End of the holiday

Yesterday was the last day of the long September weekend. I had a really good time with my family. I visited my grandparents, too. Me and my girlfriend celebrated our third year together. I feel very happy.

Moreover, I enjoyed reading the first chapter of Lovász's, et al "Discrete Mathematics". I'm almost done with the first chapter and I think I have understood and learned a lot of things. It is surprising the way they explain counting and how each thing connects beautifully with the next; starting with a simple story of a geek party and, 20 pages later, ending with properties of the binomial coefficients. I can tell there's no way to avoid learning something and being amused as well. I can't wait to start with the second chapter but first I'll finish the complementary exercises of this one. 

I had good rest, too. I slept really well this four days. I needed a short vacation like this and I'll need a lot of energy tomorrow. There are a lot of things to do: finish the spec review, prepare some slides about how we are addressing the challenges with the libraries we are using, and start with the database seminar. I think I'll need to use the Pomodoro Technique so I can have more control of my time. I'll need every minute I have.

Good night.

Some years later

The last post I wrote here was two years ago. Some things have changed since but almost everything stays the same. I still wear long hair and a beard. I'm still overweight (a lot more, damn it!). I still love rock music. I'm still addicted to video games (damn, you Fallout!). I still love black clothes (but I don't use them that much in the steamy hot weather of Guadalajara). I still lack good social skills and tend to be quiet all day long just listening to music with my headphones.

But what changed or happened in these two years? Let's start: I graduated from ITESM CEM with a major in Computer Engineering and a (lame ass) minor in Software Engineering. I live now in Guadalajara with my girlfriend Gaby and work for the world's biggest database company. I write Java, Perl, and Flex code for a living. I am now learning to play the bass and trying not to injure my fingers.

There are two thing I want to do with the same effort and passion as before, though: Learning and trying. Between the last semester of college and my first year of graduation I stopped caring about myself for a little. Depression? I don't know, I am no psychologist. Maybe that's why I gained more weight, too. Whatever the reason, I am ready to push harder and start again. I feel much more certain of what I need to do and what I can accomplish. I just need to be more disciplined. 

I enjoy learning. A lot. In less than two weeks I read the first chapter of Patterson-Hennessy's "Computer Organization and Design", and had a lot of fun with the first two chapters of "Gödel, Escher, Bach". I also started reading a Probability Theory book. I am also planning to start a weekly seminar on database implementation at the office. There are a lot of things that I want to do and I'd like to find the time, energy, and patience necessary. 

Let's see how things go. I wish myself good luck!