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Post by RickW on Feb 28, 2015 11:36:09 GMT -5
Our youngest has always struggled a bit with academics. She is not so incredibly driven as her older sisters, and following one year behind middeldottir, who excelleed in academics, won the art award in her grade three years in a row, and was the point guard/captain of the basketball team and setter/captain of the volleyball team, was hard.
But she has learned to work.Middeldottir got a predicted IB grade of 37 at the end of grade 12. (IB is out of 45.) Yungerdottir has got a 34. Which means instant entrance scholarship to Simon Fraser University here, and she has also been asked to apply for a business/arts management program at the University of BC. The Savannah College of Art and Design was visiting, and told her to please apply based on her work. That one's a long shot for us, she'd pretty well have to get a full ride.
Her somewhat shaky self-confidence is through the moon right now. All the tension of the last few years, an abject fear of failure, has gone. She wants to take fine art, with a minor in Asian studies, and will eventually be an elementary school teacher. At least, that's the current plan.
I have hope that all my children will be happy, productive citizens, with careers and income. I think I better have another coffee to celebrate.
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Post by brucemacneill on Feb 28, 2015 12:21:54 GMT -5
Successful kids are the best, Rick. Mine was a National Merit Scholar which got him a lot of college offers but after grad school in Polysci and history he wound up a computer geek which I never told him was a good thing to do. Talked to him this morning and although he's a pretty liberal guy he has determined that he makes too much money to be a Democrat but not enough to be a Republican now. Middle-age will do that to you I guess. He's 44.
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Post by coachdoc on Feb 28, 2015 12:22:39 GMT -5
Gud on them. Congrats, Dad.
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Post by RickW on Feb 28, 2015 17:16:00 GMT -5
Successful kids are the best, Rick. Mine was a National Merit Scholar which got him a lot of college offers but after grad school in Polysci and history he wound up a computer geek which I never told him was a good thing to do. Talked to him this morning and although he's a pretty liberal guy he has determined that he makes too much money to be a Democrat but not enough to be a Republican now. Middle-age will do that to you I guess. He's 44. Had a friend years ago who said he started out in university as a communist, became a socialist, then Liberal (our Democrats,) then Progressive Conservative, and finally Social Credit, a now disappeared party which was about two steps to teh right of a GOP Republican. Yup, funny how age tends to do that. Being a computer geek right now, if you have the skills and experience, is pretty darn good, Bruce. We can't hire senior devs - they get snapped up. Talked to a Seattle company last week that told us they had 50 positions they couldn't fill. |
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Post by RickW on Feb 28, 2015 17:16:51 GMT -5
Gud on them. Congrats, Dad. They have, all of them, worked hard and smart. No idea where they got either from.  |
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Post by brucemacneill on Feb 28, 2015 17:51:14 GMT -5
Successful kids are the best, Rick. Mine was a National Merit Scholar which got him a lot of college offers but after grad school in Polysci and history he wound up a computer geek which I never told him was a good thing to do. Talked to him this morning and although he's a pretty liberal guy he has determined that he makes too much money to be a Democrat but not enough to be a Republican now. Middle-age will do that to you I guess. He's 44. Had a friend years ago who said he started out in university as a communist, became a socialist, then Liberal (our Democrats,) then Progressive Conservative, and finally Social Credit, a now disappeared party which was about two steps to teh right of a GOP Republican. Yup, funny how age tends to do that. Being a computer geek right now, if you have the skills and experience, is pretty darn good, Bruce. We can't hire senior devs - they get snapped up. Talked to a Seattle company last week that told us they had 50 positions they couldn't fill. Oh, it's the place to be if you have a needed skills, which he does. He just bitches about the hours and the deadlines and the people who don't make their deadlines which makes him have to work harder. I just tell him I thought he was paying attention. Hell, I once left him and his mother alone in Syracuse New York for almost 6 months but it was what I had to do to pay the bills. Talking to him this morning, he had 30 job offers last week but he likes where he is right now. They're planning to buy a house in Maryland next year assuming it all stays stable. They've been renting and since getting burned in the recession, both lost jobs and they had to sell out and move, were thinking they'd never buy again but renting doesn't make financial sense now. He's been working over 5 years now since his last layoff and makes twice what he was making at that job. I just never said it was an easy career. |
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Post by RickW on Feb 28, 2015 21:04:51 GMT -5
That's the thing. It's a stress job, as you well know. There's a lot about it I love. But people don't understand the cost of taking care of it, (and don't care if I have to be available in my spare time, all the time,) and the deadlines are asinine, along with the lack of planning. I'm in a small shop now, working with incredibly bright people, on small projects. It's still stressful, but way more interesting. And if people can't cut it, they are gone. I'm surprised they have kept me for as long as they have. |
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Post by Village Idiot on Mar 1, 2015 0:15:59 GMT -5
Congratulations to youngerdottir. A person who struggles academically then pulls through in the end is, in my experience, the brightest mind. They just had a hard time growing within the confines of the education process.
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Post by RickW on Mar 1, 2015 0:31:56 GMT -5
Congratulations to youngerdottir. A person who struggles academically then pulls through in the end is, in my experience, the brightest mind. They just had a hard time growing within the confines of the education process. Most definitely. She has leanred humility, learned to ask for help when she needs it, learned to be organized, learned to take challenges and run with them. I have felt bad for both of thems at times - but they will never be afraid of hard work again, that's for sure. |
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Post by mnhermit on Mar 1, 2015 8:36:24 GMT -5
Congrats Rick!
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Post by brucemacneill on Mar 2, 2015 10:29:09 GMT -5
Hey, Rick, just on an IT note, my son just called and asked for the Network Security department so Mary turned him over to me. Apparently although he's a business intelligence (yeah that's an oxymoron) database architect, DOD required him to get a network security certification. He had just taken the test, and passed, and wanted to know if 10am was too early to start drinking. Having taken, and passed, that same test 14 years ago when I was in security, I assured him that 10am was just fine. The kid doesn't really drink, much, but working in D.C. he's learning.
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Post by RickW on Mar 2, 2015 14:54:53 GMT -5
Hey, Rick, just on an IT note, my son just called and asked for the Network Security department so Mary turned him over to me. Apparently although he's a business intelligence (yeah that's an oxymoron) database architect, DOD required him to get a network security certification. He had just taken the test, and passed, and wanted to know if 10am was too early to start drinking. Having taken, and passed, that same test 14 years ago when I was in security, I assured him that 10am was just fine. The kid doesn't really drink, much, but working in D.C. he's learning. That's excellent. Between the network security cert, and the business intelligence knowledge, and experience working for the government, he is not ever going to be unemployed again, and should command pretty good bucks. Tell him you expect the 25 year old scotch for Christmas next year.  |
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