Dear readers,

I’ve launched my first mobile application !

MobHolic is a mobile application that permits users to get a day to day usage time of their phone. These numbers are then calculated and summed up to have a rank for their phone addiction both internationally and locally.

The application is available on the BlackBerry app world store.

For additional info : http://www.mobholic.com/

I never did an article about my school so going to dedicate some time and write about the university that’s helping build my career.

My school is often criticized by its marketing and teaching methods. It’s probably the first school in France to ever distinguish what’s computer science related and what’s not. ( In most universities you’d be hammered with none CS related courses the first 2 years and a little of ACTUAL related courses).

Being in a competitive world, SUPINFO certainly marked its territory all over France and internationally (China, UK , USA , Canada etc..).

A lot of people (specially teachers or students outside of the school) talk about SUPINFO like it’s an money pumping enterprise because of all the partnerships it has with other companies like Microsoft , Oracle, Cisco and much more. The fact is companies do decide the trends, and if your university doesn’t follow that – you will be left behind!

A lot of talented students have graduated from SUPINFO, and still a lot to come; Imagine Cup (Worldwide tournament organized by Microsoft) is one of the best examples of innovating students showing their talents;and somehow every year SUPINFO proves it self as a competitive leader.

Like every university, there are ups and downs;

It’s every SUPINFO students job to actually make these ups count more, make it work for the best and build up his own path of opportunity and not actually wait for it to happen.

Speaking of which, I’m going to stop bragging about my university and go back to work (yes I make my career happen) hoping the retweets on SUPINFO will calm down!

I’m sure everyone has come across these questions at least one time :

Do I do what’s best for me ?

Do I do what I’m best at ?

Do I do what I like ?

If you’re a lucky person, you’d have the same answer to these 3 questions. If not then what do you actually do?

I’ve seen people I met or know from school already have their future written like if it was a detailed step by step guide of “how to choose an easy/simple future”, most of the time they didn’t even chose their path but they’ve been told that’s what they are supposed to do.

Whereas others look for what they truly like and go for it even when everyone would be reminding it’s not the best thing to do.

And yet, how many of us have the dream job we had in mind? How many of us have the same answer to these 3 questions?

Can it be possible to just have the answer for the 3rd question and make it work with time and effort on the first two?

Yes it is possible.

A couple of days ago, something shocking happened to one of my neighbors that got me worrying a lot.
It actually got me thinking about my own life and took me on a bit of a down phase for the rest of the morning.
And then a friend who has this career path I envy, told me: “If you thought about all the things that could happen to you, there would be no reason to sleep at night.”
Come to think of it reading these words (Yes while chatting and they were in French) were a wake up call from the horrible day I was having.
Each one of us might have certain problems or flaws, you might deal with them directly or avoid them as long as it’s working for you, whatever the choice or path you choose, pick the one that will keep you going and give you a reason to keep on climbing tomorrow.

For the ones who feel the need to know more about what really happened etc...There’s a reason why I didn’t develop that part and that’s just details, don’t miss the main point!

So far, I've preferred not to talk about the economic crisis because up until yesterday I didn't really feel the impact, but just heard and heard over again about it.
Millions of jobs have disappeared and I didn't feel it until it happened to people I know.
People say we're looking at 2 or even 3 years minimum crisis, what's happening now is just the beginning.
Whoever survives this, will be stronger, whoever still stands will be the leader.
People might say that staying optimistic is the key. I'm not optimistic right now. I'm more interested in facing reality. The fact is, that those people who have families, rents to pay, babies to feed, children to support, son's and daughter's tuition fees to pay, are probably facing the biggest challenge of their life.
I know it's easier to say then to do , I'm "talking the talk" but i'm not sure if I'd be able "to walk the walk" but I hope that it gets better rather than worse for everyone that's walking that walk right now .
More talk : This is something you can't control, the best that can be done is to face it and adapt.

