Tag: personal

What Did You Study and What Was Your Job?

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I came across Alex Exler’s post about the “What Did You Study and What Was Your Job?” flash mob (the post is in Russian). It’s a fun idea, so I decided to write about myself and also find out about others.

So, I graduated with a degree in “Computer Science” from the Faculty of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science (ФПМИ in Russian) at Belarusian State University (BSU). According to my diploma, I’m a “mathematician-systems programmer,” though I’ve always felt we leaned more towards applied programming than systems programming. But that’s what the diploma says.

Now, as for “what jobs I’ve had,” that’s much more entertaining. By “work,” I mean only activities for which I got paid. If I did something for free, it doesn’t count.

Here’s the list:

  • Janitor (my very first job where I earned money)—there’s a photo above, though it’s of poor quality, and I’m not in it because I was the one taking the picture. Still, you could call it our little gang of janitor-trainees back in 1987 (yes, in the fourth grade).
  • Electronic text typist (typed handwritten texts onto a computer).
  • Programmer (even before officially earning the title).
  • Journalist (wrote a few articles for the teen newspaper Perekhodny Vozrast (Teenage Years), for Computer Gazette, and some small pieces for sci-fi magazines).
  • TV scriptwriter (for the TV program Five Wonders on Belarusian television; my wife later took over the baton).
  • Translator of fiction books from English to Russian (I got paid for two; one was published).
  • Writer (I earned some pennies for my book, so it counts).
  • Blogger—like this blog, for instance. I’ve received a few donations for it.
  • And the rest is in my main profession:
    • Programmer
    • Software architect (not of buildings)
    • Analyst
    • Technical writer
    • Project manager
    • Manager at various levels
    • Management and process consultant (this is what I currently do, and my full professional history can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/knari/)

What about your experience?

Literary Games: Me in Books

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In the early 2000s, I was deeply involved in the Russian sci-fi community, writing my own stories and reviewing all the latest sci-fi releases in Russian. They say my resource on this topic was among the most popular at the time and later even inspired the name of this blog—The Notes of Glitch the Hamster.

Back then, there was a kind of game among sci-fi writers: they would insert their colleagues into their works in various ways. Maybe this tradition continues today, though I no longer follow it. Or perhaps everyone has grown up and stopped playing the game.

The most notable character was Yuri Semetsky, who became a kind of Sean Bean—not in movies, but in Russian fandom. He was “killed off” in one way or another in nearly every book, and it even became a trend. He would joke that this would ensure his long life.

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Sasha Galitsky “Mama, Don’t Worry!”

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Interestingly, the book Mama, Don’t Worry! by Sasha Galitsky was given to me by my wife. Not with any specific intent, she just liked the description, and she knows that in recent years I’ve been very interested in the topic of growing up (see my previous post, which touches on this as well—We Will Sing With the Voices).

The book has a subtitle: How to Learn to Communicate with Elderly Parents Without Losing Your Own Mind? It’s not that my parents are elderly yet (may they outlive us all), nor that I’m losing my mind when talking to them. But it’s interesting to explore why this issue might arise at all, and where I might end up in my own “development.”

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We will sing with the voices

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I write a lot about books, but I’ve decided to turn my attention to life and music videos—songs that have intertwined with my sense of self in surprising ways.

Age brings interesting changes to how we perceive the world. I’m sure I’m still far from the wisdom of the elders, but even at 42, I can see how different I am from my twenty-year-old self.

We start to enjoy books we once thought were boring, while the ones we once loved now seem odd (how could I have liked that?). The same goes for songs, even from artists I never listened to before—they suddenly feel relevant.

But deep down, you still feel like the same young guy, thinking not much has changed. Then you catch your reflection in the mirror or look at your kids and realize that others no longer see you the way you feel. And you don’t even have to look far. At work, you see all these truly young people, full of energy and just beginning their careers.

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How I (didn’t) breastfeed and what came of it

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Sometimes it seems to me that the overwhelming part of modern motherhood is lived under the slogan “If you’re not exhausted, you’re not a mother.” The pressure begins the moment you register at the prenatal clinic and will probably continue until retirement. I’m sure there are wonderful places and wonderful people—I’ve been fortunate to encounter some—but overall, things aren’t all that rosy.

My district gynecologist, who oversaw my first two pregnancies, was a prime example of a nightmare for a first-time mother. “Got knocked up?” she asked me sternly during my first visit in my first pregnancy. “What date should I book your abortion for?” was the first thing I heard from her the second time. Nowadays, I would probably set clear boundaries, or maybe I’d still be caught off guard, mumbling something like, “We were planning…”

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Giving Birth in Cyprus (Through the Husband’s Eyes)

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I haven’t written in a long time, and there were objective reasons for that. At the same time, my wife has been insisting for a while now that I simply must write about childbirth, as a male perspective on this topic is somehow more valuable than a female one. Well, the stars have aligned, and I’ve become a father once again, so all the impressions and experiences are very fresh.

