New Horizons

Who would have thought that 2021 would see the return of Paul to blogging? Even I didn't see this one coming, but I thought it might an interesting way for people to see the real me and not the 280 character limited version on Twitter.

So, where to begin? I guess I'll start with professional items and then move onto the personal things (not that personal, get your mind out of the gutter!)

I work as an Administrator. I say Administrator, my role is Scheduler/Administrator/Customer Service/Finance/Local IT Support all rolled into one. It's slowly evolved over the years since I started at this company and while I like the variety, the career opportunities are incredibly limited for me.

Because of the above, and my passion for IT and technology, I have worked towards and attained multiple qualifications, so I'm technically a Qualified IT Support Engineer. I am a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), and Modern Desktop Administration Association (MDAA - another Microsoft Qualification), and a Comptia A+ holder. I am currently studying towards the Comptia Network+ and want to get the Comptia Security+ shortly afterwards. I have a goal of working within Cyber Security and will be doing everything I can to get there within the next few years. I'm not 100% set on what subsection of CySec I want to get into at the moment, I'm currently looking into Red Team work but this may change when I am closer to moving into that field.

This all started from a young age. My dad, my brother and I all got into building custom PCs together (mainly because my Dad loves taking things apart, also because it was cheaper than building a pre-made PC) and it's just expanded from there. I've modified, repaired, upgraded PCs and Laptops for as long as I can remember, and now I'm branching out to do the same type of work on games consoles. I've taken my PS4 apart a few times to clean and repair it, I've upgraded HDDs etc. Basically if I think that I can fix a piece of tech and I have the tools to do it, I'll give it a go.

Something else professional and personal about me - I HATE being late. If I say to you I will be there at 1pm, expect me to be waiting at the location at 12:45pm. Same goes with deadlines; if something is due tomorrow morning, you best believe that I will make sure it's completed either the day before or a few hours before the actual deadline (depending on the project).

Anyway, time for some personal things. As of writing this I am 32 years old (where has that time gone!). I'm married with kids and spend most of my time outside of work playing with my family. 

I have quite a few hobbies too. I love video games and play on my PlayStation (PS4, PS3 and Vita) or Nintendo Switch wayyyy more than I should. My favourite genre of games is JRPG, I just love a good fantasy game with a gripping story. Oh, and I'm addicted to Rocket League.

I love movies and TV too. Again, anything with a great story to keep me hooked. I'm a big horror movie fan, but equally love Studio Ghibli and Pixar movies. I'm an enigma, I know.

Also, I love languages. I am somewhat conversational in Japanese (I passed the JLPT N4 a couple of years ago) and have been learning it on and off for longer than I wish to admit. I am also planning on learning Bahasu Malay and Mandarin Chinese (and maybe French, I can't decide) and will start both of those this year. Ever since learning Japanese and speaking it in Japan, ordering food fluently, having conversations with strangers in bars etc, I've loved the feeling of conversing with a native in their language. As my wife and her family are Malaysian Chinese I want to learn both of those languages to speak to them in both (even though they all speak fluent English better than most English people lol).

My last hobby would be sports, but only a very select few. I love Rugby, Formula 1, Swimming and Snooker. Also, is chess a sport? Because I'm addicted to that too (The Queen's Gambit hooked me again!). I don't play much sport anymore, partly because I'm old and don't want to get hurt, partly because we're currently in Lockdown 3 in England so haven't been able to go outside that much for almost an entire year.

So, I'm running out of ideas on what to add now. I'm fairly certain I will post things on here from time to time but I won't have a set schedule. Most of the time it will just be updates that don't fit into that small space on twitter, or when I have the time to post something really long and meaningful instead.

Stay Safe, and see you next time