For the past 2 and a half weeks, I've been traveled to an amazing country I have never been to before, seen my family and met back up with old friends I haven't seen for 2 years.
In short, I had an amazing vacation. Although I wish some things happened differently or I wish I had seen certain people who I didn't get see, but I have nothing to complain about!

During this vacation, I won't deny it, my mind was on work and I even spent some mornings working. But I took the fact that I was on vacation to the max and what made me really enjoy it is the fact that I felt I deserved it. For those of you who don't know me in a close way, in the summer time I did a 4 months internship which lead to me not taking a vacation for around a year and a half.

I hear a lot of people saying: "Damn this vacation was too short, I wish i could stay more etc..", people asked me : "Aren't you sad you're going back?". I am actually saying this with a smirk on my face: "My vacation was great, I will miss you all, I have no regrets about going back..It's back to serious now.."

Last year, I remember myself playing during class breaks. After university I'd go back home and just rest, study a bit, play and go out; somewhat living the student life.
I always envied those who had to go to work at night, come to class tired in the morning, but still come back.

This year I am experiencing somehow the same thing. I have around 32/34 hours of classes per week.
When I come back home I know there's no rest, no playing around there's just working.
I've still not come to the point where i go to classes really tired, hope that never happens, somehow it is not just a physical problem, as long as you're sleeping the amount of hours you need to sleep and eating well, you're going to be fine. It's more of a psychological problem. Seeing your friends doing what they want when they want, living the student life and the fact that you are not can affect you, specially if you have friends that rub it in your face. So far that doesn't affect me at all because my sense of accomplishment is far greater and far more satisfying.

Don't get me wrong, I am not giving up my life!..I still go out on weekends, still see my friends and I am still going to Rome, Beirut and Kuwait during this vacation.

During my 4 month internship at naseba, I felt like part of a team, a productive and dynamic team. We exchanged tasks, had meetings, conference calls, had to meet deadlines and we made things happen.

All of this may sound like nothing to a normal working employee, but for me it is awesome, as I am still a student and going to university everyday doesn't sound intriguing and interesting unless there's a project to do, limits to break, challenges to face, and obstacles to get over.

Being back part of the team made me take a deep breath and tell myself: "You have a long and hard ride in front of you. Being a student and working at the same time is not an easy task. There is no time for complaints; just work and get the most out of it while it lasts. "

Today was my last day at naseba, Monday I start classes again.

I kept on working until the last minute and after that we all had a drink to say goodbye.
I came to the company with goals to achieve:
Earn everyone's respect and not be treated as an trainee but like an employee. Done.
Make the most out of the experience. Done.
Prove to everyone that I was able to handle the hard work. Done.
Take up challenges. Done.
Climb higher on my mountain. Done.

I came to the company with 0 experience in web applications, 0 experience on the Microsoft developing platform.
I remember when I first got the chance to be interviewed. I started learning/researching by myself so I wouldn't feel like a fool during the interview.
The first day I started, I got simple tasks compared to what I can do now, but at that time I didn't know how to do them. I set every day goals
to learn more and ask for more work.
I became an 18/24H learning machine. I would come home from work and instead of resting I was researching. I didn't rest until I felt I was at ease with what I was doing.
My task was to develop one project and I had until mid October, which meant just more than 3 months. The project finished in a month and a half.
In the four months, I assisted on 3 projects and developed 2 big projects when I was only supposed to develop one.
I don't remember at any point telling myself " it's ok you're ahead of time, you can rest now". I always wanted to go even faster.
And I admit there's still a lot more to learn.

I wouldn't say these 4 months were a turning point in my life because I already knew what I wanted before I started at naseba, but I'd say it was surely a life changing experience and for that I thank my colleagues and naseba.

Although, me starting classes again might slow my climbing, I already managed to get something to do after my studying hours, which will allow me to get more experience and still climb at almost the same pace. (more information might be available later on)

People ask me:" So what are you going to do to celebrate the fact that your internship is over?", I reply: " like what I do every weekend, go out, see my friends, clean my studio and reflect on what I want to do next".

Thank you naseba for the great experience you have brought me.