How my IT career ended….
I was a software tester for a very very big corporation. I loved my job actually. My boss was the best of the best, my colleagues were close friends, but… I didn’t have much time off and when I did I either ran a craft market on saturdays AKA The Fair Alternative in Cork but also, I was still running a Surf Camp called Surf2Heal where we took children on the autism spectrum surfing. Yes, it was as amazing as it sounds. Am I a surfer? No way Jose, but the boards we used, they were so wide, long and foamy, even a cow could have surfed a wave on it… for the record I managed head stands surfing in. You don’t believe me? I have proof!! :) It’s actually easier when moving than standing on non-moving dry land
One day, in desperation to never go traveling again… I was in work, I looked up at the ceiling, and this is what I said… (in my head of course…)
“Dear universe / my name is Virg, you don’t know me, but friends of mine thank you for stuff in advance and it happens for them. Dear universe - I love my job, my boss, my colleagues, but I can’t take this shit anymore. I wanna travel. Dear universe, thank you for getting me out of here. I don’t know what I’m gonna do but they told that you know. Thank you so much”
Ten days later, as I was fighting for a pay rise for several weeks, I receive an email from the company who was paying me saying: we want to meet you for copyright infringement... boom. A friend had used my work laptop and installed, used and left a torrent open on my laptop. and since my one was top specs, I never closed apps, cause it just worked regardless of how many apps were open. So, they allowed me to reign there and then.
Of course I panicked! All my friends were like “out of all people, you are the only one who can fall back on her feet instantly cause you are just like that”. Well, trust me, it didn’t make me feel any better…
First thing I did, I took a week off and drove all the way to Donegal to finally see what was up there. I drove all along the coast. It rained for pretty much my whole trip, but lucky enough, every time I stopped for a walk on the beach, the rain stopped. I saw Sleigh Head, the not so famous tallest cliffs in Ireland. They are not straight like the cliffs of Mohair. But they are still magnificent. I could have lost my life going kayaking with an idiot wannabe instructor. Thank god i had a few years of sea kayaking behind me as well as arms of steel from TRX. It was an eventful few days. Saw some gorgeous parks and mount Errigal.
Sleigh head
I had booked a leather craft course in Newry before coming back to Cork. It was a hand stitching leather craft course, a 2 days beginners class. I absolutely loved it! I was signed up for the advanced course, two months later. But I asked an apparently very very very stupid question, where the whole class looked at me like if I was a dragon with three heads… and they never invited me back for the advanced course. What did I ask? Being french, a foreigner in northern Ireland and very little knowledge about the tensions between south and north but huge curiosity for it… I asked them if they felt more Irish or British… that’s all… ;)
And this is where it all started. I’ll tell you more next time ;)
Bottom right, the bag I made durin the leather craft course in Newry
