This is quite unbelievable for me to spend the last three months without even blogging and needless to say, I just wondered as to how I am not doing it anymore. And right at this very moment still haven't got any speck of clues. Well just read on because I'm going to detail what has happened to me for the last three months....
While doing this blog, I'm listening "Confession", a song from Josh Groban. I guess his songs make me feel to just tap on the keyboard and make me capture the past months which have been so tough. Well I'm not going to sell anything but this is how i see or feel .
Anyway as to the content of my last write up if you were able to read things in between lines, yes I am now working in a new company. It's in I.T Park I2 Building, Lahug Cebu City. The job is really new to me since I wasn't really a Java programmer not until recently or I mean last December of 2006 I get to relinquish some of Java stuffs which I learned way back in college. Well this is going off course if i will have to detail what happened last year right? So let me continue. I got in this new company with really great hopes not just professionally but as well as some personal aspects. I honestly did not know or any slight idea what I am going to gain or will it be a gain if so....
I was introduced to the company and some of its employees together with some of the engineers who were then also newbies during that Monday of April 23, 2007. Well we were so excited and so refreshed. Most of the people who were already at Exist were actually from NEC and some from Pejman. Olga was with NEC for almost 3 years so she kind of knew some of them at least by their names and others by familiarity of face. The adjustment wasn't that hard since the environment was welcoming, too. The first week I had with Exist was that I shared a laptop with Olga since there were no available ones for me to use. I shared with her for about a week up until the dell d520's came and were distributed to the newbies on the Friday of that week.
The laptop was a little puzzling at first. I did not know then how to navigate basically how to click and double click without an external mouse. It was a little scary for me at first but got used to it after a day. I can still remember that the first thing I did with the laptop was to install "Ubuntu" on it but had problems on my wireless connection. It was a little frustrating since without my wifi working, I can not obviously connect to the network but luckily our IT guy helped me with it. The first program I installed then was Yahoo Messenger then Thunderbird and IRC X-chat. The next week was a little bit confusing since I personally did not know what to do. I just studied and reviewed lots of Java stuffs like design patterns, OOP concepts, Swing, Struts and others. I think I forgot to mention that we ate at E-diner. Yes you heard it right. We ate there almost always during our lunch breaks. We also spend our afternoon break at Convenience store mainly eating something good for us to give like 30 minutes of break and talks; purely discussing anything what has happened during that day. Well most of the topics were sensitive and personal and I can not share it here since they involved really private individuals. They are not celebrities or some royalties though but they deserve privacy. Going back, I was assigned to a project called Kepler. I got deployed to the project after almost three weeks of not doing anything that valuable but I gained something though. The project I'm in is so new to me. It is so big that the universe seems to be just a dot as I see it. Well a part of it is the module that we are currently working is a plugin in Eclipse. For some information, Eclipse is an IDE where you can do almost anything you can in computer programming and Java is the main act. Well I was studying Eclipse plugin development at the same time trying to understand what the project is. The pressure was really there and it's getting into my nerves. I feel that my future depends on how well I do in this project. But all I know is I have to make this work. Olga and Pyao did not have any project so they did not have any clues as to how I really felt but then their support was really great. Anyhow, the weeks passed by and I began learning how to do some of the plugin stuffs. I learned some of its ins and outs. My teammate then gave me some tasks. Although I admittedly was having difficulty at first, but I mananged to at least finish and understood what it was. From him I learned some SVN stuffs in DOS.
At Exist we get to work 48 hours a week, we get to spend most of the time at the office mainly doing various stuffs. If I feel so sleepy, I try to watch some videos over youtube then after that get back to work. Of course I cannot deny the chat sessions going on using YM. Because of Pyao I learned to play DOTA too. Pretty much entertaining as I was new to it. In fact I downloaded the game from Pyao's LP and almost always play DOTA at home if I dont have anything to do. Chat sessions, Youtube and DOTA awakens the nerves you see? I hope Exist wont ban these amusements.
Going back to work, I forgot to mention that in this project I'm with, we were only three; me , my teammate in Cebu and one in the US who is our project lead. We report to him as to what we were doing basically what we have been busy about. Me as the new guy don't really know how to give a good answer. My most common response would be studying the code and understanding the project. This ran on for a week. Then they assigned me some tasks like changing doing updates in our update site where we post a specific release. I usually get most of the instructions from my teammate. I'm lucky enough that I can recall most of the things he was instructing to me. I mean I'm lucky to memorize things quickly thanks to the genes. If it were not then I may have been kicked off. Well most of the tasked I was in during the first weeks were basically updating the site and stuffs like running some svn checkout.
