Entry 16 - I Want to be an Expert in Java Web Development

I've been doing Java web development for more than 5.5 years already and I thought I knew a lot.  The truth though is totally different.  What I knew from my development work was how to code using the framework that was provided.  What's  behind the framework, that's where I have a lot to learn about.  I realized this during my time trying to look for work.  Some of the exams I took and the interviews I had showed me that I still had a lot of things to learn about.  One of my goals is to be an expert on this, someone who knows the ins and outs of Java web development.  How do I achieve this?  For a start, I have started reading some Java books and not just reading, but really understanding the Java technology.

Entry 15 - Android Development

I had always wanted to try out development for mobile devices so I decided to try out Android development.  The reason that I chose Android is because its API is based from Java, and I already have years of experience on Java development.

My first project is a Whack-a-Mole game, and my inspiration for this game is the Whack-a-Monty mini-game in New Super Mario Brothers for Nintendo DS.  I'm using the suggested tools by Google, which is using Eclipse.  The SDK from Google includes an emulator to be able to try out the application.  However, it seems that the emulator eats up a lot of CPU cycles and memory.  My laptop is on the low-end of the spectrum and the emulator does not run that smoothly on my machine.  Due to this, I'm thinking I may need to buy a new laptop so that development would be more efficient.  I'll maybe do that next time, for now, I just want to try to finish a small project.  If the project looks promising, then maybe I'll upgrade my machine.

Status:

• So far, I've only been able to create the starting screen of the application.
• I'm still planning on how the game will look.  I'll ask for some designs from my sister, as she is on the artistic side.

Entry 14 - No Entry 13

I wasn't able to write an entry yesterday and I just thought of an excuse just right now.  If ever I wrote an entry yesterday, it would have been Entry 13, and I remember that buildings don't usually have a 13th floor.  I think the reason for this is that 13 is considered unlucky, and most probably, nobody would be renting or buying a unit at the 13th floor.  So my excuse now is that an entry 13 may prove to be unlucky so there will be no official entry 13.  Instead, entry 14 will immediately be next after entry 12.

Entry 12 - Razor Ramon

Was just channel surfing a while ago and I stumbled upon Vintage WWE which featured characters from years past.  The match I initially saw was Razor Ramon against Savio Vega.  When I saw Razor Ramon, my first reaction was to think that he was fat, then I just realized that it wasn't the real Razor Ramon.  I remembered that the WWE tried to replace the original Razor Ramon, who bolted for WCW then, with another person.  Diesel was also there, impersonated by another person as well, since he also bolted for WCW.  After watching it, I decided to read some more in wikipedia, and I just found out that the fake Diesel eventually became Kane.

Entry 11 - Watch Problem

I just changed the battery of my Lacoste watch last January 8, 2011 but it already is stopping from time to time so I had it checked-up.  The repair shop checked it and is not certain yet if the battery is the problem or if it is a problem with the watch's mechanics.  They want to observe it for two weeks before giving an assessment and I agreed to it since I want to find out what really is causing the problem.  The watch is important to me because it was given to me by my girlfriend.

Entry 10 - Azaya Garden Resort

Azaya Garden Resort - Capas, Tarlac

Entry 9 - My Typical Work Day

Wake up at 6:00am.
Eat breakfast until 6:30am.
Take a bath and then leave the house at 7:00am.
Ride the tricycle to EDSA, ride a jeep or bus at 7:15am.
Arrive at Trinoma at 7:30am.
Ride an FX to Eastwood, arrive at Eastwood at 8:00am.
Eat a snack at 9:30am.
Eat lunch at 11:30am.
Eat another snack at 3:00pm.
Leave the office at 5:30pm.
Ride an FX to Trinoma, arrive at Trinoma at 6:15pm.
Ride a bus, arrive at MCU at 6:45pm.
Ride a tricycle, arrive home at 7:00pm.
Eat dinner, relax, and then take a bath at 8:15pm.
Chill out and relax, call my girlfriend at 9:30pm.
Sleep at 10:30pm.

Entry 8 - Restarting My Life

I had a pretty bad year last year, I lost focus and I lost the drive I had before to succeed.  The output was that for majority of the year, I wasn't productive, I didn't improve my knowledge, and I wasn't really that happy on how the year played out.

This new year, I want to restart my life by REALLY TRYING to fix some negative things about myself.  Here are four reminders that I give myself that I feel are the ones really causing problems.

