He's brave and walking sure:.

Je suis content parce que la semaine prochaine je rentrerai chez moi!. J'ai deux objectifs pour cette visite, le premier est de passer beaucoup de temps avec ma famille, particulièrement avec mon frère, mes sœurs et mes grands-parents =). Le deuxième objectif est de recueillir mon nouvel ordinateur, mon premier MBP!.

Le jour de mon arrivée sera aussi le jour d'une de le meilleurs concerts qu'il y aura cette année à Mexico, c'est à dire, Bombay Bicycle Club...même si c'est compliqué, j'aimerais y aller!!.

When the light is out,
when the words have gone,
let me be the one to try it on.

Lucky:.

A few days ago I was having dinner with some good friends, when it suddenly hit me, it's been 10 years since I finished high school!. At that time, I had to leave Texcoco to come live with my grandparents in Mexico city, so I could study at the university. It was a great change in my life, and I'll never thank enough my grandparents for their support, not only then but through all the time I've been here.

Once I finished school, they let me stayed with them during the year or so that I worked in Mexico, and when the time came for me to work abroad, they wished me luck and reminded me that I could always come back...and I did =).

Once more I'm in a similar situation, I'll be leaving home for a long time. However, there's a big difference this time, my grandparents' health is not as good as it used to be. But that's a subject for another post, today I'll enjoy my last sleep here, my second-home, and tomorrow we'll enjoy breakfast. I'll also take the opportunity to thank them again for all their valuable help, time and patience =):.

Lucky

Even if I could hear what you said:.

Ok, today I want to ramble about a simple subject that has bothered me my entire life: why should we greet women different from the way we greet men?, it's so silly!. Let me explain, here in Mexico when you greet a guy you usually shake hands, but when greeting a woman you're also supposed to fake a kiss in the cheek, well, to be honest some people, specially the old ones, actually perform the kiss...

I've never understood why we have to do this, I mean, why make distinctions?, aren't women supposed to be our equals?. Well, I do believe we are, and so I almost always greet everyone the same way: a little 'Hi' and a handshake, and if the handshake can be avoided, perfect!, to me it doesn't matter if you're a child, a man, a woman or whatever.

Of course, most women are used to the traditional convention, this sort of special treatment, and so when I don't do it, it kind of feels strange. I've seen all kinds of reactions, there are those who get offended, those who laugh, those who force the tradition, and my favorite, those who don't care. I specially like this last group, they are truly acting like equals =):.

I'll make you laugh by acting like the guy who sings,
and you'll make me smile by really getting into the swing.

I don't think straight with nothing to prove:.

It's been a while since my last post. Let's see, I just attended to an international conference in Puebla. I mainly came here because a few months ago some colleagues and I got a paper accepted in this conference, and though it was not my turn to talk about it, I thought I could be here as moral support, or something like that. This was also a great excuse to travel and visit both Puebla and Cholula. All in all, this was a great experience, I had a good time with one of my colleagues (vivan la pasita y los molotes!!) and I really enjoyed the architecture of both cities =):.

I really needed this time off, because for the last month I've done nothing but study french, and I came to a point where I felt I wasn't really learning, I was just forcing my brain. If we're to believe the HF guys, this is something really, really, bad.

Continuing with academic matters, during these months I got another paper on MDSD accepted in an international conference, held in Aguascalientes. I wrote another version of the paper based on my thesis work, and this time we'll try and submit it to a big conference in the US, let us hope it all goes as planned. To be honest, I've also started to reconsider pursuing the PhD right now. Will it really be my best option for the next 3-4 years?.

Every single night ends up the same,
I don't say much at all,
but I bring up your name.

You could leave or live with it:.

Some say life is just a little bit of history repeating, and to be honest, the more I grow old the more I think they are right. Anyway, though I've done nothing but rest for the last couple of weeks, now I should really start thinking about what I want to do for the next few years.

Well, I guess there's no rush, this cycle is not over yet =):.

I was never much of a romantic,
I could never take the intimacy.

Don't act like I never told you:.

Last Thursday I finished my master's degree =). I passed the thesis defense, and I think it went pretty good. One of the best teachers I've ever had even said mine was one of the best studies he had evaluated so far, and coming from him, it really means a lot.

Now I'll finally take sometime for myself and think about my future in the short and medium term. For instance, one of the advisors talked to me about the possibility of pursuing a PhD abroad, and it certainly sounds interesting. On the other hand, it would also be nice to be back in the industry and deal with real world software engineering. I guess I could also do both =):.

