Despite my lack of motivation to write nowadays, I can't deny that I missed writing on my blog.
Well, I dont want to turn this post into a mini-novel so I'm just going to give you a summary of what occured during my last haitus.
If you have not heard yet, we moved to our new flat last March 16. Yes, it was another compromise that basically necessitated the decision to move, but looking back, I am happy about the decision and at this point, am not harboring any doubts about it at all.
Coming back from Muscat, its been exactly, 6 months. To date, I am still reserving the right to judge whether this decision to go back home is the right one. Albeit my last entries, which obviously was motivated by stress, I am now, more than ever clear about the objectives that I am to consider.
The decision to stake our own flat was based on a whole new approach that my wife and I has been talking about since we got back. It's basically restraining yourself until all the necessary requirements have been completed.
Let me site a classic example - furnishing the flat! Despite my compulsion to just go out and shop for furnishings, we opted to take another route, the hard route, of actually identifying the essential pieces of furnishings and appliances, and basically putting off the rest until we got all the right factors locked-down (classified according to Cost/Budget, Functionality, Product Life).
Unlike my/our previous approach of "go-out-and-buy-everything-because-you-have-enough-money-for-purchases-anyway" which did not worked very well for me...
Anyway, the new approach opened my mind, and has given me a very big advantage, something that I've been missing all this time - and that is, practicality...
Don't judge me now, but in the past, I always go for branded furnishing/appliances under the impression that brand names begets quality. Although this approach has not let me down just yet, but getting to understand how you get by without a certain piece of furnishing or appliance makes you realize the actual value versus cost of any particular item.
Take for example bed frames. Well, for all accounts, I fully understood the value that this piece of furnishing brings. Actually, the first item on our furniture list is a bed frame (make that two, since my daughted will be staying on her own bed).
We went through the usual intelligence gathering - scouting for the best deal, collecting and comparing info and all that stuff. With all of that, I found out that the prices for bed frames on this part of the world are simply outrageous! So, we opted not to get them now, and just do like what the japanese folks do - bed sans frame.
Initially, I wasn't really happy with the idea. Because first of all, though the bed is comfortable enough, with or without a bed frame, we weren't really sure whether we could live with the constant fear of that all too friendly 'unwanted house guests' (a.k.a. Freddie Roach's little known step-brother, 'Mr. Caque') which comes with every home as a 'bonus feature'.
But we figure, the house is new (presumably built late 2006), it looked clean enough, and has only been occupied for a week. In short, it was as if the unit was just turned over right before we moved in.
The result - well for one thing, I've re-gained an appreciation of the japanese setup. I mean, the bed doesn't move when someone does like when you got it on a bed frame. And because we have a toddler with us on the bed, we could actually rest easy and not think about the baby rolling himself to a face plant everytime we doze off.
The benefit - reduced cost and an improved sleeping experience.
I'm actually recommending it to anyone, whose thinking about buying a bed frame!
Of course you have to always make sure your keeping the sorroundings clean and spiff, otherwise, you might just find yourself smooching over Mr. Caque's (six) hairy legs (eeewwww!).
I'm actually looking forward in posting how the other stuff we put off acquiring would be benifiting us, as well as posting some pictures of our new home
Apr 14, 2009
Mar 12, 2009
The Man from Manila, dead at 44 YO
Francis Magalona, was pronounced dead at around 12 PM on Friday, March 6th 2009, after a brief, but nonetheless well fought, bout with Acute Myeloid Leukemia since it was diagnosed on August 8th 2008.
His passing has turned out mixed emotions from me. Personally, I wasn't always giving him high regards. I felt a little distressed when I first hear his single "Mga kababayan".
I mean, admittedly, the song has a catchy sort of spunk, but it just too darn right commercialized.
And personally, I wasn't really into the whole rap thing back then - I felt grown men singing nursery rhyme-ish tunes were just down right silly... just think of Vanilla Ice back in the days and you'll understand what I'm trying to get at here....
I thought that its another cheap stunt to save a then, childstar hasbeen's career from the dumpster.
Most of the time, that's how I always tag people in the commercial showbusiness industry --- just another wannabee jumping in the band wagon, think, Carlos Agassi (aka. Fag-in-skidz-clothing) during the height of his so called "rap career".
Anyway, the following interludes to Francis M's single however, finally caught my attention.
It is his commitment to a recurring theme in his compositions that made me realize that he might actually be the real deal...