1. Do not procrastinate!
2. Strive always for the best!  Do not settle for just the normal output, give it a little bit more to make my work outstanding.
3. Discipline!  Have a plan, and then stick to that plan, have the discipline to keep on doing it.
4. No Greed, and no envy!  Being jealous of others makes you dissatisfied about what you have.  Being greedy does the same thing.

These are my basic "resolutions" and I honestly think that if I am able to follow these reminders, I'll be able to improve myself.

Entry 7 - Finally Feeling Better

Finally felt better today, no more running nose, and just some coughing.  Was able to go out on a date with my girlfriend and we watched The Green Hornet starring Seth Rogen and Jay Chou.  I actually enjoyed it more than I expected.  Seth Rogen gets annoying after a while and Jay Chou for me did pretty well.  I wanted to watch it because I remember that Bruce Lee starred in the short lived Green Hornet television series.

Entry 6 - Feeling Worse

Just as my throat condition is improving, I suddenly come down with the cold.  Been taking Neozep every 3 to 4 hours to stop my running nose.

Entry 5 - Reading/Listening To Books While Commuting

My usual commute time going from my house to where I work usually takes around an hour and a half.  This is quite a long commute and I feel that I'm wasting that amount of time if I just sit and wait for my ride to arrive to the place I work.  Reading books while commuting is a no-no for me as I get dizzy from it.  I then decided to look for interesting podcasts I could listen to.  I stumbled upon TWiT, it's a panel type podcast that talks about technology news.  This is where I found out about Audible, a site where you can subscribe and be able to buy audio books.  This has been so useful to me, as I can now make productive use of my time while commuting.  Aside from that, it makes me feel that my commute time is shorter than the one and a half hour that it really is.  Just today, I finished reading The Fall, book two of The Strain Trilogy by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan.  I really enjoyed the book and I can't wait for the third part.  I'm also listening to the Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi series, and I just downloaded the latest book entitled Vortex.  Audible is not a free service, but I feel that it's basically the same as buying a book, but now it's just in an audio format.

Entry 4 - Still Feeling Sick

Yesterday, my throat started itching, I slept early yesterday hoping that the condition of my throat would improve.  I woke up this morning, and my throat was even worse.  I've been coughing all day long and it doesn't feel good.  Hopefully tomorrow my condition improves but if it worsens, I may have to take a sick leave from work tomorrow.  I don't want that to happen since I'm trying to avoid using my sick leave credits as there are incentives at work when sick leave credits are not used.

Entry 3 - Mukhang Magkakasakit Ako

Medyo makati yung lalamunan ko buong araw, feeling ko magkakasakit ako.  Matutulog ako ng maaga ngayon para di matuloy yung sakin ko.

Entry 2 - Forgettable 2010

I didn't have a particularly good year last 2010.  The start of 2010 for me was really bad, didn't have a good experience with IBM Solutions Delivery and I think that may have caused my whole year to be chaotic.  I didn't have any drive at all last year, I just wanted to bum around and do nothing.  It took almost the whole year before I was able to feel that I was really ready again to work.

Here's what basically happened last year...
January 2010, moved to IBM Solutions Delivery, stayed there for only 5 days.
January 2010 to February 2010, tried to look for another work.
March 2010 to June 2010, moved to OSRP, stayed there for only 3 months.  No problems with the work or company, but I felt that I wasn't really recovered yet from what I experienced in ISD.
June 2010 to November 2010, took a break.  Wasn't thinking about anything that much, just bummed around, did whatever I felt I wanted to do.

As can be seen, I wasn't doing anything for most of the year.  I basically wasted the year 2010 away.

Entry 1 - Another Project 365 Blog

My aim here is to help myself in "curing" my problem with procrastination.  During one of my classroom trainings in Accenture, the assisstant moderator mentioned that he took a picture a day and posted this into his photo blog.  The idea was to one day be able to look back at the year that passed and know what you did for a specific day regardless if it was an ordinary day or a special one.  I got inspired by his idea, and since I've been battling procrastination for the past 1 to 2 years, I thought maybe I could use his idea to help myself.  I was thinking, maybe if I did a routine, something I wouldn't miss at least once a day, it may help me gain back my discipline and be able to fix my problem with procrastinating.

I'll try my best to make a post everyday, but I won't be limiting myself into writing about a certain topic, I'll just be writing whatever comes into my mind.  Hopefully this practice helps me with my battle against procrastination.