Greetngs from a less wet Shimla where I have now found freedom from Microsoft!
I have just finished and failed my final Microsoft exam, but worry I do not as this one was a simple shot-in-the-dark Brucie bonus which I didn't really study for.
I have now passed my main qualification (my MCSA 2003) through Koenig training solutions and will include the email I sent to my work colleagues at the end of this blog - WARNING - this is only really a read for those who are interested in an IT training experience!
Following my exam I have spent time relaxing and soaking up a bit of the town which I have not really been able to do so far. On Friday night my friends Bryan and Steve, also from the course went to a bar on The Ridge called Rendez Vous for a drink and a bite to eat. After a while the owner joined us and was a friendly character who had spent some time living in Sydney, Ausralia. I had had one too many strong beers and chewed his ear off about Australia which he didn't seem to mind after which he told us about an event at the Ritz Cini Plex called Pub Rock Fest which he thought we would enjoy. (http://www.pubrockfest.com/index.aspx)
So after doing some shopping on Saturday the three of us went for our first experience of an Indian metal show
Saturday saw Anus the Menace and Half Step Down. The vibe in the venue was electric and we were told that this was the first rock show to happen in Shimla ever as far a most people could remember. After a slightly strange start with a long winded soundcheck the first band went on. The kids went WILD! Most bands would KILL for an audience so enthusiastic. There was mayhem. Kids in Turbens got bottles of beer and were spraying people (nobody cared), kids at the back were moshing and breaking tables (and quickly exiting after they did so - obviousy an unintentional mistake) and the audience was literaly making the building shake. The wooden floor felt spring loaded and the flow of the show after the first few songs was continueoulsy interrupted by the promoters telling kids they couldn't slam dance at the front as it was too dangerous!
The quality of the music was excellent and for a first attempt at a night like this it was a great success.
Sunday night saw Cyanide play. My fellow students and I had been to visit the local beauty spot Hatu Peak and the other guys were too burnt out and had too much study to do to go to the show but I turned up and am glad I did. Cyanide were amazing, totally killer musicians and would put a lot of UK metal bands to shame. There style is described below;
'Cyanide,
several line up changes after they were formed in 2001, has progressed
from playing at school assemblies to playing on some of the best stages
the country has to offer to Indian Rock Bands.
The environment
that brought the band together has allowed them to groom a sound that
mirrors the best of Modern Rock, at the same time combining elements of
a wide spectrum of genres varying from Nu Metal to 80's Rock n' Roll.
The band has become popular for its signature crunching guitar riffs
and pop choruses which gives it a solid, melodic and powerful sound,
inclusive of all the right ingredients that define today's modern rock
music.'
(check their MySpace for a taste)
I came in when Cyanide were doing a record perfect version of Pearl Jam's Jeremy and started enjoying myself straight away. There own songs were just as strong with choruses you were singing along to by the second round. To hear Western anthems and western style music being played in a town where on the surface you would never imagine the counter culture was truely a buzz. I was the only white guy in there but I felt like we all spoke a common language that night - ROCK! I felt truely privelaged to attend.
OK - that's all for now - heading into the mountains tomorrow hopefully with Great Escape Routes tour company (http://www.greatescaperoutes.com/sm.html) and a new friend called William. Will try to keep up to the blog in the mountains.
FINALLY - here is the Koenig feedback for those who are interested in IT Training in India;
My first day I was picked up from near my cheap hotel by taxi (the
cheapest hotel but not the cheapest accommodation which is 'the
apartments' and are apparently awful due to being VERY isolated, near a
loud road and full of intimidating monkeys).
The drive in is an experience. Crazy
Indians taking each other on on blind corners in clapped out cars on
mountainous roads without seatbelts. Often in torrential rain. Without
windscreen wipers. I am serious.
Arriving at another suburb of
Shimla away from the town itself we pulled up outside a non-descript
building with a chemist and mobile phone shop flanking some stairs
going up. There was no neon 'Koenig Solutions' sign in flashing lights
like I was expecting (ok - I was just expecting a sign) and the walk up
to the second floor makes you hold your breath a bit in expectation of
what is to come. I later found out from an Indian guy I met that the
building is a converted hotel, with the rooms being converted into
labs, a couple of toilets, a dining area, an office and a small
fabricated exam room. All pleasant enough with a certain character.
Now
- down to the important stuff. Well - you already know I passed, which
is the main thing, but the journey from A - B was an experience I won't
forget. The course is hard work. As soon as you start there is talk
about booking your first exam and the delivery of the material moves at
a reasonable pace - enough to make you realise that you need to be
fully concentrating all the time otherwise you will miss something
important which can be quite tiring. This is at Regular track pace, I
dread to think how someone would cope on fast track, suffice to say
that those that I met doing that pace all seemed to be 'veterans' of IT
;)
I
came prepared to India with some Testking materials for further study
which I bought off the net beforehand. Goodness knows why I did that,
it was a mistake. Koenig and your trainer will assist you to find ALL
the materials which are required yourself - for free! The materials are
of such a high quality that if you put the time in out of class you are
guaranteed to pass - I am proof of that!
I want to add a sidenote about Sunday - a
real low point for me. I had been out for a few beers with some other
students and was up until 2am, my fault. I had agreed to class on
Sunday with my trainer Durgesh in order to have a day off for revision
on Tuesday, a little closer to my exam. At this point I had been trying
to revise the materials for the exam but felt they were almost in a
foreign language. The networks part of the MCSA - the 291 exam
(otherwise known as 'The Beast') is definitely the hardest Microsoft
exam I have ever taken and one of the hardest exams I have done PERIOD.
Richard Cope will agree with me.
I came into class and Durgesh
asked me how my revision was coming along. At this point I was ready to
throw the towel in and was questioning my ability to work in IT at all!
On explaining how non of the material was clicking with me or making
any sense Durgesh changed the lesson plan for the day and spent the
first two hours working through the questions I was having problems
with and helped me to understand them. This was a real turning point. I
had not wanted to take class that day, I was tired, burnt out and
despondent. However, by the end of the class I was honestly feeling
almost exuberant at the fact that I felt, for the first time since the
second module started the Wednesday before (directly after my 290 exam
- OUCH!) that I was in with a fighting chance of passing this mother.
And pass I did.
The
professionalism, courtesy, patience and understanding shown by all the
staff at Koenig is second to non and this truly is an end to end
service. Not only was getting from Delhi to Shimla a cinch but having
settled my final bill with the concierge Praveen he has offered to
arrange and book all my forward travel through India right through to
the 15th July!
This is why Koenig were announced as a runner up in the worldwide official
MIcrosoft Partner for Learning solutions award yesterday.
I
have put down all of your names in my feedback as there is a referral
system. I cannot recommend Koenig enough - if you want to get ahead in
IT - this is where it starts. Please say I sent you!
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