It's the nationalistic message interlaced with his songs, and actual compositions that talks about something sensible, that changed my impression.
Throughout highschool, I remember listening to his songs (with the Jimmy Hendrix reminicent riffs on his other single "Kaleidoscope World"), courtesy of my younger brothers collection, and being moved (somewhat) by how cunningly his words reflect some of my thoughts at that time...
His "lyricism" served as the battlecry of the youth (at least to me and a couple of my friends), in the midst of the wave of punk, death, pop, and funk rock that plied the airwaves back then.
I guess that's how Francis M's songs appealled to many of our kababayans... He's one of those people who could influence you by merely mirroring what the world is to all of us... not unlike the late hip hop great Tupac....
The man from Manila, will surely be missed....
His passing has turned out mixed emotions from me. Personally, I wasn't always giving him high regards. I felt a little distressed when I first hear his single "Mga kababayan".
I mean, admittedly, the song has a catchy sort of spunk, but it just too darn right commercialized.
And personally, I wasn't really into the whole rap thing back then - I felt grown men singing nursery rhyme-ish tunes were just down right silly... just think of Vanilla Ice back in the days and you'll understand what I'm trying to get at here....
I thought that its another cheap stunt to save a then, childstar hasbeen's career from the dumpster.Most of the time, that's how I always tag people in the commercial showbusiness industry --- just another wannabee jumping in the band wagon, think, Carlos Agassi (aka. Fag-in-skidz-clothing) during the height of his so called "rap career".
Anyway, the following interludes to Francis M's single however, finally caught my attention.
It is his commitment to a recurring theme in his compositions that made me realize that he might actually be the real deal...
It's the nationalistic message interlaced with his songs, and actual compositions that talks about something sensible, that changed my impression.
Throughout highschool, I remember listening to his songs (with the Jimmy Hendrix reminicent riffs on his other single "Kaleidoscope World"), courtesy of my younger brothers collection, and being moved (somewhat) by how cunningly his words reflect some of my thoughts at that time...
His "lyricism" served as the battlecry of the youth (at least to me and a couple of my friends), in the midst of the wave of punk, death, pop, and funk rock that plied the airwaves back then.
I guess that's how Francis M's songs appealled to many of our kababayans... He's one of those people who could influence you by merely mirroring what the world is to all of us... not unlike the late hip hop great Tupac....
The man from Manila, will surely be missed....
Mar 3, 2009
Securing your USB Flash Drives
The inventor of the USB Flash Drives should be accorded a Nobel Prize or something.
I can no longer imagine living life without it, frankly, I don't even remember how I lived when this trusted tool has not yet touched out lives...
I remember picking out my first cool 3.5" micro-floppy blue colored with yellow streaks Verbatim disk keeper back in highschool. I used to pride myself over the idea that I can carry around my data, like a true data warrior! I'd have an assortment of pre-apps on there - MS DOS, NAV, Turbo C, and even an installer copy of the then, rave of network gaming, Dune 2000.... Ha! Those were the days!
Going back to my point - today's data warriors are equipped with sleek looking devices which can sometimes be mistaken for a keychain or a pocket utility knife. They come in various shapes, sizes, and even functionalities - today, USB Flash Disks are not even limited to just data storage - they often come together with neat features like MP3/MP4 players, Utility functions like pocket lights or ball point pens...
Along with all these features and convinience though comes the sad fact that you might also be carrying around an assortment of viruses, malware, and what have you's, ignorantly spreading them around without the slightest clue...
Enter, one of the best solutions I've discovered so far... USB Firewall 1.1.3
This nifty software basically acts as your first line of defence over those baddies that catch a ride on them pocket drives,,,
It not only alerts you of intrusion from the USB Device, it also helps you identify the source of the virus/malware, stop it or otherwise delete it. You dont even have to update any virus definitions to get your rig up to date security.
The application itself is very compact and once installed it runs silently as a service in the background and only turns itself on once you insert the USB Drive.
USB Firewall is actually free, and if you want to get the link, you can just leave me your email/contact information and I'll PM you the link. Or email me directly here
One disadvantage though is that, although its virus detection is very good, it often misses on identifying pre-existing virus infection that may already be in your system. Meaning it's still a must to keep a full antivirus software to clean up whatever this software misses.
Here's a screenshot courtesy of one of our friends from the blogosphere:
I can no longer imagine living life without it, frankly, I don't even remember how I lived when this trusted tool has not yet touched out lives...
