Joseph's Working for IFARHU - St. Clair College

Note: If you are my boss, an employee of St. Clair or an official of IFARHU, please ignore my background; or insert the word "doesn't" after "work". And for you Spanish speaking people, this phrase doesn't translate well from English to Spanish, i.e. not literal! & You will all see that I do indeed love my job.

St. Clair College is a Canadian college based in Windsor, Ontario (http://www.stclairc.on.ca). They have opened a English Training Centre here in Panama in conjunction with IFARHU - Instituto para la Formación y Aprovechamiento de Recursos Humanos, which is more or less the Human Resources Dept. of Panama. The Centre is brand-spanking new, and as we speak, the building is still undergoing renovations (it used to be a convent many years ago). We had our official inauguration on November 6th, 1998, but the college has been running since the beginning of September.

I´m here to manage the computer systems. Read the original job posting for a better idea of what i do:

Position Description 1.Provide supervision and technical assistance to students. 2.Design or modify systems in order to accommodate course requirements. 3.Assist faculty gathering, developing, preparing, reviewing, and demonstrating teaching material. 4.Assist the Chair in the preparation of reports and promotional material. 5.Develop and maintain library of software and equipment. *Note: Dancing and partying with students may be a requirement of this position. Qualifications: Preferred education: Information Systems, Communications, Business Excellent written and verbal communication skills Experience as a technical resource in an MIS environment is an asset Ability to organize and work in a team setting Problem solving with either students or faculty

That pretty much sums up exactly what I do here and my qualifications. I have been spending a lot of time doing promotional stuff: posters, leaflets, and cartoon comics, even. Although it was unexpected, I am actually delighted that I can excercise some of my creativity and computer graphics knowledge.

The computer equipment here is all pretty up to date, so I'm happy. The building is air conditioned; sometimes too cold for me though. The walls are painted a nasty "puke-green" color for some reason.

Now, to continue with the "Lucky Bastard" theme, let me share with you my schedule for a typical work day:

• wake up between 11:00 - 12:00 (that's no type-o)
• eat a dinner sized breakfast/lunch
• get picked up at the house @ 1:30 by our driver (or chauffer for you French-Cdns.)
• work till 8:30, get driven home
• eat or cook first if necessary (yes, Mom, I'm actually cooking)
• then...relax from a hard day's work
• go to bed around 2:00
• shower, rinse, & repeat

Not your normal 9-5 work schedule, but I'll manage. Man, if was actually getting paid something, this job would be the SHITS! But that's OK, I'm in this for the experience, right boss?!. OH, and since the building used to be a convent, I guess each day I go to work makes up for me not going to church, right Mom!?