15 years!  That was before the Y2K bug, before Facebook or Twitter, before I met my wife and had kids!  The world was different when I took my first job with one of the ‘Big 4′ Australian banks.  Everything changed while I worked for NAB.

Leaving after so long feels a bit like a marriage breakdown.  It’s a little painful, and I suspect my other half has been having an affair with someone half my age.

You see, leaving NAB wasn’t all my choice.  My role of the past 9 months was cut following a restructure (typical middle management cost-cutting).  Whilst I was encouraged to ‘investigate other options’ within the organisation, when faced with redundancy for the fourth time and with the option of retrenchment (with a package) – none of the available roles really appealed to me.  After all, the job l was in was what I really wanted to do at this point in my career.

My eventual demise (in employment terms) probably came as a shock to my colleagues, if not the same people that chose my role for the chopping block.  After so long with the one place, I carry a degree of knowledge, skill and capability specific to the company and industry.  With a young family, job stability and a good income are almost mandatory.  I guess they just figured I’d bide my time in another role while I waited for something more acceptable to materialise.  I guess they figured we’d just ‘kiss and make up’.

REALITY – If I’m going to have to put up with a job I don’t want in the same organisation, I may as well take the cheque and risk having to take a job I don’t want out in the real world.  At least then, I won’t have the same debt pressure I have today.

So, when weighing up the pro’s and con’s of leaving – the chance to clear some debt and become the master of my own destiny, voluntary retrenchment was just too hard to resist.

No doubt my job function will probably be handed over to the next generation, maybe outside of Australia, probably for a lot less money.  Yep, this marriage was no longer conciliatory.  Sometimes you just need to let go..  Relationship breakups are hard, but a healthy cheque at the end of it will certainly ease the pain.  If I jump straight into bed with someone else (colloquially speaking) then that will just be icing on the cake!  There’s nothing quite like a fresh start.

Soon I’ll head into the open market for the first time in a long time.  There will be no excuses – I am going to be worth what I’m worth – with every chance to make the choice of what to do next.  Is that an exciting prospect?  Of course – I almost feel institutionalised being so long at nab.  Is this an opportunity to succeed?  Absolutely!  You don’t know what you don’t know, but I know I’ve been at the forefront of digital banking in Australia for the past few years.  Am I scared?  Oh, god yes!  ..It’s been a long time since I’ve had to apply for a job.  And, whilst I have some contacts, I know the labour market is a challenge.  I’m going to need to draw on all my strengths (and people I know..) to ensure my next move is successful.

When all is said and done, I leave NAB on good terms.  I’ve met so many people, some of whom will be friends for life.  I’ve learned so much and had the opportunity to shape the organisation and directly contribute to it’s vision.  I feel proud of my time there and will miss it.  I won’t miss Lotus Notes, 555 Collins St (particularly the lifts), or the ‘sustainable’ instant coffee [maybe something for another post...].

The big wide world awaits and, even though it looks strange, I’m content that the first 2 pages of jobs on my resume are all from NAB.

Wonder what it will be….??

I was looking for a ROM that was close to stock Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) but very functional.  I ended up going with a AOKP variant – Omega 2.1.  As it’s AOKP it’s built from the ground up but is just like stock Android, but better.  So far I have had no issues, better battery life (than stock 4.0) and very happy with the UI.

Most of all, I’m impressed by the radio included – jeez, what a difference an updated radio can make!  My 3G connection speeds are better than they were before the upgrade.  My only gripe is that one of my apps (originally side-loaded) isn’t working.  Thankfully then have a mobile optimised site, so will make do with that until they support ICS.

Fixed itself when I switched to flight mode and back on normal again, but I wonder if it’s a bug with the OS or if something has happened to cause the issue (say, a rogue app..?).

I’ll have to keep an eye on it to see whether it happens again.  It’s got me thinking about rooting the phone and adding a cooked ROM.. hmmmm

• Fragrance is quite okay, nothing overpowering or offensive
• Protection is very good, but only really if you follow the instructions and apply at night. For me, I shower in the morning and would rather apply first thing, but this won’t protect fully for heavy sweat occasions such as going to the gym.
• Comfort – better than most sticks I’ve used in the past, doesn’t get ‘gummed up’ under the arms and dries quickly. Once dried, its not that much different feeling to a spray deodorant but I do feel it as a layer in the armpit.
• Other thoughts – it does tend to leave white marks on dark clothing

Conclusion – Its not a bad product overall and I would recommend to anyone looking for serious ‘control’ over their wetness. That would mean however, ensuring they follow the directions and being wary of dark clothing. For me – it was a positive experience for sure, but will probably go back to my spray deodorant, even if it does mean re-applying after physical activity.

That’s right, I had some mates over and had a little too much to drink. Sunday, I was paying for it.

Normally the nausea and pain gives way to profuse sweating and eventual odour, but this time round, although I still sweated, not under the arms and no smell.

So, again I say, I’m impressed with the product and although it does have a tendency to leave white marks, for general use its great!

Monday I was off to the gym and it suddenly didn’t cut it! I suspect that the reason for that is the way I applied it in the morning. What I’ve discovered is that if you go over and over the same spot (I was trying to evenly ‘spread’ the deodorant) it tends to pick back up what you just applied. So – note to self, don’t go over the armpit multiple times.

Since then, I’ve been ensuring I do the 3 click on the stick to ensure I get enough coverage.  Although I’m not allowing for the absorption  effect you get when applying the night before, I also don’t feel like I’m getting an underarm build up.   The good news is that so far this week (other than Monday) I’ve found it’s protecting just as well as it was the week before.

Chrome for Android

Today Google announced it was releasing Chrome for Android (that’s the internet browser, like on your desktop – but for phones running Android) to all countries that Google supports the Play Store in.

As I’ve upgraded my Samsung Galaxy SII to Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) it means I can get it – Yay!!

So I’ve installed (quite a large app 20MB) and my first impressions are that it’s quite good.

Seems to be fast enough (faster than the native browser) and syncs with my desktop Chrome, so I don’t need a separate app for that.  Its simple, not sure of all the options or whether it has specific add ons but I’ll try that as I go and let you know of any good or bad’s I come across.

As always with these things, it’s currently in Beta – so if you’re interested, you too can download.  I’m always wary of the sites I go to with Beta software as security settings may not be up to scratch just yet and I don’t want to inadvertently download any bad stuff.

If you’d like further details, there’s plenty in the press you you can read some brief info from their blog http://chrome.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/chrome-for-android-update.html