sometimes...

sometimes i have trouble explaining things. i have the tendency to jump thoughts in my head. my train of thought sometimes travels way too fast. my opinion of things seems to change quite quickly. plus, because my train of thoughts go by at such quick speeds my opinions of things seem to change even quicker. maybe i need ridlin or focusin.

the past few days, i've been completely intimidated and overwelmed with projects and readings. it's probably one of the biggest roles i've been given and that intimidates me quite a bit. theres a lot of expectations which puts me in an automatic defensive protect-myself mode, but on the flip side of the coin i realize that i need to just do it. i know i can, it's just taking the first jump over the cliff that's a bit scary.

so how much information can you cram in?

i used to go to a school notoriously known for cramming 4 years of courses into 2. i remember studying long late nights, trying to retain information taught over a course of 3 months. i remember trying to understand concepts and constructs in a few minutes, when it was taught in hours. it was complete information overload.

these days, i've been put on a project that require a lot of reading and learning. it makes me realize that there are different ways of doing things, different ways of thinking other than what i know in my own world. it's quite the challenge because i find myself in the same situation where i'm reading late nights and i'm trying to understand concepts so i can use them with relative competence in the next few months. i can't help but wonder when my breaking point is going to be. with school readings, homeworks and presentations to work's readings and coding. where is a person's breaking point?

last night was a good awesome great night.

i had my first (in a long time) doctor's checkup. i started re-started my tennis training regiment and went to the gym. i was able to help out a longtime family friend being tech support. i got to hang out with old friends hanging out drinking coffees, talking about work and being yuppie. when i got home, i got a long awaited phone call and got excited about the weekend.

it's been a while since i had such a full schedule. i went to bed feeling very content and happy.

snowboarding?!

i went to a snowboard swap meet on saturday, played ssx tricky and watched warren miller's storm. after, i looked up in the mountains hoping that it would be covered in white glorious snow. what did i see? brown and green. when is boarding season going to get here?!

my season's pass is waiting patiently on my desk.

alright, its official. i'm taking a few days off...

i'm taking a few days off from the rest of the world to accomplish somethings. i'm going to finish reading the 15 manuals at work. i'm going to finish my homework and presentation for saturday. i'm going to clean my house for the up and coming dreamcast party. plus, i'm going to volunteer on sunday. all while i try to finish kingdom hearts.

is there a way to freeze the world so i can get these things done?

pet peeve # 250989: people who pick up industry buzzwords and use them incessantly.

not that theres anything wrong with using buzzwords. the challenge is using them when it's appropriate. i know i might come off as slagging a few people out there but i need to get this off my chest. it's worse of when people start using them and don't even know what they mean. personally, i can't in good conscience do this to people. (1) i come off looking like an idiot and (2) it just wouldn't flow for me and therefore make me look more like an idiot.

me: you know the.. uum... thingamajig.
person on the phone: huh? what thingamajig
me: that box that sits on the dmz of the a-to-z and processes the critical paths ... err... business rules ... right?
potp: huh?
me: let me cycle back to you on that one.
potp: cycling? like mountain biking? i love mountain biking, but what about the server problems?
...

see people it's not pretty, so don't use buzzwords. especially, when you don't even know what they are. actually, it would also help if the other person knew what they are too.

for the next two months...

i'm being put on a project for work that requires me to do about 3000 pages of reading and system implementation. on top of that, school work is still there. on top of that, boogienet is obviously still there. it's fun being busy, but it sucks that this website is always the first one to get chopped off the priorities list.

i'm still blogging tho. this time about work, and on a different website. how did this come about? well sorta like this...

dave: maybe we should create an audit trail. so we can see what approach you took, and if they come back and say that the.... [insert more tech talk here] .... so yea, kinda like a log.
me: *snaps back into reality* you mean like a weblog?
dave: well, more of a log. you can just keep track of it using a pen and pad.
me: ... like blogger?
dave: well, it doesn't have to be that complicated.
me: ... like movable type?
dave: uumm, that might be overkill, maybe you can even use outlook notes.
me: ... like greymatter?
dave: *shakes head* ugh... do what you want!

i love my co-workers. they let me post exaggerated stories about them on my website.

the first glance.

i've been hesitant to show my place to the web for a few reasons: (1) i used to have very pink walls, (2) i never had anything that was asthetically pleasing to show and (3) i never had furniture to show.

today, i went shopping with gerard. we went to ikea, land of cubic furniture, cheap hotdogs and meatballs.. i bought a nice candle center piece for my living room table. i'm quite proud of it. notice how it matches the area rug. notice how it matches my living room blanket and pillow. hats off to women who can color coordinate furniture without even thinking. hats off indeed.

hours of fun....

not that i've just spent the past 5 minutes googlefighting or anything. it's a good break from figuring out portal information architechtures. so what have i pitted against each other? well... see for yourself.

