Some positive news

According to the latest automated mail reply after sending an empty mail to aspc.processing@immi.gov.au the deadline for CSL applications is end of May 2009. This means that they will process CSL applications much faster than anticipated and we should hear something about our Visa any day now.

The Bailout Game is here

http://www.thebailoutgame.us/

Now you get the chance to bailout too.

BSCI passed !

Well today was exam day again, this time BSCI. For many this is an interesting module, mainly about routing IP traffic between very large multinationals and countries. Although this might seem very interesting to the masses, I just could not get myself to like it. I guess it's just one of those modules that I have to bite myself through "bit by bit". Luckily I was the only one in the test centre today so I didn't have to enjoy the sounds of keyboard ticking and mouseclicking, always a nice thing to have silence. I chose to go on exam on a monday instead of a friday as mostly people will use their fridays to get the exams done and then move straight on to their weekends. The passing score for this exam was 790 and I got a very respectable 877/1000. This is less than I had for my previous exams and I have to honestly say that I didn't prepare as well for this exam as the previous ones because of the lack of interest in the module subjects.
Now come the last two exams : ISCW and ONT. I have reviewed the subjects and they are more hands-on. ISCW will be next and I will keep ONT for last since that is the subject that best fits with Voice and QoS.
( remember, I was going for CCVP initially, but took the CCNA + CCNP detour )

CCNP while we wait for our Visa

Well I decided that after passing CCNA I would go on with Cisco certifications. I think they will be valuable assets in Australia and would help with getting work or starting our own company. I have set the end-goal to be CCVP, which is the Cisco Certified Voice Professional, and certifies you as being a capable Voice-over-IP technician.
There is a possibility to go straight from CCNA to CCVP but the required knowledge for CCVP is quite advanced and most of the basics of CCVP are discussed in CCNP. So... I have decided to get CCNP first !

Now CCNP consists of 4 modules : BCMSN, BSCI, ISCW and ONT
BCMSN is all about setting up networks in SME's utilizing all the capabilities of the Cisco hardware available. Mostly this module deals with Cisco layer-3 switches. The functionality of layer3 switches is switching + routing. So you can have different VLANs .... hold on this has nothing to do with Australia !

In short : I PASSED BCMSN TODAY !! 950/1000

Only 3 Modules to go for CCNP ( and then 5 more for CCVP )

Lex is now a Certified Cisco specialist ( CCNA ) !

3 hurrays for Lex who passed his CCNA exam with a fantastic score of 965 out of 1000. CCNA definately will help getting a job in Australia !

Australia new immigration laws out february 13th.

Well, since 1 januari 2009 there's a new list, the CSL list. Luckily we're on it. The bad news is that all the sponsored visa's get precedence over our visa application. The good news is that they are almost done. 15th Februari we will hopefully start hearing about 175 visa's getting allocated to C/O's again.

13th Februari the immi.gov.au will update the new immigration policies.
Let's hope we still get our visa before the borders close completely.

Australia rethinks immigration ( oh oh )

http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Aust-rethinks-immigration-boost-as-global-financia-KA7D8?OpenDocument

Well... it seems that Australia is about to stop immigration due to the global financial crisis. I hope our Visa request was in just in time to be processed before this decision is made.

By the looks of it, it seems like Australia is closing it's borders. Bah...