My Learning Log

Category: Uncategorized

  • my situation

    My cousin is getting divorced. 🙁 I know, it sucks. There is always the 1st in the family. It shows that we’ve become modern. Really? Don’t think so. But it is what it is. It’s better that it’s done and things return to normal for both of them. I don’t know what the deal is. Usually, both parties are involved. It had to happen, I think. Where alcohol is involved, things get ugly. When there is no trust, it’s tough, really tough.

    How is my marriage? 

    It’s on and off. Sometimes I am really frustrated. Sometimes I frustrate my wife. And she does get angry. More than I like. In those situations, I don’t try to help. Sometimes I make the situation worse. Should I change that? I think so. I think it would help.

    I do need to work on these situations. It’s mostly trying to help my wife. And also trying not to get under her nerve. I’m sure I can do that a little better.

    If it was not for those moments, I would say that my marriage is great!

  • getting stuck

    Being stuck is not fun. I hate that. There is something in me that keeps trying, and trying, and trying. Trying different options. Trying again.

    Is that good?

    I don’t know. Sometimes I think it’s good. Sometimes I think it’s bad. Why? Because by trying many times, I use up the time that I need to allocate for other things. I also get tired. But what can I do? How else can I resolve it? 

    Asking somebody else.

    Looking for proper ways of doing it.

    Giving it a rest for some time.

    But in general, I think it’s a good thing to have. Most of the time I learn by doing it that way. I acquire enough knowledge that after a while it gets “into my head.” 

    I have a good deal of catching up to do here at m6. Collections and threading seem to be the biggest. Another is spring. I also have to improve my java knowledge. But hey, I just started.

  • moving ahead

    Apparently I have some downtime. It’s very tempting to just do something on the side. Especially not work related. 

    Do I go for it?

    NO! Not this time.

    I have my new rules at m6. I don’t want to just “BE” here. I want to be a top contributor. For that, I need hard work. Lots of hard work. And that means no “leisure” things. I eat, drink, and breathe code. I do the things that I feel resistance to. I force myself to do the things that will make my projects, environment, or my dev skills better. 

    Not enough? 

    I don’t think so. I just increased my “cont impr” budget so I should be able to buy more books. I should not be limited by money. I need to buy the stuff that will make me better. I also need to read up on advertising domain. There are things I don’t understand. I don’t want to have that. I need to study, study, and study.

    I am wrapping my study of design patterns. I still have to review it. Oh, I also have to write up my summary. Oh, and I have to complete my reference sheet. Yep, some things to do!

    I love it!

  • bringing something to the table

    I am having some good days as well as not so good days here at m6. 

    Is it normal?

    I think it’s to be expected. I think it’s actually good.

    One of the principles that I should follow is that I should be “the worse” at the place. When I feel that I’m the best, it’s time to either change positions or move to another company. I think that’s a good rule to have. 

    But though I felt that I’m “good” at NBC… I feel that I’m lacking here at m6. I have ways to learn. There are quite a few areas that I need to improve. 

    But that’s a great thing.

    It’s great that I have people that I can learn from. It’s great that I can be challenged by better guys.

    But I do bring something to the table. I bring my ways of doing things.

  • family

    I am making progress. Not 100%, but close to it.

    Over the period of last month, I have been able to focus on work and work related tasks close to 100%. That’s great. That’s what I need. I will continue doing that and see if that brings results. I hope so.

    I have to minimize time wasting. My time is limited. My time is precious. Every minute here and there counts. I should really be conservative in this regard.

    I had a great time 1-1 with my son Fabian yesterday. He’s turning into an interesting person. When he knows what’s expected of him, he delivers. When we tell him that we expect the best from him, he does it. That’s very rewarding. I love it. He’s making great progress.

    Victor is also making great progress. He loves chewing on Remote Controls. He loves wires and chewing on them as well. He also loves pretzels from Costco. We all do, but when I try to take it away from him, he cries. Cries really bad. It’s very funny. He’s also building up his character.

