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Mt. Ruapehu

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Technically speaking, winters ended last month. We have spring now and rightly so as you can see wild flowers sprouting on road sides. Soon the barren trees will have leaves and it will mean that I would have witnessed all the four seasons of this beautiful country. So when we were at the peak of winters last month, the boys and I planned a trip to Mt. Ruapehu to witness snow! A five-hour drive , Mario and I took more than seven hours as we kept taking detours, passing through quaint villages and stopping over for coffee and muffins. I got to know more about Mario, a charming and happy young fellow, loves and plays soccer for a local club here. But one second, Mario is not from Brazil but from Borivali. Anyway, we took a shared bus from the foothills as it started to rain and only 4WD or cars with snow chains were allowed on top. Our bus driver was a funny talkative guy named Jongo to told us not to expect too much on the top as most activities were closed owing to the weather. He ...
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Spark makes an offer

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A few weeks into work back from the holidays, Spark makes an offer. It is unexpected as I was told earlier that there is a hiring freeze. The offer is good but of course subject to me finishing my course successfully and getting a work visa. Spark, into telecom, is one of the largest companies in New Zealand and my designation is Business Analytics Specialist. Essentially, I am the bridge between the data scientists and data engineers and the business heads. I am supposed to translate a business problem into a data problem and to validate the feasibility of the data solution and translate it back  to a business solution. I had long known the gap between data departments and business teams. So this makes sense. The job will also help me get a foothold in the NZ work market which is difficult to penetrate. It will help build a good base to apply for permanent residency. So, it is good news. And not. We had initially planned that since the borders are not likely to open anytim...
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Finally...

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After a year, the final  results were up. The course was above my station. Anyways, am happy it’s over. I am not sure though if I am relieved. The course kept me on my toes, there was knowledge gain and self-discovery, there were challenges and deadlines… I will miss them. So here are the main take outs from the perspective of a middle-aged person after doing a full-time course away from home. Note: I believe that retrospective stories, specially of successes, are over rated. Most of them are dramatized and would be very different if they ended in a disaster. Those stories inspire many but I cringe at them. So, I will try to be as realistic when I am narrating mine:   I had not imagined getting As in all subjects but I think there was some leeway in marking owing to Covid. From the age POV, there was no stigma, at least in NZ or in my course. Few students were older to me and everyone got interesting skills on board. Some excelled in coding and software and others in applic...
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