Well I got married and bought my
first house in May 1998. (Check the wife's site out for the wedding pix's http://members2.easyspace.com/smiles7).
It wasn't easy adjusting to being single for a long time, we had our moments and people
have been supporting us. Bev's been a blessing and a help. She had some
medical struggles for awhile, so that kinda put a damper on our summer.
But through Bev, I got to meet my father, after 40 years. Bev
for fun looked up Robert A. McLaughlin in the online Yellow Pages in Vancouver and got
ahold of a cousin of mine, who gave my fathers phone number.
Then in September 1998...Schlumberger laid off 100 people
from the downtown office and I was the "choosen" one from our department (DCOM).
That probably was the best thing the happened to me, as it caused me to reassess my
position and direction in life.
With the generous severance package Schlumberger gave me, a loan from my Mother and friends, I was able to take night classes from Drake Training for my MCSE (Microsoft Certified
System Engineer) designation, all the while looking for work during the day. That
course costed $6,600 - I hear it's up to $10,000 now. My instructor was Gord Wilson, one of the best in the industry.
Come November, I was able to get into a Small Business
Course during the day which helped me immensely as well as allow me to get UIC. (That's
another subject..after paying 20 years into it, I was only qualified for 36 weeks and got
$1000/month which helped pay the mortgage.
Doing odd jobs during the day between the Business
Course and night classes I was able to save up another $1700 for the A+ Hardware
certification course.
I finished the small business course January 29th, the last
friday of the month. That day I was suppose to hand in my Business Plan...I did, at
3:50pm...with 10 minutes to spare. Talk about a lot of hustling putting all the research, projections, and spreadsheets into one package...
That weekend, Gord from Anylan offered me to be a
Teachers Aide up at Olds College from February to April. Talk about timing. I
was needing cash real bad as work was only coming in small bits and bites. This was a big break
for me, and I'm really thankful to the Lord for meeting my needs.
Olds was a blast. If you are one of the people in
that class reading this, I really want to thank you for your friendship also. It was
more then just a teacher/student atmosphere, I'd call it more like a family. I
probably learned more from you guys then what I taught.
This was an interesting time. I was still taking night
classes; re-studying what I learned so I could assist up at Olds who were two courses
behind me; and studying for the next exam to be ready for the next level.
Was I confused? Well now that I look at it, I could have really blown a brain cell, but it HAD to be the Lord helping. My brain was doing serious gymnastics in those days and
it could have really gotten messy keeping things straight in my mind.
Come end of March 1999, the Olds contract was over and April 20th I passed my
final exam to become MCSE.
In May I took the MCT (Microsoft Certified Trainer)
qualification and got it June 7th, my birthday. What a gift!
Also in May my wife and I went to meet my dad face to face. It was an interesting time, hearing his side of the story and then learning
about the other side of my family who I never knew. Most unfortunately haven't
embraced me as part of the "family" except for Dale (my cousin up here in
Alberta, and uncle ike in Vancouver).
But talk about timing. My father passed away a couple of months later on the 28th of August. 87 years old. But to think I just met him face to face a couple of
months ago back in May after all these years!
Off and on during the summer I did small jobs and kept
looking for something bigger. August was really quiet and we dipped into what saving
we had left to pay the mortgage.
Anyway, in September Netcor accepted my offer for
employment and again I have to thank the Lord for provision. I instruct all the
Office97 products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access) and also NT4. Plus HTML and
FrontPage98 courses. Oh yes Web Design and PC Hardware (A+) is other subjects I instruct.
You sure find out real fast how much you've forgotten when
you start preparing to teach a course. But it's been good, people have learned and
been kind to me when I have to stop and think the answer for them. Most and I say
most, (there is always a couple who think you have to be perfect) are really great people
to teach. They can take a joke and learn at the healthy pace I teach at.
I rather give someone too much information about a subject
then not enough. Plus you gotta learn to laugh at yourself and those $%@#$%
computers when they crash.
Drop me a line and tell me what's happening with you!
cheers
Tom McLaughlin
mcse, mct, a+, b-admin
