‘Ay up me duck!
That's right folks, despite not having given hourly updates on my trip to England, I am finally here; safe and sound. The trip was quite on the wire but everything just fit perfectly. The flight arrived a little bit late which meant we had to rush over to the correct bus stop within Heathrow but luckily this Taxi Assistant guy pointed us (me and my parents) in the right direction and off we went. With sandwiches bought in-between and eaten right at the bus stop, also with the anxiety feeling peaking a little over what's normal. Still, there really was nothing to be anxious about. The bus came, we put our luggage in the trunk and off we were. It was quite tiring to take a 2.30h flight but ahead of that we still had a 2 hour bus trip to Leicester. (Buses are better in Portugal by the way!)
Then once we arrived in Leicester we had the taxi dance; pretty much hopping from taxi to taxi so that we could get to where we wanted. Leicester is quite huge so going from the city center to, say, my accommodation at Mary Gee houses really is madness; it's about an 1 hour walk. Add the fact that we didn't know the city and that the GPS in the iPhone simply sucks balls when you are on foot, and we had but no other choice than to be driven around by some funny Indian men (one of which didn't even know where Ratcliffe Road was!).
By the end of the day I had one burst blister on my heel and we were all pretty tired. The hotel also felt kinda sleazy but the receptionists were all very friendly and we also got free breakfast which was pretty good.
On the next day, my parents had to leave, which translates as: "on the next day, it was weeping day". We were at Morrison's and they had to go to the city center, so that meant it was time to split. They were going to take a taxi and I was going to go back to my accommodation by foot. It was kinda sad but we all knew that this is for the best and that this will actually be great for me! I'll be Tiago Espinha, MSc in one year from now which is really exciting! Master Tiago... yeah, I like the sound of that 
After that I've been having a blast. Hopping from event to event, meeting new people, English, French, Bulgarians, Swiss, etc and it's been quite great. The fun's about to end though (or to start, depending on your point of view) and my induction week starts on Monday, with departmental registration.
All in all I'm really looking forward for this experience and sometimes I come to myself and I can't still believe I'm in the U-friggin-K! But it is true, I'm here, with the cloudy and freezing weather included.
That's all for today, so cheers!
Google Summer of Code – Payments Rolling In
Yep, the title says it all. Today I have received my shiny new VISA from Citibank with the initial $505 loaded on it. The other kewl stuff in the envelope included a neat, Google-branded, moleskin and two GSoC 2009 stickers. One's going on my laptop, if I can gut it!
Well, I'll leave you with some photos now!
Master’s Degree
Alright people, this is really happening . Today, I got the final acceptance letter from Leicester's Postgraduate Department. They provided me with a conditional offer where the only condition is that I finish my degree with at least 65% of overall grade average. This is totally feasible since my grade average, last I checked, was of 14 marks in a 20-point scale, which rounds to roughly 70% in a loose conversion.
Cool, hey? Now let's just hope those money leechs at the bank will loan me the money I need!
Just on a little background, I'll be taking the Advanced Software Engineering (MSc) course at the University of Leicester, with a start date of September 28th 2009. When I'm done, I'll finally be a jack of all trades and a Master of Advanced Software Engineering 
Google Summer of Code 2009
I know this post comes a little late and all but I still had to mention it on my blog. It turns out I am repeating the stunt again. After being turned down by Google last year, I decided I would try to apply once more this year.
Since last year I still had the change to get acquainted and get the logic of Apache Derby, I thought it would be wise to apply for the same project, and so I did. After all I do have an education on database management and also on Java, which are key for a project like Apache Derby. On top of it all there's also my tutor from last year; despite not having been chosen I still had a tutor who helped me all the way through. Kathey Marsden agreed to be my tutor again this year and that is a plus for me because I know upfront what I can expect.
So, the application period is over and my application is submitted. The results should be out on April 20th and I have my fingers crossed for me to get picked
What’s hot?
I am certainly not. My life's about to get shaken up a little and I am going from idleness to a rather busy period, or so I believe.
At this point I have decided I will be applying once more for Google Summer of Code. I applied last year and sadly, didn't get approved. Still, I stuck around an open source project and actually got to do some work on it. The experience was invaluable and I am going for the very same project again. My experience will be a plus and I really am looking forward to be part of GSoC'09.
At the same time, I am having to do research for my final school project: analyzing and proofing the eXplicit Control Protocol (XCP). As exciting as it may sound, it gets a little demotivating when the true goals of our project are, to say the least, blurry. Still, I am aiming to do the best I can.