I remember picking out my first cool 3.5" micro-floppy blue colored with yellow streaks Verbatim disk keeper back in highschool. I used to pride myself over the idea that I can carry around my data, like a true data warrior! I'd have an assortment of pre-apps on there - MS DOS, NAV, Turbo C, and even an installer copy of the then, rave of network gaming, Dune 2000.... Ha! Those were the days!
Going back to my point - today's data warriors are equipped with sleek looking devices which can sometimes be mistaken for a keychain or a pocket utility knife. They come in various shapes, sizes, and even functionalities - today, USB Flash Disks are not even limited to just data storage - they often come together with neat features like MP3/MP4 players, Utility functions like pocket lights or ball point pens...
Along with all these features and convinience though comes the sad fact that you might also be carrying around an assortment of viruses, malware, and what have you's, ignorantly spreading them around without the slightest clue...
Enter, one of the best solutions I've discovered so far... USB Firewall 1.1.3
This nifty software basically acts as your first line of defence over those baddies that catch a ride on them pocket drives,,,
It not only alerts you of intrusion from the USB Device, it also helps you identify the source of the virus/malware, stop it or otherwise delete it. You dont even have to update any virus definitions to get your rig up to date security.
The application itself is very compact and once installed it runs silently as a service in the background and only turns itself on once you insert the USB Drive.
USB Firewall is actually free, and if you want to get the link, you can just leave me your email/contact information and I'll PM you the link. Or email me directly here
One disadvantage though is that, although its virus detection is very good, it often misses on identifying pre-existing virus infection that may already be in your system. Meaning it's still a must to keep a full antivirus software to clean up whatever this software misses.
Here's a screenshot courtesy of one of our friends from the blogosphere:
Mar 2, 2009
Our own pad in PI
Sometimes, things happen for a reason. But as I learned the hard way - often times, you have to give a reason for things to actually take place.
We are planning to move to our own place by 3/15 and I'm still having mixed emotions about it. Although I know that it is the natural thing to do, like what we did not long ago - I feel uneasy about the idea.
Maybe its because we never really had a good enough experience to take whenever we decide to get a place of our own. We always end up either folding up too soon, because we can afford it. Or move out from the flat because we failed to manage our monthly finances.
I know that it will be another big adjustments for everyone in my family. I'm just hoping that this time, we could stick around longer.
I like the idea of having your own place. I mean, who wouldn't. But despite my enthusiasm, I cannot hide the fact that I am also mortified. Scared of the truth that we might end up repeating the same mistakes we did in the past. Scared shitless that this will be once again, another exercise in futility.
I beg to differ about everyone else's opinion of money matters and financial management. I feel that somehow, I should know better than they are since I've experienced these challenges several times over in the past.
Believe it or not, after everything that I've been through, I'm still clueless as to whether or not we'll be able to pull this off... but I got to do what I got to do...
This time around... I need to do a good job...
We are planning to move to our own place by 3/15 and I'm still having mixed emotions about it. Although I know that it is the natural thing to do, like what we did not long ago - I feel uneasy about the idea.
Maybe its because we never really had a good enough experience to take whenever we decide to get a place of our own. We always end up either folding up too soon, because we can afford it. Or move out from the flat because we failed to manage our monthly finances.
I know that it will be another big adjustments for everyone in my family. I'm just hoping that this time, we could stick around longer.
I like the idea of having your own place. I mean, who wouldn't. But despite my enthusiasm, I cannot hide the fact that I am also mortified. Scared of the truth that we might end up repeating the same mistakes we did in the past. Scared shitless that this will be once again, another exercise in futility.
I beg to differ about everyone else's opinion of money matters and financial management. I feel that somehow, I should know better than they are since I've experienced these challenges several times over in the past.
Believe it or not, after everything that I've been through, I'm still clueless as to whether or not we'll be able to pull this off... but I got to do what I got to do...
This time around... I need to do a good job...
Exploding the mental fatigue myth
I've started reading another one of Dale Carnegie's books again...
I'm sure a lot of you have already read this one, but I've only gotten my hands on it as of late... the title of the book is "How to stay happy with your Life and Job"
Don't ask me why I bought it, I just somehow ended with a copy of the book at hand while I was queuing to pay for my eldest school supplies last week...
It was a curious read...
Well. okay, I admit it... I've always been a fan of the Dale Carnegie series, I've got most of his books, but this one.... so there...
Anyway, on one of the chapters of the book, the author was talking about fatigue... or what is properly known as, "diminished capacity to work" within medical circles...
