About Me/Over Mij

Career - Motorcycles - Websites - Netherlands - Flying

To start with on my own site, I thought it would be a good idea to write a bit about me: who I am, what I do, where I'm from and where I hope to go.

I will try and keep this page short and sweet so that I don't bore you, here goes...

Matthew Daniel Paul Deemer

Born a Roman Catholic in the small village of Littleborough, part of the Rochdale Metropolitan Borough, England in 1984.  I started primary school in 1989 at St. Mary's Primary School, Littleborough and life soon picked up pace.

Career

12 years of school passed by, I never really enjoyed school so wanted to jump straight into work.  During spring 2001 I completed my General Certificate of Secondary Education exams.  Having passed all my exams with excellent grades (Details can be seen in my Professional/CV Website) and wanting to be a police officer, I joined Greater Manchester Police as an apprentice.  This was until 2 years passed, after which I would have been old enough to become a Police Officer.

However, my life took a sharp turning point soon after.  The finance to the apprenticeship scheme within the police force was cut and I was told to get a full job in the police or I'd have to leave.  So, through my experience of running Zeus Computers since school, I was able to apply for the role of Network Access Officer (Now IT Security Officer) within the Greater Manchester Police IT Branch.  I was successful in applying for this role, and soon my ideas of becoming a Police Officer drifted away.  I was to begin my new career path within the Information & Communications Technology industry.

Several more years have now passed, and I have progressed in my career to be a Level 3 Technical Support Engineer in the Cardiology Informatics business group of Philips Medical Systems in The Netherlands.  I also run my own website design company (see below for more info)
                             

Motorcycles

Since the age of 16 I have been obsessed with motorbikes.  Due to financial restraints, I was unable to start biking until I was 17.  Since then I haven't looked back, all I want to do since getting into bikes is ride.  I have now had 5 motorbikes in as many years, and now I finally own my dream bike - my Honda CBR1100XX Super-Blackbird.  There is no other bike that I wish to own, and I never want to part with this one.  I've even given her a name - Heidi...
               

Websites

As somebody who's largely a computer-fanatic, I took up the hobby of writing websites when I was just 15.  Seven years later I am running one of the largest motorcycling websites in the UK, BikerMatch.co.uk, with over 30,000 members from all over the UK.  I have written approximately 20 websites by myself, including ZeusComputers.co.uk which was my small retailer of electronic equipment and services.  This site is no longer online due to emigrating to The Netherlands.  Details however can be found in my Professional/CV Website)
               

Netherlands

Having met a Dutch partner we visited the Netherlands several times - I instantly fell in love with the country, and particularly the people here.  The Dutch have are such relaxed and friendly people that it would be impossible to not feel comfortable here.

The country itself is of obvious beauty, it has amazing landscapes (albeit flat!).  It's not such a great place for biking, but I do find the small back roads down into Belgium are nice.

Holland offers a very versatile dance and music scene too, with festivals, venues and artists of international name and fame.  The night-life and partying in Holland is nothing but unbelievable, and always provides a sense of nationality and pride.  Amsterdam has been called the city that never sleeps because of it's unrivalled party atmosphere.  Eindhoven certainly comes at the top of my list however following the 2007 Koninginnedag which filled the city with 250,000 people.

It's also the best place for the harder styles of dance music, with internationally famous festivals like Defqon1.  Great parties like these draw in 10's of 1,000's of people from all over the world.  The dance parties are are certainly one of the reasons I wont be leaving in a hurry.

This craziness of the Dutch lifestyle is most visible during the "Carnaval" period around February/March every year. The Carnaval Season is a holiday period during the two weeks before the traditional Christian fasting of Lent. The origin of the name "Carnaval" is unclear. The most common theory is that the name comes from the Italian carne- or carnovale, from Latin carnem (meat) + levare (lighten or raise), literally "to remove the meat" or "stop eating meat".  Dutch Carnaval is most celebrated in Catholic regions, mostly the southern provinces Noord Brabant and Limburg, where it is also known as Vastenavond (literally "Fasting evening", although that strictly refers only to the last day). The most popular places where Carnaval is held (although every city, town or village celebrates it) are Maastricht, 's-Hertogenbosch, Bergen op Zoom and Breda. Carnaval here has been celebrated ever since mediaeval times and was modernised after WW II, when Bergen op Zoom even continued to celebrate it indoors. However, it is the most southern province of The Netherlands, Limburg, especially Maastricht, where many Dutch go to celebrate it.

Due to my new-found love of The Netherlands, I 'emigrated' here in June 2007.  I have also been successful in obtaining 2 jobs working for Philips Medical Systems where I hope to stay.
               

Flying

Now that I'm living in The Netherlands, and near an airport, I've finally decided to take up flying as a hobby.  It's something I've always wanted to do, but only ever got as far as simulators due to the expense of flying for real (and not having a nearby school back in England).  I now fly solo in Holland and hope to have a full & unrestricted license within a couple of months!