Still on my thought currently are two school subjects:
- Decision Support Systems - The labs on this subject are turning out quite interesting. The definition of DSS is interesting and it is fascinating to get your hands dirty with data warehouses and with extreme load scenarios. The theory however is kinda boring and dull...
- Enterprise Information Systems - Good ole SAP. It looks like this subject will be extremely intensive and will require a lot of work but it is certainly a nice challenge. Having SAP in my CV will also be a massive stepping stone for the future as SAP consultants are not only very well paid, but the position is also always in constant demand.
For the near future I also have some extra-curricular plans. I have volunteered to be part of the FITEC event, so that should be interesting.
And that's all folks! I better go get some sle.....get back to work I mean! 
MSDN Premium Subscription
Yep, that is right indeed, I have one of such babies. Privileges of being a Microsoft Student Partner huh? It does have its downturns as well though, such as when I go out of my house, there's a massive crowd waiting to get my autograph and to interview me... (not really...)
But that's just it, just wanted to share my shiny new subscriptor card with you readers and have you envy it. Yes, now I have Vista Ultimate for free, and who knows, maybe Windows 7 too, when it gets out...
My apologies for having gone through a period without posting at all but, my life has been undergoing some maintenance (all for good, I assure you! but won't get into specifics) and therefore I haven't been coming here as often as I would like. This is however going to change and so, expect to see more regular posting from now on.
See you soon!
MSP Team Building 2009
First off, my apologies for having gone for so long without posting anything, but the truth is that I have been too busy to think about my blog. I have had my vacations on Lagos and right after that, I went to the far North of Portugal with the rest of the Portuguese Microsoft Student Partners.
It was a great experience, an amazing chance to learn from people who have been in our shoes at some point and have thrived brilliantly, and also a fabulous opportunity to get to know the other MSPs and to make new friends. All of this was certainly achieved. I met some really great people, some really smart and brilliant guys and the scenery was absolutely amazing. I know some people prefer beaches and all sunny weather and that stuff, me I enjoy mountains, cool breezes and deep, green valleys so the place was perfectly picked, except that it was oddly warm for this time of the year, but oh well... you can't understand weather these days anymore.
The funniest/weirdest experience was definitely showering to the light of a flashlight. Right as we were getting ready to leave, a massive thunderstorm fell upon the place with lots of raining, and all I remember was hearing a big *KABOOM* and all of a sudden I was in a completely dark bathroom. One of my mates (Nuno Sousa) kindly borrowed me his flashlight and that's how I had to finish my shower.
All in all and everything considered, it was a wonderful weekend and well worth the effort of spending 6 hours in a train 
.
Me Giving The Keynote Speech
(Not really the keynote that is just me receiving the MSP card and presenting myself)
The Birthday Gift
This post comes more on the personal edge. Actually, it's more like me showing off something and being damn proud of it but hey, I am of the opinion that an image is worth for a thousand words, so here go two thousand words for you to read! On a little background note, this was my best friend's birthday gift .
So with this said, thank you very much Katy and let's get on with the images, shall we?
- Wristwatch Front
- Customized Back
Microsoft Student Partner pt. 2
I'm here fresh out of Lisbon and out of my MSP interview. I confess I was a little scared to start with but it is also true that all of the interviewers were very friendly and not scary at all. After being introduced to the whole content of the MSP program, the first question came: "How many tracks does the Olympics swimming pool have?". Fortunately they were kidding when I was told I could not be an MSP since I answered that question incorrectly (I answered 6 and apparently it has 10 tracks) .
Other than this I'd say I left a good impression, except the fact that I was nervous, no doubt about that - but I am guessing (and hoping) that that is the case with most MSP interviewees. I like the spirit and the environment and whilst I do not know anything for certain yet, I think I am on the right track for success - more news will follow and I promise I will keep you all posted!
P.S. Don't mind the ugly face on the picture there was heavy wind blowing on there.
Microsoft Student Partner
I come here today with a subject of great happiness and ecstasy! I was called in by Microsoft to be «interviewed» for Microsoft's Student Partner Program in Lisbon . So on August 13th there I shall go and attempt my best at getting the position. For the first time I will be even entering Microsoft's building so that alone is already stomach-tickling. It's set to be a great experience and I can but hope that I get a position as a MSP.
As my best-friend would say: the plot thickens.
I shall keep news coming on this blog so stay tuned!