What caught my attention is the passage which explains why sedentary workers, or professionals who sit on a desk all day, has no right to complain about being fatigued by the end of the day...
The author further explained that, a study was conducted to test for toxins in the blood confirmed that physical workers, whose basically involved with manual labour, does accumulate what they term as "fatigue toxins", which you feel whenever you engage in any form of physical exertion.
The study tested both sedentary workers and physical workers and found that at the end of the day, they both registered elevated levels of these "fatigue toxins". The question being pointed is, okay, we understand why a carpenter or laborer would feel tired after the day's shift but why would a sedentary worker show the same behaviour too?
Is it, mental fatigue?
No!
A conclusive study found out that the brain, does not give off "fatigue toxins", in fact it is the only organ in the human body which does not take a day off, not even when you sleep at night! Your brain is still hard at work monitoring vital body functions, while the rest of you "recharge" from the day's strenuous activities....
The study further elaborates that, great thinkers, like the ranks of Albert Einstein, and Carl Sagan, don't register any elevation of these "fatigue toxins" at the end of an 8-hour work day, even though their mental exertion could best any sedentary workers output in any day....
So what is the reason? Simple...
Sedentary workers register the same behaviour of elevated "fatigue toxins" as manual laborers because of muscular strain. Period!
The psychology behind the idea is mind boggling... actually, it's mind-freeing!
The fact is, that when ever professionals work, we strain or put our bodies into a condition which mimics physical strain... Simply reading your boss' correspondence, we squint our eyes, or curl up our brows.... this is because, it was how we evolved...
Human beings started as hunter-gatherers, and the skills involved necessary to survive back then only requires physical strength, dexterity, and maybe a little bit of ingenuity... a successful hunt means that we need to devote both energy and physical resources to the hunting effort itself...
Fast forward million of years, and little has changed... the office warrior, through a lifetime worth of habit formation, develops this auto-response of justifying good work with an "action of strain or exertion"....
That is why, we strain our eyes when we read/concentrate on reports, or lock our shoulders when we attend board meetings, or tighten up our necks when we do our taxes...
All that tension, anxiety and stress is what's causing the fatigue, much like the manual laborers when they go about with their daily duties...
Going back to the study... great thinkers, never had this problem.... why? because they've managed to develop the habit of relaxing while in the process of intense mental workout... and the author suggests that we could also adopt this habit....
The rewards of course, needs no further explanation, but obviously, you would expect an improvement in your efficiency, much like a well-timed engine, you'd blaze across anything which requires mental, physical work... your focus would also be enhanced since you're more relaxed and balanced, its an entire lifestyle change altogether....
One of the exercise suggested is taking time to pause and go through a minute to tell yourself to relax.... then get to the most comfortable position you could be in, which of course would mean that you won't be compromising anything that is essential to your task at hand... like, you can't be lying down why making a presentation to the board of directors... get the picture?
Anyway, go ahead and try the exercise... close your eyes.... then slowly tell yourself, relax... relax... relax.... relax eyes... relax.... in between deep breaths.... do this for the entire duration of a minute... then open your eyes...
Did you feel refreshed?
I hope it worked the same for you as it was for me when I first tried it... remember the saying... "The body often follow what the mind dictates"... this is a known fact that traditional eastern medicine, and yoga gurus have been exploiting for centuries now... in short, this stuff really works...
The book advises that you should do this as regular and as often as you can.... over time, this would become like a reflex... it becomes a habit... an automatic response that you can employ to boost not just your physical condition, but improve your life as well....
This part of the book made me realized that I've been wasting precious years in my life procrastinating and wasting my energy and time... I should have taken notice of this fact early on...
I mean, you don't need a book at all to tell you that stress + fatigue = bad health....
I mean why is it that a lot of sedentary workers die young? Proof? Well, just look into the Sunday paper's list of Obituaries and you'll see people on their 50's, early 60's dead.... People whose lifestyle is that of a sedentary worker, sometimes even esteemed professionals altogether... just because all they did was a accumulate a lifetime's worth of stress with their lives....
I vow to make a complete overhaul of my life based on this truth... I think you should also start too...
I'm sure a lot of you have already read this one, but I've only gotten my hands on it as of late... the title of the book is "How to stay happy with your Life and Job"
Don't ask me why I bought it, I just somehow ended with a copy of the book at hand while I was queuing to pay for my eldest school supplies last week...
It was a curious read...