I think its the third week when our CEO came to exist for the company blessing. The company president and the big names of the company who were based in Manila also came. The blessing took and there was a great party at I2's roof deck. The scene was enchanting as you get to see the city on top of the building though it was a little humid. The food was great and the wine was a little strong but i like it. Loved the lechon, some beef and pork thing. The desserts were good. To wrap it all, it was a hearty dinner. The weekend came and the CEO invited some employees to go to Bohol and so I jumped in. It's my fourth time I think to be going to Bohol. I thought it will be a good experience so I just joined and it's for free. We departed from Cebu on board an ocean jet, a fast craft i think on a Saturday. We arrived in Tagbilaran almost luch and we were fetched at the Port and headed off to our destination at Alona in Panglao. We had some minutes of rest and had a good lunch after. I changed my clothes as the plan for that day was to go snorkeling at Balicasag. So that was like 2PM when we rode a pump boat. It took like 45 minutes to reach the place. Balicasag is actually a huge coral Island. We brought bread with us and got our gears. The fishes were great though most of them were not recognizable but their site and the corals themselves were delightful. It was a different world as I see it and way peaceful. Well the only disturbance would be us trying to chase some school of fishes. Oh by the way, its not that Im so stupid about sea creatures well I saw a clown fish; just remember nemo. I saw some giant slugs like they were black and their edges look like ruffles. I guess they were about 6-8 inches long. Really interesting seabed crawlers. I have seen some starfishes which comes in orage and blue. I have seen some coral fishes too. There were some brain corals and spiny ones. God what a blessing these resources are as I recall them. Well we had almost an hour and a half of fun snorkeling then we headed to the resort of our CEO. Well the place was not that developed yet but the and and sea was obviously beautiful and by the way it's right beside Bohol Beach Club. While waiting for our dinner, we just sat along the beach pavement which was cemented and had some chit-chat while others enjoyed swimming and playing. Dinner was ready and the soup prepared was excellent. The seafood were really fresh and they were very delicious. After dinner we went back to the resort where we checked in. I took a bath and changed then watch a cable show. Then sir Jerry knocked and told us that we are going out for a night and so we did. We went to this disco bar at Tagbilaran. It was entertaining. We drank tequila and also danced. That night was good but i felt a little groggy. When we came back to the resort that was like really late already, I just dropped on bed and really slept hard. On the next day, we had breakfast and after that we set off for Cebu. Though that was a fast paced experience, I enjoyed most of time though and thanks to Exist.
This is work again you bet! Well I'm having programming tasks already after the fun in Bohol and most of the time they were clueless. I have finished most of them but I'm not pretty sure if they were the best solutions. I just knew that I'm getting there. I still have lunch almost always at ediner and goes for an afternoon break at the convenience store which I now named the inconvenient store mainly because of their over priced goods.
(This is to be continued, I just needed sleep. Hehehehe. Yeah its kind of late already!)
Let me continue then... it's about 10:59 in the moring of July 23, 2007. This is still part of recalling the events which took place in last three months.
The next week came where i was given a task to copy build information from the IDE to some writing application like notepad or word.... I finished it in a day but prior to that I did not have any idea how to start it. I had to do some research over the net and ask Olga about stuffs. Well she gave me the idea of using the clipboard. From there I was able to finish the task. Thanks to her the Clipboard API in java was the answer.
On the weekend, yanna sent an MMS that we are going to kawasan. I got so excited about it because I havent been to the place. Even if I was on a tight budget I was not going to allow to say no. So I did went with Yanna, Olga, Ron, Jess and Opaw to kawasan. We met at CitiLink bus terminal but we actually rode a van. We came to the place almost lunch time. We were planning to rent a place at Aplaya if I'm not mistaken that should be name of the place, but then the resort is already fully booked so a guy accompanied us to Kawasan Falls because there were actually available rooms for rent. We decided to trek going to the second station of the falls. Before reaching the first station we saw a woman selling bebingka so we ordered one for ourselves and ronan paid the bills. Thanks to him! Anyway we came to station one and the place was crowded but the falls is really beautiful. We were so sweaty since the trek was a little rough for us city people. We ascend a little bit since second station is a little over on top. We came to the second station a little hungry and tired and really sweaty.... We got a room and unpacked our things. We then ordered something to eat. After we had our lunch, we decided to go to station one, the source of the water falls. It was another trek and again the place is rough and slippery. Some parts were treacherous and slippery but it was fun. We came to the source after 15-20 minutes of walking and climbing. The place was beautiful. We swam and bathed and had fun. Thanks for Opaw's tripod we enjoyed the pictorials. Almost everyone had there digital cameras so capturing every moment of fun and excitement was not a problem at all. After we satisfied ourselves, we decided to go back to our place at station two. We were so tired when we