    I love my sons. I love my wife. I love my family. It’s great that I can take care of them.

  • fight your property tax bill

    How? Fight the assessment. Outsource the job to the real estate lawyer or a new breed of pro: a property tax appeal expert (ask local agents or lawyers for a recommendation). He or she will handle the whole thing and charge 25% to 50% of your first year’s tax savings. 

  • doing well

    I love it here. Is it the 1st time I’m saying that? Yeah, right! 🙂 That’s a good thing, I guess. 🙂 

    But I’m not done…

    A lot of work is ahead of me…

    My 1st goal is to concentrate 100% on work. I want to get into a habit of doing that. Work, work, work. Nothing else but work. But what if I have some downtime? I need to dig into how things are done here. I need to understand the project workflow. There is a lot to learn. I need to develop a great base. I have not been doing that consistently in all the places. But only when I do that I can really contribute.

    After a month or two, I need to shift towards looking into making some great improvements, building new things, starting new projects. Not sure how I will be able to do that. But I will have to.

    Tha takeaway from this is simple: get into a habit of giving 100%; try not to waste time, a minute here or here is OK, but limit it to a minute, not more. No personal email at work; and if I need to, only do it at lunch time. Get to learn the environemt. Learn the domain. And I will do OK! I know I will.

  • today

    Again and again, things are great when things are happening. After struggling on Friday, I was able to complete my task and get going. What a relief!!! Great feeling. 

    That’s why I love this place. A little pressure to perform, with rewards, of course, and this is a recipe for success. Love it.

    Not easy.

    No, no, no. 

    But do I want easy? No. I get bored easily.

    Vita Mix

    I saw something I cannot resist. I saw a vitamin mixer (or a blender) that I think I have to buy. Before I buy it, actually, I have to save enough money for it, though. 🙂 It’s around $400 but I think it’s really worth it.I would love to make smoothies with it. I would love to make iced coffee with it. The possibilities are plentiful. And that’s why I need to get it. Probably for Christmas. If there is something good that I really like, even when it’s expensive, I have to have it. I have to have a Vita Mix.

  • doing all I can

    It’s a great feeling to get something accomplished. I struggled all day yesterday. I couldn’t get encryption/decryption working. I was searching like crazy. I just couldn’t get it. Really frustrating. I’m not too strong in the security stuff. And then today, after I contacted the partnerr, bingo!!! They pretty much sent me the solution! I like a few things about how I approach things. I was learning this stuff, trying out everything I know. I learned. I did not give up. I was hard on myself, but I persisted. And I learned a few things by doing it this way.

    After I tried out the solution that I received from them, it’s such a relieve! Getting things done feels great. I love it.

    But I will have to learn a little bit more about stress management. I am doing all that I can. And that’s all I can ask from myself. I’m not a magician. Some things will not work. With some things I will struggle. It’s not my goal to get everything done really fast. I will not always look good in front of others. I can’t. I just have to do everything I can and everything else will take care of itself. Simple? I hope so. Achievable. Yes!!!

  • giving 100%

    My wife thinks I’m a cheapo. Am I? Should I change? I guess I need to relax a little bit. I need to at least to learn not to question/doubt the things she wants to spend. Perhaps that would be a better way to control the spending? I should probably do that.

    I don’t think I’m going to change much. Nor do I want to at this point. My way has been working for me. But I do need to just keep it to myself. I cannot try to make somebody else like me. I need to ease, relax, and enjoy life a little bit. If that means spending a little more, so be it. The objective is to enjoy life as much as possible. I have to make sure others are enjoying their life as well. My family is important to me. I hope that I’m providing for them. I don’t need to make their life miserable.

    My new way of giving 100% at work is working. I feel like I’m dedicated enough and I’m accomplishing much more that way. I need to figure out a way to also spend some time on dev improvement. I have not figured it out just et.

    It seems like pressure is going to build at this place. I have to control it. As long as I’m giving 100%, I can’t worry about it. It’s out of my control. My goal is to give 100% is don’t worry about the rest.