essays in English, so I am doing this - I do write in English, just in essay form;
3) I got myself into two different courses for writing in English. They'll start later, and I hope to learn a lot about language structure, about common stylistic errors and about construction of a story structure.
I am not a totally lost case. Which is why I am back (muahaha!). I won't start writing today or tomorrow, probably, I have a lot planned for this weekend (need to do last two weeks and final exam for one of the courses and few smaller things for other 2 courses), but I am back. And I will resume my writing. Next thing to write is James' first meeting with Richard.
Below are not excuses (maybe, a little bit excuses), but factors that I think are in the way of my writing.
1) Sleep habits. I am still sleep deprived, though I sleep 8-9 hours a day, and I go to sleep around 2 or 3 a.m. even if I try to do it earlier. Which results in getting up around 11 and going to work late, and coming from work late, and that's a devil's circle. No time or energy to write in the morning.
2) Coursera. Lately I've been doing a lot of studing via coursera.org and science related podcasts. Mostly coursera. It takes a lot of my time and energy, and it isn't like I spend them to watch tv shows all day, so I feel it's justified. But it also means I have less time to write.
3) ...nope, that's it. If only I could normalize my sleep pattern and stop trying to do many things at once (not happenning), I would be able to create a rithual where I write a little every morning. At least, I think so now.
Of course, I spend time to tv shows and reading fanfiction, but that's my leisure time, I need it to function. I cannot be productive 24/7 all of a sudden, that's just not me, who's been a lazy ass since forever.
What good in all this? Is there any good? Yes! Yes, there is!
1) all my courses and podcasts are in English;
2) one of my current courses requires writing essays in English, so I am doing this - I do write in English, just in essay form;
3) I got myself into two different courses for writing in English. They'll start later, and I hope to learn a lot about language structure, about common stylistic errors and about construction of a story structure.
I am not a totally lost case. Which is why I am back (muahaha!). I won't start writing today or tomorrow, probably, I have a lot planned for this weekend (need to do last two weeks and final exam for one of the courses and few smaller things for other 2 courses), but I am back. And I will resume my writing. Next thing to write is James' first meeting with Richard.
Wednesday, 27 February 2013
What did I say about procrastination?
Today I continued to write my story. Spent an hour, wrote approximately 1400 words. Which isn't much, but it is 1400 words more, than I had yesterday!
And that would be it for today.
And then I went and wrote another 1000 words. Now the draft is 4343 words long according to google docs stats. Go me!
And then I went and wrote another 1000 words. Now the draft is 4343 words long according to google docs stats. Go me!
Thursday, 21 February 2013
Procrastination is clingy
So... I've done absolutely nothing for my writing in five days. :-( And I'm not going to do it today, either. But at least today I made up my courage to admit the problem. It's always like this with me and problems: whenever I meet one, I just lay low and hope it'll go away, and no one will ever notice. I know it doesn't work like this... but that knowledge doesn't change the strategy. I'm pathetic like that.
I can at least post new words I managed to write down:
famished
hollered
evade
woolgathering
embellish
galling
smidgen
surreptitiously
disdainfully
fretting
conniption
disconcerting
And wow, I doesn't remember what any of these words means, except for a vague understanding of "disconcerning". I'm so bad at this. :-(
But I promised not to give up, so I won't. I'll try to get up in time tomorrow and to have my half an hour of uninterrupted writing. Good luck to me.
I can at least post new words I managed to write down:
famished
hollered
evade
woolgathering
embellish
galling
smidgen
surreptitiously
disdainfully
fretting
conniption
disconcerting
And wow, I doesn't remember what any of these words means, except for a vague understanding of "disconcerning". I'm so bad at this. :-(
But I promised not to give up, so I won't. I'll try to get up in time tomorrow and to have my half an hour of uninterrupted writing. Good luck to me.
Saturday, 16 February 2013
Documents sent, draft continued
Today I overslept, so I didn't get time to write in the morning. But I did get the time after work. In fact, today was a pretty full day: I sent immigration documents to London, then I worked, then I got home early (because I'll go to work tomorrow, on Saturday, so why not finish earlier today?) and made sushi (I still have plenty of rice left, because silly me didn't get the right fish), then I watched new episodes of Glee (yay for Klaine!) and Person of Interest, and then I sat down and wrote for forty minutes.
I drafted chapter two as a result. The draft is now 1560 words, which is not so little for me (my biggest text to this day is a bit more than 13000 words), but still the chapters are so small! The first one is a page long, and the second one is a page and a half. Also, chapter two is almost completely a dialog. I'll need to add some juice into it later, to show Richard's normal day before Tamara called him. But that is for future still unknown. As for today, I am glad I was able to did my "30 minutes on writing".
And I am really glad the documents are finally on their way to London. I hope my application will be processed soon enough, and I also hope my immigration officer doesn't hate me. She sounded a bit pissed off. But that may just be my imagination. Oh, well... whatever.
I drafted chapter two as a result. The draft is now 1560 words, which is not so little for me (my biggest text to this day is a bit more than 13000 words), but still the chapters are so small! The first one is a page long, and the second one is a page and a half. Also, chapter two is almost completely a dialog. I'll need to add some juice into it later, to show Richard's normal day before Tamara called him. But that is for future still unknown. As for today, I am glad I was able to did my "30 minutes on writing".
And I am really glad the documents are finally on their way to London. I hope my application will be processed soon enough, and I also hope my immigration officer doesn't hate me. She sounded a bit pissed off. But that may just be my imagination. Oh, well... whatever.