Well. okay, I admit it... I've always been a fan of the Dale Carnegie series, I've got most of his books, but this one.... so there...
Anyway, on one of the chapters of the book, the author was talking about fatigue... or what is properly known as, "diminished capacity to work" within medical circles...
What caught my attention is the passage which explains why sedentary workers, or professionals who sit on a desk all day, has no right to complain about being fatigued by the end of the day...
The author further explained that, a study was conducted to test for toxins in the blood confirmed that physical workers, whose basically involved with manual labour, does accumulate what they term as "fatigue toxins", which you feel whenever you engage in any form of physical exertion.
The study tested both sedentary workers and physical workers and found that at the end of the day, they both registered elevated levels of these "fatigue toxins". The question being pointed is, okay, we understand why a carpenter or laborer would feel tired after the day's shift but why would a sedentary worker show the same behaviour too?
Is it, mental fatigue?
No!
A conclusive study found out that the brain, does not give off "fatigue toxins", in fact it is the only organ in the human body which does not take a day off, not even when you sleep at night! Your brain is still hard at work monitoring vital body functions, while the rest of you "recharge" from the day's strenuous activities....
The study further elaborates that, great thinkers, like the ranks of Albert Einstein, and Carl Sagan, don't register any elevation of these "fatigue toxins" at the end of an 8-hour work day, even though their mental exertion could best any sedentary workers output in any day....
So what is the reason? Simple...
Sedentary workers register the same behaviour of elevated "fatigue toxins" as manual laborers because of muscular strain. Period!
The psychology behind the idea is mind boggling... actually, it's mind-freeing!
The fact is, that when ever professionals work, we strain or put our bodies into a condition which mimics physical strain... Simply reading your boss' correspondence, we squint our eyes, or curl up our brows.... this is because, it was how we evolved...
Human beings started as hunter-gatherers, and the skills involved necessary to survive back then only requires physical strength, dexterity, and maybe a little bit of ingenuity... a successful hunt means that we need to devote both energy and physical resources to the hunting effort itself...
Fast forward million of years, and little has changed... the office warrior, through a lifetime worth of habit formation, develops this auto-response of justifying good work with an "action of strain or exertion"....
That is why, we strain our eyes when we read/concentrate on reports, or lock our shoulders when we attend board meetings, or tighten up our necks when we do our taxes...
All that tension, anxiety and stress is what's causing the fatigue, much like the manual laborers when they go about with their daily duties...
Going back to the study... great thinkers, never had this problem.... why? because they've managed to develop the habit of relaxing while in the process of intense mental workout... and the author suggests that we could also adopt this habit....
The rewards of course, needs no further explanation, but obviously, you would expect an improvement in your efficiency, much like a well-timed engine, you'd blaze across anything which requires mental, physical work... your focus would also be enhanced since you're more relaxed and balanced, its an entire lifestyle change altogether....
One of the exercise suggested is taking time to pause and go through a minute to tell yourself to relax.... then get to the most comfortable position you could be in, which of course would mean that you won't be compromising anything that is essential to your task at hand... like, you can't be lying down why making a presentation to the board of directors... get the picture?
Anyway, go ahead and try the exercise... close your eyes.... then slowly tell yourself, relax... relax... relax.... relax eyes... relax.... in between deep breaths.... do this for the entire duration of a minute... then open your eyes...
Did you feel refreshed?
I hope it worked the same for you as it was for me when I first tried it... remember the saying... "The body often follow what the mind dictates"... this is a known fact that traditional eastern medicine, and yoga gurus have been exploiting for centuries now... in short, this stuff really works...
The book advises that you should do this as regular and as often as you can.... over time, this would become like a reflex... it becomes a habit... an automatic response that you can employ to boost not just your physical condition, but improve your life as well....
This part of the book made me realized that I've been wasting precious years in my life procrastinating and wasting my energy and time... I should have taken notice of this fact early on...
I mean, you don't need a book at all to tell you that stress + fatigue = bad health....
I mean why is it that a lot of sedentary workers die young? Proof? Well, just look into the Sunday paper's list of Obituaries and you'll see people on their 50's, early 60's dead.... People whose lifestyle is that of a sedentary worker, sometimes even esteemed professionals altogether... just because all they did was a accumulate a lifetime's worth of stress with their lives....
I vow to make a complete overhaul of my life based on this truth... I think you should also start too...
Panagbega 2009
Just got back from our weekend trip to Baguio to attend the Panagbega '09 festival.