As you may know, I’m practically a heroic father, as I now have five children. The first three were born in Minsk, Belarus, and the last two — in Lefkosia, Cyprus. Each time, I did my best to be as present at the births as possible (to the extent allowed by medical practices). So, I have plenty to compare. I’ll try to describe the whole nine-month process. I should clarify that our experience is based on private clinics. Some aspects will surely differ in public hospitals.

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The music of your age

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About a year ago, I asked on my Facebook about a song that had a big influence during childhood or adolescence. The question wasn’t about what you were listening to, but what became your anthem or influenced you in some way.

For example, I was a fan of “Laskoviy May,” and I had all their albums on cassette (my wife still loves to remind me of this fact). But after them, I switched to the band “Kino,” and it was their song that helped me in life for a long time, specifically the words “You must be strong,” etc.

But today, I started thinking about something else. We live, we grow, and we listen to different music for different reasons. Sometimes we just like the melody, sometimes the lyrics. Even now, in most songs, I perceive the voice and lyrics more as another instrument in the song. For me, the melody is more important than the words.

However, there are still songs where it’s the lyrics that truly stand out. My example is Pink’s song “Dear Mr. President.”

And even more rarely, the lyrics not only stand out on their own but also deeply resonate with your mood and sense of self during a particular life period. Recently, for me, this song unexpectedly became Pavel Volya’s “Mama, We Are All Getting Older.” Before this song, I didn’t even know Volya wrote and performed music.

Here’s the song on YouTube, though this is a slower version performed with “Gorod 312,” while I prefer the more energetic solo version. But the music video was only made for the joint version:

What songs have become “age-related” for you?

Cyprus: our people love to reward themselves

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I’d like to talk about award ceremonies in Cyprus. Perhaps this isn’t exclusive to Cyprus, but in Belarus, for example, there was much less of it.

It seems that, in general, people in Cyprus really love different award ceremonies. It’s always a very important event, and everyone is invited well in advance. A whole occasion, so to speak.

But it all starts with the arrival time. If, for example, the ceremony is scheduled for 6 PM, that means that at 6, only a few idiots like yourself will be there. The majority (sometimes including the organizers) will start showing up over the next half hour.

Then come the obligatory opening speeches from 3 to 5 organizers. Roughly half an hour, just to keep it brief. In the best case, it’s in English or both languages. In the worst case for non-locals — only in Greek.

And only after that do the actual awards begin. There can be up to 300 awardees (as in the Kangourou competition). If the organizers are “weak,” they call up 4-5 people at a time. If they are strong in spirit, they call them one by one, along with speeches about why each person is being recognized.

So the whole procedure lasts several hours, during which you’ll see your child on stage for maybe a minute. The rest of the time, you’re just sitting and waiting.

Personally, after the second time, I swore off going to such ceremonies. My daughters also ask for permission to skip them. And I understand them.

But the locals really love it.

Healthcare in Cyprus

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Let’s continue the topic of life in Cyprus by talking about healthcare, which, surprisingly, does exist here too.

My experience with doctors is probably not very comprehensive, mainly because I have family health insurance, so I don’t know much about how to get treatment in Cyprus if you don’t have insurance.

In my case, all doctors are paid (although there probably aren’t any “free” ones—sometimes someone else just covers the cost, like insurance or the government). My insurance works like this: you pay for the doctor yourself, then submit a claim to the insurance company, they review it, and reimburse you (or they don’t, but that’s rare). Our specific type of insurance has an annual deductible, which is roughly equal to one visit to the doctor. Dental treatment is minimally covered (although my insurance covered 95% of my root canal treatment for one tooth). Vaccines for children aren’t covered at all, and they’re not cheap. However, if you’re treated in a hospital, the doctor and the insurance agent agree on the treatment in advance, and you don’t pay anything. But still—insurance policies vary, so it depends.

In general, healthcare is expensive, even compared to private healthcare in Belarus. But let’s go step by step.

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Want to make money? Don’t work

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I’ll start writing bit by bit about life in Cyprus. After all, we’ve already lived here for three and a half years.

Cyprus, like many warm countries, is quite laid-back. People start working pretty early, but after lunch, most establishments are closed, and at best, they might be working but not serving customers. This applies not only to government offices—banks follow the same pattern. I remember being really frustrated at first: how is it possible that after 1 p.m., I can’t go to the bank? Especially considering that back in Minsk, my bank branch not only worked late into the evening, but on Saturdays and Sundays, there was always at least one clerk available. On Sundays, Carl!

There are plenty of examples of this shortened workday. The café across from the office does great during lunch, with our staff and PwC employees from next door heading there. But by around 3:30 p.m., it’s already closed. Want a late snack? You’ll have to find somewhere else.

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