Category: Uncategorized

First cut of my new and improved lawn! And yes, it is greatly improves. It is so much easier to cut now, with no roots blocking the lawn mover, that it’s just pure fun! Especially with leaving the clippings on the lawn. I can’t see them, they should quickly decompose, and they should provide valuable food for the lawn. Win after win. Great idea, too!

Not sure if it’s some sort of a fetish, or something, but I love looking at my lawn. I love looking at it on my front lawn, as well as in the back. Back still requires some work, but improvement is clearly visible. I should take some shots so I can compare from year to year. Really amazing. Really loving it.

Being a homeowner is something I really enjoy. I enjoy working on my lawn. I enjoy working in the garden — especially that! I enjoy working and playing around the house. So it’s really cool!

Am I being the most plorific worker I can?

Good question. I’m trying to be. I am looking for ways to add to the team. I am looking for ways to improve the product. I am looking for ways to make the team better.  

Am I doing all I can?

Probably not. Motivation is a little shaky on my side. Projects for reports are drying it. I need to be more proactive in that regard. I need to look at ways to make improvements. There ARE ways to improve the reports. I just have to find them.

Giving 100% of me. Being totally focused on work. Work only. Those are the goals I have for the job. It’s not going to happen automatically. It doesn’t just happen. It requires constant dedication. It requires work. It requires persistance. And it involves staying away from distraction.

Putting those sweets into my body… is not helping me maintain good weight. Plus, I don’t want to buy candy. Candy is evil for me. Candy is like a magnet for me. I can’t have it. I really can’t.

If I ate more of the good-for-me food, I would be more filled and wouldn’t need to eat more.

So where I am… is square one. When I am down to around 185, I feel light. And good of course. But I also feel that I should be eating more. I feel week. So then, not exactly sure for what reason, I eat more. Way more. And it happens. I go to around 190, which is where I am now, 192 today. I don’t like to cross 190. It’s somewhat acceptable to be in the 185-189 range. That’s where I want to be. But not 190. NOOOOOO! Gotta work on it.

One thing I do that is helping me, I think. Is that I eat very little during the week. Very little. Small portions. Soups. I am starving myself on some days. That is helping me shed a few pounds. But then, after the hard work, I gain it back during the weekend and days off. I have to find a way to kill the loophole.

I am getting some of my groove back. At work, I’m trying to be plorific. I mix in self-improvement with trying to accomplish my tasks. I get good concentration. Things are working the way they should.

After I started to write my goals every night, I have more motivation in the morning. I am more motivated to wake up early and start doing work. I hope it continues.

I would also love to work on my lawn a bit more. It’s showing great results. I almost have a green carpet now. Unreal. SO much improvement. Yes, it has cost me a great deal, but it’s finally showing some good results. And that’s what matters. I have some spots in the back where I didn’t top dress, and it’s full of weeds and no new sprouts. So I bough 2 more bags of peat moss and will try to finish it. I have a small area in front that I want to finish as well. So all in all, things are looking up. I never had this good of a lawn. And it’s making me proud. It’s making me look like and expert in the field. Love that.

OO Technology. I think I want to dig deeper into the subject. There is one great book by Myers which I have put on my to-read list. I think this is the time. After finishing the xUnit book, and having too much on my plate, it’s a great book to start.

One thing that motivates me in unmotivated times is writing. Yesterday, feeling a bit down, I decided to write about motivation. So I put together a blog post and then I started feeling… motivated. Yes, it’s not easy. It’s not easy to stay motivated and keep learning. But this is IT. This is a field where people don’t sleep. This is a field of opportunity that can knock on a door. That means I can’t sleep. Plus, THIS IS ME! Yes, that’s me, always striving for better things. That’s me, always trying to learn new things. Do I really want to put an end to that?

Let’s explore that. If I do that, then I would be going on a different path. Path of least resistance. Path where others are going. The path leads downhill. There is not much out there. It’s tough. If I want to do that, then it’s fine. But that means I can no longer be the same person I”ve been.

NO. I dont’ want that. I have to work harder to stay motivated.On less sleep, I have to do more work. I don’t have any other choice. Really. No other choice. Or I can pick a different profession. And I’m sure I don’t want that!

