Recap

It’s been awhile hasn’t it? It’s starting to look like I only write blog posts once a year. Though I can explain myself! I’ve been working really hard to finish my thesis and I’m proud to say that it is finally done! My thesis has been accepted and I’m now done with my Master’s degree. After finishing my thesis, I then proceeded to spend several weeks trying to get a job. And boy oh boy, that was tough, the job market for software developers in 2024 is really rough. I ultimately prevailed and successfully landed a job as a fullstack developer at Sollum Technologies in Montréal.

My new job only starts in mid-September, giving me the time for some much deserved rest, as well as the time to care of various administrative tasks. I am also preparing my application for a permanent residency under the programme de l’expérience québecoise (PEQ). To support my application, I had to take the TEF Canada french language test and I did much better than expected. I got a grade of C2 in all of the sections except the writing section where I only obtained a grade of C1. This is an achievement that I’m quite proud of, my french is getting better and better! However, I unfortunately haven’t really had the time to work on my spanish. At the start of the year, I gave myself the objective of getting to B2 by the end of the year, but I feel like that I am unlikely to get there judging by the way things are going so far. I’ll hopefully be able to get there by mid-2025!

I’ll also admit that I haven’t really been playing as much chess as I would have liked to. It has been awhile since I last played in a real tournament, and I think that it’s quite unlikely for me to do so again in the near future. When you only get two days off a week, I feel like it’s not easy to spend the little time off that you have entirely on chess. I still play online from time to time, and I’m proud to say that I have hit 2000 on chess.com in blitz and bullet. This is indeed a pretty significant milestone for me. I don’t know if I would be able to push myself to the next level in the near future, I haven’t been working on my chess at all, though who knows what the future has in store for us.

What’s next?

In the near future, I would definitely want to look into Elixir and LiveView. I figure that this would maximise my odds of landing a future job that would allow me to use functional programming. I also want to learn how to play the piano. Coincidentally, my landlord gave me a Yamaha keyboard that he was about to throw out and I take this as a sign from the universe that I should really start learning how to play again. I might get a piano teacher after starting my job, just to get a better idea of what my schedule would be like and how much free time I would like to consecrate to playing the piano.

My new Yamaha keyboard

Oh and finally, I would like to try to be more active here and blog more.