I have for the most part been complaining about the entire trip... It was for me, a total waste of time, money and effort!
The stupid festival is so over-rated! I hate the hotel, I hate the hotel staff, hate the cabbies, hate the walking, hate the noise that doesn't let you sleep at night, hate over-charging morons, and most of all, I hate the fact that there were no hot water running on the stupid tap!
I guess, its not a total waste since my family got a kick from the whole ordeal...
much to my expenses though =(
I'll never attend one of this stupid events ever again!!!!
I have for the most part been complaining about the entire trip... It was for me, a total waste of time, money and effort!
The stupid festival is so over-rated! I hate the hotel, I hate the hotel staff, hate the cabbies, hate the walking, hate the noise that doesn't let you sleep at night, hate over-charging morons, and most of all, I hate the fact that there were no hot water running on the stupid tap!
I guess, its not a total waste since my family got a kick from the whole ordeal...
much to my expenses though =(
I'll never attend one of this stupid events ever again!!!!
Feb 24, 2009
Technology Project Manager
Amidst all that we've done to better ourselves or attempt to do a perfect job comes this question: why do we always end up wondering if we could have done things a little differently or done it better, given another chance.
This is probably truer with my case as the flow and complexity of every technical project I got on my plate varies tremendously.
I find that it is often not an issue of the proverb "measure twice, cut once" sort of approach.
Because basically, you could might as well be measuring a millions times, and still end up cutting it a million times more...
This is the reality that project managers face from across the industry.
Technologists in particular, are carrying the full fury of this fact. As many of those who have the privilege to work in the technical industry know, that what you know today will somehow be obsolete within the next 18 months.
Of course there are exceptions in all cases, including this industry, but this just goes to show the tremendous challenges that face technologists in general.
So how do you cope with all of this?
The PMI (Project Management Institute), a community of professionals in pursuit of the study of the subtle arts of project management, suggests an industry accepted framework along side a body of knowledge collected from the contributions of countless project management professionals throughout the years.
But even they know that in order to keep up with the Jones', you have to re-assess your craft at specific periods in time. They recommend re-validating your skills/knowledge every 12 months.
Personally, I am not a big fan of something that forces you to change what you know from time to time...
Nor am I thrilled at the idea of having to change my entire infrastructure build plan just because those geeks over at M-labs decided how to build better VPN security tiers toward the closing months of the year.
But somehow, I survive it all, and on occasion, I even surprise myself as I see myself thriving amidst what seemingly chaotic and random world that is IT.
I bet my ability to adapt came from my mother side of the family.
Mom, is almost always the flexible one in the family. She could easily connect the dots and cross the T's in any situation. She can spot any small variations in any circumstance and cook up a probable solution while others would've given up days ago. In other words, she likes solving crossword puzzles and similar things.
But then again, having the capability to see the "fine lines and draw at them" would not get you far if you don't have the right information/knowledge to help you through it.
That's when my dad's side comes in.
Dad, is more of the methodical thinker. He would analyse a situation at face value and recommend the best possible solution based on an information that he's got stored away in his memory banks. He's a voracious reader, someone who's taught me the value of continuing education and that learning only stops when you expire...
Put the two together and you have a power combination of characteristics, which hopefully, would prove to be the winning formula in the career I've chosen to thread.
Project Management is actually a perversion for technologists like me. Because it's something to do with technology, but not really. It's a whole new field of specific skills, processes and knowledge.
But having seen the power of technology first hand, I felt the next logical step is to get into managing how to make technology work for you best. It's really all about thinking of a solution, then trying to make all the different technical components work together, in a specific time frame, with a specific scope, and budget.
I believe, that given another chance to choose between whether to remain as a technologist or project management, I believe the next evolution, would definitely point to the latter, if, and only if, you are really a technologist at heart.
This is probably truer with my case as the flow and complexity of every technical project I got on my plate varies tremendously.
I find that it is often not an issue of the proverb "measure twice, cut once" sort of approach.
Because basically, you could might as well be measuring a millions times, and still end up cutting it a million times more...
This is the reality that project managers face from across the industry.
Technologists in particular, are carrying the full fury of this fact. As many of those who have the privilege to work in the technical industry know, that what you know today will somehow be obsolete within the next 18 months.
Of course there are exceptions in all cases, including this industry, but this just goes to show the tremendous challenges that face technologists in general.
So how do you cope with all of this?