arrived there. Some of us just enjoyed the view and others just couldn't help but went to bed but not sleep though. It was getting a little dark so we decided to have the uncooked rice be prepared by the room keepers and we paid I think 20 pesos for that. We brought two kilos of marinated pork so we barbecued it. Opaw could not get a good signal so they went out to get a good one and Opaw also bought some ice for the drink on that evening. After we have readied the food we ate until we filled our stomach with gusto. After the meal we sort decided to take a dip on the opposite side of the falls where there was a raft. The water was really freezing then. After that, we got another bath and changed clothes. Opaw then readied drinks - lime and gin. Cracklings tasted great with the drink. It wasnot that plentiful but it sent me groggy to bed. Opaw just saved everyone since he was the best drinker ever in the group. Along the session of course there were some fun talks. And just a hint, Ron told us his biography.... Well we woke up around 8AM and it was a Monday. The place was not that crowded but people were beginning to camp. Yanna got up and ordered food for us. Instead of waiting for the food for breakfast and doing nothing, we decided to have a good morning swim. Yep the water was really cold, though was not freezing but it felt like it was. Before we started the swim we again took some pictures. It wont spell fun without it. After the swimming stuff at station we got out of from the water and prepared for breakfast. The food was really good. It was the tastiest "pork sinigang" I had. It was really a good breakfast. Ron decided to went ahead of us to the city after the meal. And yeah we did took our lazy time in our room while preparing on returning to the city. After I took another bath I got a nap.... When everyone was finished, we decided to trek headed for the main road. Along the trek we never missed to capture some fun moments. If you don't mind you can check out my photos in this site. Just go to my profile. We road a bus and stopped at Jolibee Carcar to eat. We bought some chicaron and then rode a jeepney bus heading to the city. It was so tiring and really draining because the ride was really bad and if ever I had another chance I won't be riding that jeepney bus or any jeepney bus for that matter ever again. Well after the ride we hired a taxi - Yanna, Olga and I. Olga and I had to be super fast since we had a schedule that day to play badminton with the Exist peers. So I sent an MMS to JM that we will be late for some minutes. When I reached home, I just packed my things and went to the main road. Olga was with a taxi already so she just fetched me and we headed to racket zone at Montebello. We played badminton until 9PM. It was a good and tiring game though. After the game, Olga and I went to Chowking and ordered spicy noodles. After we finished the food we went home. I arrived home really exhausted. I just washed my self, changed and then went to bed.
God that was a really great experience. I was so exhausted but I did have fun.
The next week came and I was tasked to do some documentation. I was assigned to four features to do a Specification design. It was so confusing since we did not have any base document to follow. I was lucky to work at NEC for some months so I was able to recall what's a design specification but still confused because what we did at NEC were basic and detailed designs. So I decided to just make a basic design of the four features. Lucky enough when I submitted my work to my project manager he appreciated what I came up with. I was the one who merged the documentation and I was able to finish it on time and that was a Friday.
The next week, our team lead who is based in the US asked me as to what I was doing. Of course I cannot say that I am busy and really that busy so I told him that I was reviewing the codes and studying it. Then he asked me to choose a feature to solve so I chose one. At first the feature I was trying to code looked really difficult. I did not know what to do with it. And so I tried to investigate and then tried to redo the classes being set for me to use. After a day or two of coding I was able to finish it.
Well the coming week is going to be busy then because our France, Australia and US counterparts are going to come over to our Cebu office. That's right. It was a Monday, July 17, 2007. Devzuz engineers from other parts of the globe came to Cebu and had a luncheon at Abuhan Tres. I had already my lunch at Ediner and after there I received an MMS from JM that I we will be meeting at Abuhan Tres for a luncheon. Well I came to the place just on time and after some minutes of waiting, Devzuz peers came. The lunch was ready after some few minutes. The food was great and I only ate less. Just trying to taste a little of everything as I already took mine at Ediner. After lunch, we went to I2's 8th floor where our office is located. Before the presentations of the day began, we introduced ourselves to each and everyone - talking some personal information. After which, the discussions of devzuz project took place. After all the discussions conducted by our CTO, a dinner was reserved at Marriott Hotel poolside. Well I kind of had a cough and colds then but I had to go since the event was really special. I just brought my medicine with me so I won't have a miss. The food at the hotel was great and the music though average was still entertaining. I ate some potato, a quarter cup of rice, sole fish and pork. I also got myself a plate of caesar salad and pineapple juice. I finished the meal with so much satisfaction akin to a heavenly delight. Well there was still salad inside the hotel so some of us went there and got ourselves more desserts. I ate and ate until i was full. The night was great. A sumptuous meal it was then. The executives and other employees were invited at the Loft for an after night party but then I need