Thursday, 14 February 2013
The Draft is started
I just got my block of time of uninterrupted writing (around an hour), and that resulted in a draft of chapter 1. The whole chapter is one page long, and the text is in no way good, but I promised myself to just go with it and keep drafting the story leaving the text quality to an editing stage.
I am a bit thrilled, and if I didn't need to go to work, I would probably stay and write further at least for an hour more. Still, this is a milestone.
Wednesday, 13 February 2013
No luck with notary
This morning I got to notary just to hear that no, she isn't capable of verifying the simple fact that I signed a paper in her presence, unless that paper is in Russian. Arrgh... that is frustrating, really. One little thing, and they can't even do it! So, I'll try different approach tomorrow. I translated my Statuary Declaration into Russian, and I am going to verify my signature there. Then I'll go to translator's office and ask to use my translation to make a verified translation of the Russian version. I really hope to accomplish that tomorrow.
As for my writing, I just got home from work, and it's already near 10 p.m., and I'm sleepy. So I'm in no condition to write today. Though I'm going to try anyway a bit later. Who knows? I am currently on a "create visual tag for each character" step, and I only created tags for Richard. I think that I need to invent these tags at least for Richard and James (and probably Tamara and Kevin) since they are in a story a lot from the very start. Other characters may stay tagless for now, and get their descriptions lined out in the second draft or along the way of creating the first draft.
To create some free time for my writing and for doing other stuff I've been trying for months to do regularly and failing I need to get up earlier. Usually I'm up around 9:30 a.m. but that is really no good. I've tried to set alarm for 8 a.m., but is clearly not working since I always just shut it down and go back to sleep. So starting tomorrow I'll try to set alarm for 6:50 a.m.. The idea here is to use my natural biorythms flow: I have a window of clearyness from 6 to 7, and then I am sleepy again. I hope it will work. Good luck to me.
Also, according to me and my friends' geek bro calendar tomorrow is Shakespear's appreciation day. Which is super cool. I loved Shakespear's plays when I was a kid! Read them all (or at least most of them) one by one at the age of 14. Sad thing is I haven't re-read them for a long time. Also, I read them in Russian. It may be the time for me to freshen up my memory and to do it in English. So, yay for Shakespear, the greatest of them all!
As for my writing, I just got home from work, and it's already near 10 p.m., and I'm sleepy. So I'm in no condition to write today. Though I'm going to try anyway a bit later. Who knows? I am currently on a "create visual tag for each character" step, and I only created tags for Richard. I think that I need to invent these tags at least for Richard and James (and probably Tamara and Kevin) since they are in a story a lot from the very start. Other characters may stay tagless for now, and get their descriptions lined out in the second draft or along the way of creating the first draft.
To create some free time for my writing and for doing other stuff I've been trying for months to do regularly and failing I need to get up earlier. Usually I'm up around 9:30 a.m. but that is really no good. I've tried to set alarm for 8 a.m., but is clearly not working since I always just shut it down and go back to sleep. So starting tomorrow I'll try to set alarm for 6:50 a.m.. The idea here is to use my natural biorythms flow: I have a window of clearyness from 6 to 7, and then I am sleepy again. I hope it will work. Good luck to me.
Also, according to me and my friends' geek bro calendar tomorrow is Shakespear's appreciation day. Which is super cool. I loved Shakespear's plays when I was a kid! Read them all (or at least most of them) one by one at the age of 14. Sad thing is I haven't re-read them for a long time. Also, I read them in Russian. It may be the time for me to freshen up my memory and to do it in English. So, yay for Shakespear, the greatest of them all!
Tuesday, 12 February 2013
Hali is a lazy ass
Hali is me. I am Hali. And I am lazy. Nothing new here, really... today I got an email from my immigration officer, who asked if I sent him/her (I really don't know, and I find it rude to ask) documents I was to send in January. Well... I didn't. I've been trying to complete this task for the last two weeks! I'm really bad with documents, they are boring. The last document I need is a statuary declaration. I wrote and printed it today. I really hope to get to a notary tomorrow and convince him to verify my signature.
Theoretically there should be no problems, because all I need is for certified lawyer to confirm that I myself signed the paper, no matter what the paper says. But since the document is in English, I'm afraid to have problems like "oh, I don't know English, I'm not gonna verify that". =_=
This getting-documents-ready thing is so depressing, really. I am so much better in actions, than in getting government services and lawyers to give me the documents I need.
As for now, I decided that since I got an email 4 hours later than it was sent, I will answer the officer tomorrow, after I go to notary (and this I will do first thing in the morning). I like my officer. Hope I didn't give her/him any trouble by delaying the documents.
Theoretically there should be no problems, because all I need is for certified lawyer to confirm that I myself signed the paper, no matter what the paper says. But since the document is in English, I'm afraid to have problems like "oh, I don't know English, I'm not gonna verify that". =_=
This getting-documents-ready thing is so depressing, really. I am so much better in actions, than in getting government services and lawyers to give me the documents I need.
As for now, I decided that since I got an email 4 hours later than it was sent, I will answer the officer tomorrow, after I go to notary (and this I will do first thing in the morning). I like my officer. Hope I didn't give her/him any trouble by delaying the documents.
Monday, 11 February 2013
New words
Flabbergasted
Speechless
perennial
vindictive
seethes
cronies
scoffing
finagles
shrewd
cloyingly
scowl
linger
brooding
mesmerizing
cackles
succinctly
segueing
hinder
Also, spent 40 minutes on my writing today. Today's excercise was "archetypal characters".
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