The PMI (Project Management Institute), a community of professionals in pursuit of the study of the subtle arts of project management, suggests an industry accepted framework along side a body of knowledge collected from the contributions of countless project management professionals throughout the years.
But even they know that in order to keep up with the Jones', you have to re-assess your craft at specific periods in time. They recommend re-validating your skills/knowledge every 12 months.
Personally, I am not a big fan of something that forces you to change what you know from time to time...
Nor am I thrilled at the idea of having to change my entire infrastructure build plan just because those geeks over at M-labs decided how to build better VPN security tiers toward the closing months of the year.
But somehow, I survive it all, and on occasion, I even surprise myself as I see myself thriving amidst what seemingly chaotic and random world that is IT.
I bet my ability to adapt came from my mother side of the family.
Mom, is almost always the flexible one in the family. She could easily connect the dots and cross the T's in any situation. She can spot any small variations in any circumstance and cook up a probable solution while others would've given up days ago. In other words, she likes solving crossword puzzles and similar things.
But then again, having the capability to see the "fine lines and draw at them" would not get you far if you don't have the right information/knowledge to help you through it.
That's when my dad's side comes in.
Dad, is more of the methodical thinker. He would analyse a situation at face value and recommend the best possible solution based on an information that he's got stored away in his memory banks. He's a voracious reader, someone who's taught me the value of continuing education and that learning only stops when you expire...
Put the two together and you have a power combination of characteristics, which hopefully, would prove to be the winning formula in the career I've chosen to thread.
Project Management is actually a perversion for technologists like me. Because it's something to do with technology, but not really. It's a whole new field of specific skills, processes and knowledge.
But having seen the power of technology first hand, I felt the next logical step is to get into managing how to make technology work for you best. It's really all about thinking of a solution, then trying to make all the different technical components work together, in a specific time frame, with a specific scope, and budget.
I believe, that given another chance to choose between whether to remain as a technologist or project management, I believe the next evolution, would definitely point to the latter, if, and only if, you are really a technologist at heart.
Feb 23, 2009
Budget et al
Budget.
Is the singular source of frustration of every person, on every household on the face of the earth.
It's amazing how this six letter word affects out daily lives, most of the time, without us knowing about it until its time to run the numbers and tally the receipts by the end of each month.
In the past, I never really put much thought into it; something which I fear would be causing me continued episodes of distress towards latter in life.
I admit that I am not one of those who really give much attention on how to effectively budget your money.
I did have a previous notion though of how to budget one's income. Which was, pay what you need to pay and hope that your making enough to actually have something left over for savings.
Often times, I find myself, putting conscious effort into budgeting that I often fall victim to what is called the "recoil effect" wherein, like in one of those countless diet fads, you try to control it, then you end up frustrated because of the slow rate of progress, so you procrastinate and end up binging, meaning you go out of your way and basically throw the calculator and spreadsheets off the window.
So how do one make the most out of the tricky business of monetary management?
Well, I don't want to disappoint you guys as I won't have fancy financial lessons like most people in the biz; but what I do have are some of the top learning points which I've painfully discovered over the years.
You can totally use them to come up with your own conclusion to help you curb the weight of your out of control spending... or hopefully, something of similar effect.
Is the singular source of frustration of every person, on every household on the face of the earth.
It's amazing how this six letter word affects out daily lives, most of the time, without us knowing about it until its time to run the numbers and tally the receipts by the end of each month.
In the past, I never really put much thought into it; something which I fear would be causing me continued episodes of distress towards latter in life.
I admit that I am not one of those who really give much attention on how to effectively budget your money.
I did have a previous notion though of how to budget one's income. Which was, pay what you need to pay and hope that your making enough to actually have something left over for savings.
Often times, I find myself, putting conscious effort into budgeting that I often fall victim to what is called the "recoil effect" wherein, like in one of those countless diet fads, you try to control it, then you end up frustrated because of the slow rate of progress, so you procrastinate and end up binging, meaning you go out of your way and basically throw the calculator and spreadsheets off the window.
So how do one make the most out of the tricky business of monetary management?
Well, I don't want to disappoint you guys as I won't have fancy financial lessons like most people in the biz; but what I do have are some of the top learning points which I've painfully discovered over the years.
You can totally use them to come up with your own conclusion to help you curb the weight of your out of control spending... or hopefully, something of similar effect.
- Budgeting should never be a singular effort. Meaning if you're a family man, or your living in with a significant other, chances are you need to get everybody on board with your plan or you better off not having one at all.
