My Learning Log

Author: SK

  • going back

    Today is a big day. Apple released an iPad. I might actually get it. At 9PM the president is going to deliver his state of the union. Things are happening!

    America has some things going for it, Poland has some issues. It seems like my mood changes. Do I still want to go back.

    Not now, not yet. But I still think it’s doable in a few years. But why?! Good question. I think the primary reason is that I think I’ll enjoy it more.

    But I’m a lifelong learner! And in Poland, at least the way I feel, people are not that big on learning. Hard to say. I think it depends where you go, who you meet, where you hang out.

    There are still a lot of questions that I have. For now, I am am leaning towards not going back. It’s still close to 50-50, but a few things have to change before I decide to move. That’s the bottom line.

    But what?

    Mostly roads. A new president would help. Getting a good job or setting up my own will help as well.

    These things are not showstoppers. They will all resolve itself. I believe they all can.

    Then there is the issue of attachment.

  • time at home

    I have to control myself a bit when I drink. I get into a  good mood and then I drink a lot. I should stop, take my time, talk to others, talk to my wife. Yeah. One thing I’m neglecting is that I don’t pay much attention to her. It’s as if she wasn’t there. I need to stop that. I need to take some time and talk to her. I can do that. I want to do that. She cares about me. I should care about her.

    Does she care about me?

    Most of the time she does, I think. But when I do something wrong, it’s really tough. That’s just the way she is. Really tough to handle. When she starts calling me names, that’s even worse! I can’t really take that. At that point, I should go outside or something. Something that will let her know that it’s not acceptable. I cannot accept that. I will not allow it. Period.

    In some things she’s great, in some others she needs some guidence.

    I just want here to open up a bit more. I want to help her. I know I can. She’s helping me, I guess. She’s totally different than I am. But over the last we weeks, I see some improvement. I am improving. I am changing my approach and I think she’s responding.

  • waking up early

    It’s been a few weeks now that I have been waking up at 5am. Actually, it’s 3 weeks. So how do I like it?  Is it benefiting me? Will I continue?

    I like it so far. I really like it.

    I no longer have to rush in the morning. I have time to do different things, like publishing a blog, making a few changes to my sites and things like that. It’s really nice.

    But am I using this time to the best of its potential? My wife doesn’t like it. She thinks I should get up at 6. She keeps asking of what I do?

    I shouldn’t get discouraged. In fact, I should be strenghened by it!

    She does complain a lot. She doesn’t like a lot of things I do. It’s no problem. I am used to it. I am used to her complaining about a lot of things. I am not immune to it, but it does bother me. At times it makes me think whether the things I’m doing are OK. I should not be discouraged by these comments! I am stronger than that!

    No criticisim is going to stop me!

  • rising early

    I have started to wake up at 5 am consistently now. It’s been a little bit over 2 weeks now. I am starting to feel really good about it. I have more time for learning! And that’s what I love. My wife keeps wondering why I do it. I tell her so I have the time for myself. She does not know why I need it. She also think I have this hUUUge amount of time. It’s not really that much. I wish I had more, actually! I’m trying to make it fun.

    So what do I do?

    I read for half an hour or a bit more. Then I work on my website. I work on my writing. I read some more. I check twitter. I read some more articles.

    Over time, I think I will find ways to make the use of this time more efficient.

  • new logging capability

    I just sent out an email to everyone announcing a new feature that I implemented: logging. It’s a breakthrough, I think. But don’t I think that I will look foolish. Stop. One of my new rules of life is not to care what others will think of me. Plus, looking back, I did something similar when I was at Ask and it was the best thing that I have ever done! Really.  I know at the time I wasn’t feeling well. I wasn’t feeling very comfortable sending these out. But I learned a lot. And I put some pressure on others to improve. To respond. That’s all I can do.

    So what does it do?

    It allows to output “log”, “warn” and “error” messages in both Javascript and Velocity context.

    I feel that this is something major. It’s been major for me. I’ve used it a lot.