to take a rest because of my colds. So I decided to go home earlier than the others. On the next day, it was a presentation on Archiva one of the projects of Devzuz. It was really a long discussion. After the sponsored lunch, the discussion went on until 5PM. The company decided to have dinner at Golden Cowrie. I did not join them because I felt a little chill from the inside. So I was not able to dine out with the company. The next day, the discussion was focused on NMaven if I was not mistaken as well as Q4 Eclipse. Discussion went on until 5PM. The company decided to hold dinner at Krua Thai BTC. Since I was absent from yesterday's dinner, I decided to join. We dined at Krua Thai. Though the food was great, I was not able to to have a taste on most of them because they were crustacean seafood. On the table was the CEO of Devzuz. Ms. Mayka kind of did had a talk with the CEO but then we were a little obliged to interact because the CEO was also asking us things. We talk of different places and peoples as well as languages and a little of work related topics. There was a point where I don't know what topic to talk about as well as Ms. Maykah so we sort off hand signing whose to talk. But things went fine since Ms Maykah was a well traveled person. She was able to save the night. After a nice dinner at Krua, the group went to Formo for some sip. I only drank a glass of mojito and that was it. After some talks, Jevica and I went back to the office and after that I went home. The next day was a Thursday. the discussion revolve around the products of Devzuz used by some big companies, the future of Kepler project which I am a member and the Portofino project. These topics brushed off the day. I was not able to join their dinner because I was with my friends playing badminton at Patt's. So that was how the day adjourned. On Friday, it was kind of exciting since it was the last day. It was when projects' futures sort of road maps were discussed. After the long discussion it ended up at around 4PM. Some of the Manila based Exist employees went to Tabo-an, al local market, to buy some pasalubong. Some foreign counterparts also went with them which when they came to the office, they smelled like dried fishes. I really did not have a plan then of going somewhere but then Ms. Nene told me that I have to be there so I just jumped on board and went with them. We went to Waterfront first then proceeded to Hola Espanol and Guissipe an Italian resto. I decided to go to Hola even if I was kind of hesitant because I'm not really into Spanish food. Well I was already there. I tasted a slice of lengua, sole fish and paella. I had wine, too. Since it was not a sweet one, I ordered a coke in can. My tummy was already full. But then our project lead ordered creama de ruxo. So we had a shot. It was not that strong and it tasted sweet. It's similar to baileys. After the meal we headed to Waterfront again and had a drink. I got myself a san miguel light which was what others had for that night. We had some talks of about anything. After the drink, we went down of Waterfront hotel which I am not familiar with and there we had a karaoke session. It was fun singing like three songs. Devzuz CEO was a good singer, that I and others discovered. The night went so late and at around 2AM of Saturday, the group decided to call it a day. So that was it. I came home late and just wash my face and went to bed. I woke up a little late like it was already 9AM. I hurried to take a bath and then headed to the office. I need to get my laptop since I was not bringing it with me the other day. After the office I went to SM together with Diane to get my Harry Potter 7 book but Diane actually went to Ayala, it's just that we had the same jeepney for commuting. It was already 1:30 PM and still haven't got my lunch. So I went to KFC and ordered for take out a pack of fries and a caesar salad. Gosh I think I'm liking caesar salad so much. I went home with my laptap, my Harry Potter book and my KFC meal. At home I ate immediately and tried to sort out things to do. The only thing I'm sure about was I am really very tired. So I went to sleep. I slept for about three hours. When I woke up, I was really hungry so got a tuna in oil and prepared for dinner. Really a simple meal compared to the previous dinners I had. After that good meal, I opened my PC and check my emails, read them, logged in to friendster and linked in. After an hour of surfing I turned off my PC and began to read HP. The book was really different from the pirated pdf copies I had. Lucky enough I sensed something fishy, something not-so-J.K.Rowling of the pdf HP7 I was reading then. Well the book is the finale and yes it's a masterpiece. I did not finish it even if I knew I can because I wanted to read it carefully to every detail as I could. I slept at around 1AM. Then Sunday came. I took a bath and had my breakfast at around 10AM. I felt still tired so I just watched cartoons. HP7 was just on my book stand calling me but I dared not open it. Though the urge was there but I did not allow myself to read the book. I slept again and when I woke up, I had my lunch which was late already. After that, I was not able to resist the temptation, so I got the book and read where I left. I finished lots of chapters and stopped when dinner was ready. After dinner I continued to read the book and stopped at around 11PM. It was getting late and I still have to work on the next day. But before going to bed, I decided to blog something. And this is the blog that I am publishing right now. Well officially today, July 23, 2007 is the exact 3rd month of my existence in Exist! I am fully aware that today is my judgement day but then it never happened. Just waiting for the updates. Anyway, I'm still gonna blog something. Something special to me and some of my Exist friends. For now, I need to sign out and go home....
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