How I Got Into Tech

I cannot really claim that I'm a "techie" person. I can get around stuff mostly because of curiosity. When I get stuck I get help. I didn't really plan to get in the tech industry. My path just naturally led to it. 

This looks a lot like the computer I inherited from my Kuya.

I was 10 years old the first time I got my hands on a computer. My Kuya enrolled me in logo programming summer class. Kuya also took the pains to teach me how to use a computer. Eventually I inherited his old computer. It was fascinating too for me. I used it mostly as a tool for writing, designing posters and publishing*.

When Mom got into exporting I discovered Dreamweaver. From my publishing skills I learned how to create a website. Then I played around with promoting the website on the web. What got me really fascinated about how the web would work for businesses was a class I took when I was taking my MBA.

My professor had us read Tim Berners-Lee book "Weaving the Web: The Original Design and Ultimate Destiny of the World Wide Web". 

I was excited to use all my learnings. My destiny was reset when I botched an interview at a premium furniture company. My dream then was to become a product manager. I overprepared for my next interview which was at a startup**. I got the job and that's how I got into tech. I just realized it's been 20 years since I went on this journey. 

I'm on sabbatical now that's why I've been thinking about where it all started. I think it's important to look back as you plan for your future. I've been spending some of my time uploading old photos. It's been a good way for me to remember where I've been. I hope it will help me determine where I want to be. 

*I was part of our university literary folio and newspaper.

**They weren't called startups back then.

CB///Yr2/6  #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/33 #StayHome #BeKind  

Re-aligning 2020 Plans

So we've been basically stuck at home the past few weeks for a number of things. I originally planned 2020 to be a year to explore new things. I wanted to travel more, enroll in a cooking class and generally be more active.

I guess this year is going to be a different kind of normal for all of us. When SARS hit almost two decades ago we were not as scared as we are today. Well I was in Manila back then and I did survive SARS, but I didn't feel scared as I am today. It was just another illness to get over back then and things went back to normal.

We're going to be stuck at home for now and I've been thinking about things to do at home. Oh but I really wanted to do more outdoor stuff this year since I was already stuck at home the last two years since I had PE. The PT has been helping me a lot become more active so this situation really sucks.

Anyway, the best thing to do now is accept the situation and be flexible. Here's a shortlist of things I can do at home outside my home-work-home existence.

(1) Watch Netflix - I think I'm doing too much of this since I've been generally unproductive at home haha.

(2) Read - I have quite a lot of books that need to be read.

(3) Quilt - I haven't sewn since I finished that huge blanket I gave as a wedding gift. My projects are wanting to be finished.

(4) Happy Thoughts project - I started working on it, but probably need to give myself a deadline to get me going.

(5) Blog - I've been blogging now for more than 40 days! I wanted to do more vlogs, but since we can't really go out I need to re-work that plan.

I could still go out, but Sweetie and Miggy are worried I'll pick up the virus somewhere so they want to make sure I'm safe. My friend today sent a message that there was a suspected case near the office. I've been home the last two days because of slight fever. They've been checking the temp of people coming in to our building so I thought it would be better for me to stay home and rest.

What about you? What adjustments did you have to make because of the current situation?

Thinking About Going to the Beach

It was raining so hard today. Decided to just chill at home and work on my wellness bingo card. I hope to have time to go to the beach this quarter! 

Organized Chaos

My desk is cluttered.

My room is even a bigger clutter of things.

But I'd like to believe it's organized chaos.

I can just imagine my Mom rolling her eyes at me whenever I try to justify the mess that was my room. I never changed. If you look at our room you'd know instantly which side is Jay's and which side is mine. Mind you I do know where most of my things are. As I said, organized chaos.

I'd like to believe though that I am a much better organizer when it comes to immaterial things like organizing events, working on projects and well being a program manager. Honestly I used to be very forgetful and I got scolded a lot for leaving my school ID at home. In our school the guard won't let you in if you don't have your ID. I usually realize that I don't have my ID in the schoolbus so I normally get off the bus, go to the bakery to call home and they'd bring my ID to the bakery. My Mom stressed a lot of times that I should always be prepared. As the girl scout motto goes, "Laging handa!"

The scolding worked on me. I also saw how my Mom always prepared for church projects. I was always hanging around the elders when they were planning to build the church in our neighborhood. It was a big audacious project. They had to raise funds to build the big church and I was always in tow during meetings (I was the "pet" and I still am until today haha).

That's why I've made the 5Ps my mantra -- "Proper planning prevents poor performance!" I read this from a tweet so I don't really know who coined it, but I've been following this both for work and life in general. I know it drives my family crazy, but I have to manage my stress levels (bad for the heart!).

One of the things I'm trying to teach bagets is project management. He's more like his Lolo so it's been a huge challenge. Here's what I usually tell him.

1. Define your goal/target.
2. Meet your deadlines by creating a step-by-step list how to get there.
3. Define the completion timeline.
4. Give yourself a treat everytime you complete something. (I spoil myself LOL, but I have not been able to buy myself red shoes because another team is holding up my timelines!).
5. When something goes wrong, iterate fast and repeat from #1.

And my mantra for organizing materials things? Organize stuff by theme and please don't mess it up by re-organizing because I won't be able to find anything.

Remember. 5Ps.