    I’ve done really well last year in making these little improvements. I have created a new way of realeasing. I have added a way to include a template only once. I have improved the release process. I have created a forever cache.

    All of these on my own initiative. I think that’s what distinguishes me. I should keep doing it!

  • fabian

    Fabian got a warning/timeout in school. He scratched Wiktoria and I think he hit Kacper. As a penalty, my wife did not allow to watch anything after school. He was so good in the evening because of it. It was a nice lesson for him.

    I think he’s a shy boy. It takes time for him to actually get comfortable in a new environment. But after he gets comfortable, ,I think he’s competitive.

    For instance, when he starts swimming classes, he doesn’t even want to get into the water. But once he’s in, I think he’s one of the better guys there. He does very well! I am proud of him. It’s great to see.

    But since he’s a little bit shy, my wife and I need to encurage him to do things. We need to remind him to volunteer, to speak up, to be good. I think he’ll get it. Sooner or later he will.

    My wife likes Wiktor or Karol. They are polish names. I like Viktor, but I like Oscar better. Since she’s saying that I took the 1st name, I have to give in a little. But today, a thought came to me. Initially, I thought we’d have Stanley as the 2nd name, now I’m thinking we should name our boy Victor Oscar. I think this is a good combination. Why not Viktor? Yes, it’s more unique, but I’m not sure. I like the US names a bit better. And if we go to Poland, so what? Victor is a great name to have. And Oscar, very nice! Victor Oscar — very nice name indeed. Now I just need to convince my wife!

  • new me

    I recently started to enter my goals using Google tasks in Chrome. These are my MITs for today. I think I’m starting to see some results.

    I love checking them off throughout the day. It gives me motivation to focus on the important things in the day.

    One of the new things for me is trying to balance learning/dev work and actually doing work at work. I think I have to do a better job. Right now, I am going to limit it to start – 11 am. I don’t want to spend more time on this. Plus, when there is a deadline/cutoff, I am more inclined to actually do it. I will try it this way for a while.

    I am starting to see some good results with my relationship with my wife. I am just trying to not interfere and do as much as she asks of me. Plus, I try to do what she wants me to do.

    I have discovered some revolutionary approach when I’m reading the book Love live for the married couple. I call it the year of new Stanley. I think she’s not going to recognize me after the year is over. I owe it to her.

    Plus, with me waking up at 5am, I think I can dedicate the other time to my wife and kids. Completely. Yes, completely.

    My wife first, computer 2nd. This by itself is going to change me.

    Sometime she does get out of control and calls me names/etc. I am just not going to pay attention when she’s out of control. I will keep my cool. I don’t want to show anger. I don’t want to provoke her. She will get it someday. I have been through a lot. I know. She knows it. She’s been through a lot as well though.

    I do want to change things. I always wanted. And I will.

  • not doing anything

    I can’t be doing this. I can’t be spending so much time on my personal things and not really doing any work. I take today as the exception rather than the rule. But if this continues…

    No, this is not going to continue.

    I can’t let that happen to me. I know I will not.

    But can I ask myself why it’s happening? I need to set some rules.

    I can’t be just doing too much personal stuff at work. It’s not going to work. I need to come up with a routine that I will try to execute at work.

    No personal things after 11 am and maybe a little during lunch? Sounds good to me! I should try that.

  • spending time with my wife

    One of the things I have to do more to improve my relationship with my wife, is not to use a computer too much on a Saturday or a Sunday. That gets me to trouble. That makes it seem to my wife that I’m more interested in a computer than herself. That also means that it’s easy for me to lose focus! I don’t want to do that.

    I am curiuos to see what the book I’m reading will suggest. I think it’s going to be interesting. But I think, I suspect, actually that it’ll be more of the same.

  • marty urodziny

    Myslalem ostatnio o Tobie…
    Ja nie chce zyc w ciaglych problemach!
    I pomyslalem o sobie…
    Nie chce miec zlego uczucia w wspomnieniach…
    Bo ja CIE KOCHAM… Ty masz cos w sobie!
    I tylko to jest najwazniejsze…
    I w moim zyciu najwspanialsze!