I am a living dead, a zombie. I have not activity in myself. I have no life.

But I’m not going to let that happen. Or at least I”m going to try to minimize that.

No watching TV when it’s nice out during daytime.

No drinking heavily on a Saturday. Just stick with beer.

Having a weekend-day-trip and weekend-idea list so we can go somewhere!

Time to get a bit more activity out of me.

Oh, yeah, and I”m going to buy a bike this week. Probably at Costco for $299. I love biking. So does my son. We’re going to have some fun together! 

Waking up at 5 and going straight to the TV. That’s not going to take me anywhere.

Where is my motivation lately?

Yeah, I’m still adjusting to waking up at 5. It’s not easy. Especially when I take an allergy pill, which makes me sleepy. But I have my goals. I need to collect the tomatos. Lately, I’m not  doing it and that’s not good. Why bother to wake up at 5? I need to get my groove back. I need to get back my sense of urgency.

Last thing I want to do is spend the first half an hour of doing nothing!

That’s one tomato I can have!

Like I said, I blame it on the allergy related pills. I ordered new ones which should not make me that drowsy. I also need to stay more disciplined.

One thing that I am not doing lately is writing. I almost stopped writing. What’s going on? 

I’m only 34 — soon will be, actually. I’m not 54. That’s 20 years away. I need to have the sense of urgency to get better. That’s the only way I can still feel like I’m The Pragmatic Craftsman. Lately, I’m not!

Writing the journal in the morning has been working for me very well, I spend at least 5 minutes on it every time I get a chance to get downstairs in the morning. Does not always happen. Plus, I think I should spend at least 7 minutes, just so I don’t get a feeling that I’m rushing.

But there is a different problem that I have.

I have virtually stopped writing my goals.

As a result, I’m losing my focus. I am losing my motivation.

I feel that I’m no longer as hungry. No longer as hungry as I need to be. That has to stop. I need to get back into that high-pressured determination to get better.

How?

Doing both, writing journal and goals at the same time is not a good idea. That’s why I’m going to try to write goals last thing before I go to sleep. After brushing my teeth, I shall get on a computer and write out my goals. Then in the morning, I can feed off the drive and expand the goals, if so I choose, when I write the journal.

Brian Tracy recommends two times for writing goals. First thing in the morning, or last thing before going to sleep. I like the latter better. When I wake up. I am more determined to get things done.

It doesn’t mean that I have to do it every day. Couple times a week shall suffice. More the better, of course, but I shouldn’t cry if I miss one or two days.

I am starting to see some activity on the lawn front. I hope to see some improvement later this week. It’d be very encouraging if I saw some greening. It’d be also very encouraging for me and help me with my renovation project. We’ll see if it continues. I hope it does.

I spend over $300 on lawn this spring season. Seeds, clover, fertilizer, peat moss and soil. They all cost a lot. I did it all. Now I’m in a waiting game.

One last thing I should do is a soil test. I need it to see what nutrients I need to feed it to make the lawn even better!

After reading XUnit patterns, I see that my unit-test code is improving. I am making it more readable, and more maintainable. I like what I’m seeing. And it just “comes” to me — oh, I should refactor that, etc.

I am making progress in getting my garden in shape. I am almost ready to start seeding! Yay! Yes, it’s exciting! Love it.

My lawn is still not in the best shape. It looks like it’s lacking nutrients. I applied fertilizer. I applied limestone. I applied starter fertilizer. And it is still not growing. I am going to do one last thing. I will overseed again — with my new Titan seed, 50lbs of it!, for over $100. It better deliver! Then, I will put a small layer of mulch over it. Then I am going to water daily. I think that should help. It should also improve the soil. I really hope it will help.

And then I am going to apply some more clover seed. I love how it grows. And I am hoping it will grow behind my backyard as nothing wants to grow there. We’ll see. Is there anything else that I can do? Not to my knowledge.

I did a lot of work in my front yard. It’s a work that I am really proud of. I almost gave up improving my front yard because of it. I had so many tree roots. They made my lawn mowing difficult. Nothing would grow, except moss. So, after my friend and neighbor, John, suggested that I ax them, I finally made progress! Yes, nice!

I should post some pictures!