Mā te wā, Air New Zealand. Kia ora, BlinkPay.

After almost 4 years, I’m finally leaving Air New Zealand, the first company I joined after moving to Middle-Earth. After 17 years of hopping from government service, non-government organization and private sector, I’m finally embarking on a journey with a fintech startup.

Quick snap on my last day of work.

I am grateful for the opportunities AirNZ has given me, ranging from AWS, Kafka, Kubernetes, Dropwizard and New Relic APM. Had it not been for the pandemic, I’d have stayed much longer. However, I wouldn’t want to say no to an opportunity to further improve my skills and eventually become a solutions architect.

To celebrate this transition, here’s something from Yellowcard. Tēnā koutou!

The sun lays down inside the ocean, I'm right where I belong
 Feel the air and salt on my skin the future's coming on
 And after living through these wild years coming out alive
 I just want to lay my head here and stop running for a while
 This southern air is all I need
 Breathe it in and I can see
 Canvases behind my eyes
 All the colors of my life
 This southern air is in my lungs
 It's in every word I've sung
 Seems the only truth I know
 This will always be home
 Always be home
 Always be home
 This will always be home

 

Arigatou, Naruto

Although Naruto Shippuden ended in 2017, I only got to finish it now because grad school got in the way. I just thought I’d share my top openings and endings to stroll down memory lane (because what awesome anime series doesn’t have an awesome soundtrack).

Namikaze Satellite by Snowkel

Re:member by FLOW

Wind by Akeboshi

Harmonia by Rythem

Alive by Raiko

Parade by Chaba (1996-2008)

Yellow Moon by Akeboshi

Scenario by Saboten

Closer by Inoue Joe

Sign by FLOW

Toumei Datta Sekai by Motohiro Hata

Newsong by Tacica

Silhoutte by Kana-Boon

Kaze by Yamazaru

Karano Kokoro by Anly

Nagareboshi by Home Made Kazoku

Michi ~ To You All by Aluto (2005-2010)

Kimi Monogatari by Little by Little

Shinkokyuu by Super Beaver

My Answer by Seamo

For You by Azu

Mayonaka no Orchestra by Aqua Timez (2003-2018)

Place to Try by TOTALFAT

By My Side by Hemenway

I Can Hear by DISH//

Hajimari no Kurisurōdo by Rake

Flame by DISH//

Dame Dame Da by Tomita Shiori

Spinning World by Diana Garnet

Niji no Sora by FLOW

Son’na Kimi, Kon’na Boku by Thinking Dogs

Pino To Ameri by Ishizaki Huwie

Zetsu Zetsu by Swimy

Morning by Masuda Toshio

Daylight of Konoha by Masuda Toshio

Experienced Many Battles by Takanashi Yasuharu

Thank you, Boruto’s dad.

 

New Year, New Job, New Zealand

Kia ora! Haere mai! This is the chronicle of our journey to Middle-earth. We hope to inform others who might want to migrate as well.

 

Salamat, OSPI Carmona

It has been the longest notice of resignation. Yup, I did say “2 years down, 2 to go” during my second work anniversary. Somehow I knew that 4 years is my limit way before my wife and I decided to migrate to Middle-earth.

I’d like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to my RDC family who taught me all I need to know about the semiconductor manufacturing processes though I barely scratched the surface. I hope I have met your expectations when you brought me on board.

A debt of thanks is owed since I got to earn my second master’s degree. It’s such a shame that I won’t get to walk the talk. There’s just no opportunity to apply what I’ve learned on IT project management, Big Data analytics, total quality management, financial analysis, R&D management,strategic technology planning, marketing, PESTEL analysis, 5 forces analysis and technology-based entrepreneurship (or intrapreneurship) at my current role. A key takeaway I’ve learned is that PARC follows the Cooper-Edgett stage-gate model.

Anyway, I’ll just leave you all with something from Vertical Horizon. Maraming salamat po!

 

Extra-Judicial Crushing

These are your garden variety snails, mga ka-DDS. They are slimy pests that can consume your herbs and vegetables overnight. You can say that they are the salot ng lipunan bakuran. Their relatives ate my wife’s sweet basil and purple basil and my stevia. They are animals thus they do not have human rights. They have no right to due process, to an attorney or even to defend themselves. They are not capable of remorse and repentance so there is no room for forgiveness. They cannot be rehabilitated. As soon as you let them go, they will attack other plants.

Since I find it cruel to crush them myself, I threw them out into the road and let the passing cars do the deed. I don’t have a guilty conscience. I simply feel that justice has been served.

Hercule Poirot, in The Last Curtain, describes the perfect murderer as someone who could never be tried, couldn’t even be connected to the crimes, and gets away with multiple murders. In other words, the perfect murderer is an expert manipulator, egging others to do the killings while he remains scot-free. Sounds like someone we know?