- Budgeting always looks an exciting thing to do at first but it generally turns out too frustrating as you go along.
- Creating a precise budget plan is like writing on a piece of papyrus, which, like the material, somehow finds its way, buried within the catacombs that is your desk .
- Budgeting is never an exact science, although a lot of you out there may frown at this statement, a whole bunch of you are still trying on the budget scheme that actually works for you, despite professional materials being available in the guise of self-help books, accountants, money mentors, etc...
- Resisting unwarranted spending is never easy as it sounds. Most of the time you come up with valid reasons why you "need" to buy that gadget, or that new shirt when you least expect it. Not being able to justify the ends with the means, you'd find yourself caving in more sooner than you think.
- Never start a budget plan when you don't have an exit plan. Most of the time, we forget that we need to set both short term goals and long term goals in our budgeting. This keeps focused on why we are doing it in the first place.
- Never trust your friend's budget strategy. What works for them, may not entirely work for you.
- You'd have to think through dealing with those occasional dine-out bonanza on weekends. Unfortunately. these are the one of the major causes behind the phenomenon of "pocket drain". Which means its better to limit those eat-outs or be without them entirely (unless you deliberately made reservations or funding has been allocated for it).
- People who give advises on how to effectively budget your income are they themselves on the same dilemma like yours.
- Putting your budget in constant surveillance will not guarantee that it'll be intact by the time the next mall sale is out.
I must have tried hundreds of budgeting tactics out there. None has worked so far for me. I guess at the end of it all, it'll all boils down to how determined you are to drive your budget as you plan it.
From what I learned so far, it's really not a matter of number crunching if you think about it. It's actually much to do about your psychology, coupled by your commitment to the seemingly invincible task of sticking to the plan.
Not enough sunlight?
I can't believe how much working on a graveyard shift is doing to my now, almost none existent, aura of zen.
I finally nailed down one of the root causes of my low morale.
I know that I've been made known of the fact that I'm going to be on this shift even before I've put my John Hancock on the job offer letter.
Honestly, I didn't really thought it's going to be a big deal - as I've been on a graveyard shift once before.
I'm not sure if this is going to be an issue for me in the long. I am praying though that, like the mumps I had last week... It'll all clear up soon...
I finally nailed down one of the root causes of my low morale.
I know that I've been made known of the fact that I'm going to be on this shift even before I've put my John Hancock on the job offer letter.
Honestly, I didn't really thought it's going to be a big deal - as I've been on a graveyard shift once before.
I'm not sure if this is going to be an issue for me in the long. I am praying though that, like the mumps I had last week... It'll all clear up soon...
Comfort zone, where art thou?
Have you sometimes wondered why is it that when you finally feel comfortable at something, something else goes wrong that would throw everything out of whack.
Like that time when you first got your driver's license and found that the old family wagon is too beat up for you to use. Or what about when you finally got the raise you deserve but ended up being plowed down by the amount of work that got kicked off your way. You realize that you were really better off earlier.
Somethings just never come to you on a silver platter.
For sometime now, I thought understood the dogma that people generally needed to be in some sort of dilema to keep their head in the game, sort of like, continuing ed, without the boring classroom lectures and the oogled eyed prof that looks like he's been on the education system too long.
Though this statement might be acceptable to some, it is just not that appealing to me. The idea of working your ass off to get somewhere and find that you're basically going to be working your ass some more, is not my cup of tea.
I don't know if a lot of you out there share my sentiments. Although, my closest friends would tell me that it's just me being "child-like" again. I know that things would never easy for me. I just miss that old snuggled-up-into-a-warm-blanket kind of a feeling...
Like that time when you first got your driver's license and found that the old family wagon is too beat up for you to use. Or what about when you finally got the raise you deserve but ended up being plowed down by the amount of work that got kicked off your way. You realize that you were really better off earlier.
Somethings just never come to you on a silver platter.
For sometime now, I thought understood the dogma that people generally needed to be in some sort of dilema to keep their head in the game, sort of like, continuing ed, without the boring classroom lectures and the oogled eyed prof that looks like he's been on the education system too long.
Though this statement might be acceptable to some, it is just not that appealing to me. The idea of working your ass off to get somewhere and find that you're basically going to be working your ass some more, is not my cup of tea.
I don't know if a lot of you out there share my sentiments. Although, my closest friends would tell me that it's just me being "child-like" again. I know that things would never easy for me. I just miss that old snuggled-up-into-a-warm-blanket kind of a feeling...
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