• girlfriend vs mistress
• ritchie vs potato salad
• microsoft vs linux
• george foreman vs ron popeil
• pepsi vs coke

wanna go? lets go!

projects....

ever had the feeling that you might be underqualified for the job you're doing? programming and web development comes so naturally to me. i can almost picture code in my head when a client is explaining a project to me. i can see every single detail in my head, what parameters to pass which function and how to organize the classes and which function should get called where. it just comes easily.

information architechture isn't my thing, that's for sure. i've been staring at categories and qualifiers for the past hour and a half, trying to figure out how things are organized. obviously, i'm getting no where. it could possibly be the fact that i'm at work on a saturday.

the ritchie time-management system in a nutshell.

• use the $800.00 organizer for a paperweight, better yet leave it at home.
• write everything on a post-it note, when a post-it note isn't available. write it on a notepad
• always carry a pen, and not a pencil
• when said notepad or post-it note isn't available use previously mentioned pen to write reminders on your hand
• outlook calendar? todo list? notes? what are those?
• stare at your computer screen blankly while you try and figure out what promises you made in the last meeting you attended
• write as many perl, asp, vb scripts that do all your tasks to spend more time doing the previous point

yes folks, following my time-management system has been refined over the years of schooling. i hope that all those who adopt it are as happy with it as i am. god! i need a palm organizer.

i can't complain.

life is good lately. *knock on wood* it was recently thanksgiving up here in canada. i sat there with my mom on thanksgiving dinner and she asked me, "so what do you have to be thankful for?" i kinda stared at the 2 lbs turkey, the ham, the gravy, the rice and stuffing while i thought about my answer.

the truth is, i have so much to be thankful for. i have a place to live, a roof over my head, family, friends, food and a job. i'm sure everyone has something to be thankful for, even just the little things that usually are overlooked.

where have i been?

it's a little known fact that i've disappeared into the far unknown reaches of the internet. i'm not even sure if anyone noticed that i was gone. but where have i been? that is the question that might be plaguing minds everywhere.

in all honesty, i really haven't been doing much besides working, cleaning, cooking, gardening, sleeping, shopping, talking and just basically enjoying my solitude. it's a great break from the internet.

passing away...

my grandmother passed away a few days ago. my dad is currently on the plane back to the philippines as we speak. i'm a bit taken back about the whole thing. it makes you realize the mortality of the people around you. i never know how to deal with death in the family.

a few years ago my grandfather passed away. i remember attending the funeral. i remember not crying while everyone around me shed a tear. i remember being scared. i remember thinking how much i loved my parents and how i couldn't live without them in my life. i remember being empty.

remember boys and girls. hug someone you love and let them know how much you care for them.

have you ever had....

the feeling that you missed out? have you ever had the feeling that it was too late? have you ever thought about the people that you let slip by you? have you ever felt guilty for not putting effort in a relationship until you've lost it? did you even realize that there was a relationship there?

have you ever sank in your chair and stared at the walls unable to think? have you had the task to break bad news to the one you love?

and more friday fun...

this is too precious not to put on the blog. i'm at a loss for words but i'll just leave the peanut throwing the regular peanut gallery. <link via="benjie">

surreal...sick!

last night in the process of my procrastination, i turned on the television and tuned it to the movie central station. the channel where cheap syndicated movies run without the interruption of the regular kraft dinner commercials. usually, i just turn it on for some background noise while i work but last night, it had a movie i've never seen before: coyote ugly.

did the main character have a strange resemblance to the olsen twins? or was it just me? that completely ruined the whole movie for me. why? women in leather outfits, serving alcohol in the bar, dancing like borderline strippers and doing funky bottle tossing does not mix well with the image of mary kate and ashely olsen. it was like watching a sick car accident that you couldn't turn away from.

err... huh?

does anyone knows what this says:

Ja, ik weet dat er meer van dit soort diensten zijn, maar ik vind deze handig. Bij the box kun je makkelijk en snel je eigen bookmarks kwijt. Dus wat ik thuis tegenkom en op mijn werk verder wil bekijken (of andersom) hoef ik niet meer te mailen, maar kan ik gewoon hier kwijt.

makkelijk toch?

err... right. anyone?

nerd is evil!

for the past 24 hours, i've had my headphones on: at work, at home, in the gym and even while driving in the cd player of my car. people might think i'm listening to my usual music (ie, hiphop, r&b and a little alternative).

but i'm not.

damn you neptunes/nerd for making catchy beats to pop-ish songs. now i'm banished listening to music within the confines of my headphones. damn that new justin timberlake song. damn britney spear's boys (i wonder if the next britney's dance beat will have it, yes i do have the game). damn it, it's even getting hot in here hrrre herrrre...somewhere! damn it all to hell! i can't stop boppin' my head!

ironic...

i think it's ironic that today's dictionary.com's word of the day is: parsimonious. that is all, carry on.