NIK TOWN: work & school

Ensemble Systems

I work at a software company called Ensemble Systems in Richmond, BC. I started off working on a business process modelling tool called Streams in Visual C++. Rational ended up buying Streams and then Rational was bought by IBM .

I settled into a Enterprise Java role after Streams and did some work developing and delivering training material for BEA and WebGain. I also did some consulting on behalf of WebGain and Ensemble. WebGain sort of dissolved after some initial success and pieces were sold off to different companies. A lot of the companies we work for end up getting bought.

Between the training and consulting, I've had the opportunity to go to a lot of places in the US and Europe. All the travelling kept me out of the office for long periods of time and people used to jokingly ask, "Do you still work here?" whenever I happened to be in the office.

My last few projects havn't required me to travel, so I can enjoy living in beautiful BC (at least until the next project comes along). I received my IBM WebSphere Enterprise Developer certification in 2003, which might lead to some new consulting work. In the meantime, I've been developing with (and for) Eclipse, WebSphere Studio, BEA WebLogic, as well as Ensemble's own Glider tools.

UBC

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is actually quite temperate compared to other Canadian cities. It doesn't snow that much, and we don't live in igloos like my cousins from the United States used to think. However, in Vancouver we get a lot of rain, and I think most of it falls at the University of British Columbia.

UBC is near the coast, and as a result it is always a little bit more windy and rainy than anywhere else. Unless you have a good waterproof jacket and waterproof shoes, you can get really soaked. Those six inch deep puddles can sneak up on you if you don't watch where you're going.

The only good thing about the rain is that the little green silk worms that hang from the trees at UBC hide when it rains. Every fall, you can see people swatting away the extremely difficult to see green worms. I've seen people who've had worms stuck in their hair for some time until someone points it out to them hours later. I've seen people catch worms in the teeth. I even heard a guy claim that he inhaled one once after sneezing (I don't believe him though).

So remember this, boys and girls, if you ever visit UBC: when it rains, watch for puddles, when it doesn't rain, watch for the green worms.

School life

I've managed to keep myself pretty busy while in school. I spent six or seven days a week at UBC, and it wasn't because I was studying 24/7. I played on intramural volleyball and basketball teams and joined a few clubs including the Filipino Student Association, Computer Science Students' Society, and Electrical Engineering Club.

UBC Intramurals is one of the largest programs in the country (their claim, not mine). You would often find me at the Student Recreation Centre just to shoot around or play a pick-up game or two to practice for upcoming games (I tried not to miss too much class doing this).

I was the FSA Sports Rep for 1998/99. The FSA hosts a few sports events that I was in charge of. The biggest of these was the summer volleyball league. We played 6 on 6 co-recreational volleyball once a week during the summer. We also staged a 3 on 3 basketball tournament in the spring.

Computer Science

My degree is a Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering. The department changed their name to Electrical and Computer Engineering to reflect the growing number of people taking the Computer Engineering option (like I did), but the name change didn't take place in time for me (it says just Electrical Engineering on my diploma). In the computer option, we finish an electrical engineering program and most of a computer science program in the same time that everyone else takes to do just one.

I took a lot of courses with people in Computer Science. I tried to blend in and not stick out in those classes, since there is a bit of a stigma associated with being an engineer and I'm not one to try to draw unwanted attention to myself. A lot of people thought I really was in CompSci. I even worked for the CS department lab course developer and as a teaching assistant.

Engineering

When I tell people that I took engineering at UBC, I'm often asked if I own a red engineering jacket. Well for the record, I don't own one. I do have an iron ring though.

The jackets aren't really anything special; just the typical school jacket that they have at many high schools, colleges and universities. What makes them distinctive is the engineering student wearing the jacket. Engineers at UBC tend to be pretty self-confident (understatement intended). There's an abbreviation you see around the engineering side of the campus: ERTW (Engineers Rule The World). Most believe they can do just about anything if they think hard enough and make a really nice diagram.

Of course, if you have heard anything about UBC Engineering, you've heard about the stunts and pranks that happen during Engineering Week. If you ever find yourself overcome by a large mob wearing red jackets at UBC, and thrown into a pool of water it's probably just Engineering Week. Getting tanked (getting thrown into a pool, as opposed to the massive consumption of alcohol) happens most frequently during this special time of year (the alcohol consumption thing happens pretty much all year round). Another peculiar thing that happens during this week is the strange appearance of Volkswagen bugs in some rather odd places. Those damn bugs have turned up hanging from bridges and atop buildings. The letter "E" tends to become more prominent during this time of year too. Large signs have been known to have letters disappear leaving behind only the magical letter "E". No one really knows why these things happen every year at the same time. My theory is that it has something to do with Reese Peanut Butter Cups.