My Learning Log

Author: SK

  • being myself

    Lately, I’ve been watching more x rated films in the morning than actually studying. Do I really want to do that? Do I get benefit from it? Not really. Am I wasting time? Yes. So there you go. I always complaign about not enough time in the morning. So that will have to change.

    I read a very good article yesterday. About being yourself. I am still not. I still try to have many faces, sometimes. I should change that. I want to be myself. I want to be true to myself. I want to who I really am. I can do that. I owe it to myself. Some people will like me less, some will like me more. I can’t change that. But I don’t want to hide it.

  • getting better

    My garden is looking good. I like what I’ve been able to accomplish this past year. Things are blooming and I can’t wait to see Black Eyed Susans. I think it’s going to open up a lot of eyes. They, when combined with gayfeathers, will make a good show. I am pretty sure about that. And it’s coming soon!

    Writing goals, learning lessons, waking up early, acting on my goals. Making good progress in that regard.

  • waking up early

    OK, so I wake up at 5:15 or 5:30 and what do I do? Am I using the time in the best way possible? No. Am I learning something? No. Am I collecting at least 1 pomo? No.

    Then why wake up early? I could have spend more time with my wife at night.

    It’s a motivation issue.

    It’s a distraction issue.

    I need to force myself to write my goals before I go to sleep. I should be doing that mutliple times a week. That should provide a spark that I need. I hope so. If not, then I’m back to the drawing board.

  • learning more

    Am I being agressive learner? Am I pushing myself? Am I spending my free time doing that? I hope that I am. 

    I want to be an agressive learner. I want to learn. I want to teach others.

    I can do that… if I stay on top of my game. I’ve had hard time waking up at 5:15. Maybe I should try to be in bed by 10, not 10:30. I think that’s a good idea. And that means washing myself and cleaning up before 10. I can get 2 pomos every morning. At least one.

    For the rest of week, I want to collect 1 pomo every morning. 

    But what do I want to learn? I think I want to read patterns. I want to look at beatiful code. I want to read code.

  • father’s day

    Mommy took me to a restaurant yesterday.  For father’s day. It was thoughtful of her. She took me to a restaurant I told her about. That’s a nice touch.  Why not? It’s better than me telling that she’s no mom. It’s better than me taking her to a restaurant after the fact.  Next year, I should think of something. I should plan ahead. In fact, I should setup a calendar reminder. She wants to go a restaurant. Why not take her to a steakhouse? Or to Royal Warsaw? It’s all good. I want to get better. I want that to never happen again.

  • a1 team

    Do we have a good team? A1 I mean.

    To answer that, I’m going to ask another question. Are we getting things done? And the overwhelming answer is YES. I am not quick to say that A1 is the best, but I’ve heard it a few times.

    So how do we keep going strong? How do I challenge them? How do they feel challenged? I think we’re making changes as we go. We’re adjusting.

    It’s good to have guys that want to learn. It’s good to have hungry guys. We have that on our team. We have that fire burning! Let it burn, baby!

    It’s not going to be all rosy. I know that. It never is. Things happen. Shit happens. But when we’re open like that, when we’re able to tackle problems head on, we’re better able to handle the storm. I’m sure about that.

  • spending time

    Perhaps I am getting a bit too comfortable at parties. That is making my wife uncomfortable. I need to cut it out and get under control. I need to show love for my wife. I need to care for her during parties. She needs that. And I need to provide that to her.

    I’m trying to learn Camel and related patterns. It seems like it’s a very good project. I love how it is based on patterns. I am going to make the Integration patterns my book to read for the quarter. I think it’s time I re-read that.

    Am I spending enough of a quality time with my sons. I think it leaves a lot to be desired. I need to do more. I need to spend more. I need spend at least an hour every day with them. Good, uninterrupted time. 

    I also want to take them somewhere. I want to take them to Ithaca, NY. I”ve been wanting to go there. July 4th is a good opportunity to take them there. We also have an option of NH. We’ll pick one or the other.

  • behaving at a party

    My wife is right. At a party, I don’t show too much love for her. That has to change. Same when we are away. I love my wife and I need to show others that she is mine. Period. I don’t want her to feel alone. I don’t want her to feel rejected. I want her to be happy. I want her to feel like she belongs.

    Can I do that? How can I do that? By drinking less, which I did at the Sat’s party. And paying attention more. That I did not do so much. Easier said than done. But nothing is impossible nor should be really hard. I totally can do that.

    I drank a few beers towards the end of the party. I did not have to do that. That was unnecessary. I could have done without them. Next time that’s what I want to do.

  • learning more

    I learned yesterday that during team meetings it’s a good idea to prepare an agenda and run through it. Not having one does not reflect well on me. I should constantly be pushing. I should constantly strive for us to do good things. I did not do that yesterday.

    I’m going to create a new notebook for a1 – learning and will keep on adding to the agenda.

    I also have to review some of the documents I saved a really long time ago. It’s time to refresh them. It’s time to either delete them or write about them. Wei’ll see.

    My goal is to master diagrams, flow charts, software drawings. UML is a great tool for that. I need to utilize it more. I need to be comfortable explaining it. I have this unfounded fear that I need to get rid of.

  • being proactive

    I have picked up a pace a bit. I am starting to feel the urge. I’ve started to write. That’s one. I want to see if I can also do it on a weekend. Those are different types of experiences so I think they would help me. I also want to write my goals every night. It only takes 2-3 minutes (with no distractions). But after I write out my goals I have different dreams, I have different motiviation.

    In the next 2 months I want to finish 2 books. One is lean startup. I’m on the hook for it. So I better do. I am struggling a bit and I would have put it away. But I am continuing and finding good information in the book. The 2nd one is about Camel. I wanted to read the integration patterns book again. So it’s a great opportunity to do so. In fact, I think I’m going to put myself on the hook for the EIP book. I think it’s time to re-read it. That’d be a good source of information for me. 

    And that’s what it is all about: being ahead of the curve. Being proactive not reactive. Being early.