Anyway, I'm enjoying what's left of this year, hoping next one will be even better =):.

Work it harder, make it better,
do it faster, makes us stronger,
more than ever, never over,
our work is never over.

Much brighter than all this static:.

Next Saturday I'll go to one of the best concerts of the year, if not the very best, the Festival Corona Capital!!. I know it would sound so cool to say I'm going because of Interpol or Pixies, but the truth is that, even though those are great bands, I'm really looking forward to see James!!.

Let me explain my self. First, I can still remember when I was first obsessed with 'She's a star', without knowing who was singing it. Without the internet it was really difficult to find a song when all you could remember were a few words from its lyrics. My hopes were on the radio...Then one day I went to this party where I came across the 'Now That's What I Call Music! 36' album, and on the second disc I found the answer to my music quest!!

Time passed, and as it usually happens I forgot about all that. Years later I listened to the 'The Best of James' album and it really rocked my world!!. There were some excellent songs in these discs that I didn't event know were from these guys, it was an amazing discovery..

Then again, I forgot about it, but during college I rediscovered James' music, and it sounded to me as good as those days when I struggled to live through high school. It seems that every time I rediscover their music, I remember parts of my life that I thought were long forgotten =):.

Whenever she's feeling empty
Whenever she's feeling insecure
Whenever her face is frozen
Unable to fake it anymore

And I've got a coat tail left to ride:.

If everything goes as planned this semester I'll be graduating from my master's degree. To be honest, I liked the whole idea of being back at school, and having academic challenges. In some aspects, it's less demanding than being in a work environment, but the advantage is that you've got plenty of time to specialize on the things that you find particularly interesting, even if they're not business wise. Research for the joy of research!!:.

Now the question is, what's next?. As Morpheus said, everything begins with choice, and right now the options are pursuing a PhD or going back to the industry. To be honest, there's one more variable, to stay in Mexico or to look for opportunities abroad. I haven't decided anything yet, but neither did Neo till the end of the movie =):.

Although my heart's in Mexico,
my muñequita,
abre tus ojos!

Let the music play:.

Well, let's recall what happened during these weeks of rest, first of all I went on a tour to the amazing state of Chiapas!. I had never been there and I must say it really surprised me, nature is simply amazing. But to be honest it disappointed me the way tourism is managed with all this mexican-curious idea. I specially didn't like the way children are taught to beg for money, and not because they don't need it, but because you can tell there's no innocence in the act, just mechanical repetition. Or when you visit a small town and have to pay for the privilege of taking a picture. There's so much potential there, both in the people and places, and keeping them isolated just to sell them as a curiosity is not fair:.

I've also been working on my master thesis project. Though the implementation is not yet finished, it's stable enough to show and discuss it with my advisors. This week I'll be writing down the motivations and details of what I've implemented so far, to be honest, it's more fun to program than to document what you've programmed =)

Next week I'll go back to school. First class of my last semester: yoga!!:.

I need something I can turn to,
something I can count in,
day and night, on and on.

Give me freedom:.

Back in college I met this guy that claimed you could get to know someone just by looking at their code. Back then I thought this was nonsense, but with time I've come to realize he wasn't so wrong after all. You obviously can't learn everything worth knowing about someone just by the quality of their code, but you can certainly watch out for patterns that can give you a better idea of the maturity and programming level that person is in right now. You can always brag about how many design patterns you know, your popularity in dzone.com, maybe even about the TV series and movies you've watched, but the truth is that when you show your code to someone else, there's no way to hide the real programmer in you!

I'm telling all this because today I came across some code programmed by a so-called leader of the Java community in Mexico, needless to say I was really disappointed:.

You define us,
Make us feel proud.

Try, wait:.

It's no secret that being in a small town like Texcoco has its rewards. For instance, I can go for a walk every morning and breathe fresh air while looking at an amazing sight!!. I can do this because I live next to some irrigated fields where the University of Chapingo conducts agricultural research, which is pretty good for me, because they have all sorts of fruits and vegetables in there, and the truth is that nowadays it's not that easy to find places like this, where you can see where your food is coming from.

I'm telling this because I recently saw some excellent documentaries, Food Inc, and The Cove. The idea behind them is really simple, do you know where food is coming from?. Most of us don't, and what's more, we don't even care. I truly recommend you give these movies a try, as with most documentaries they are biased towards one side, nonetheless they do have some interesting information that you deserve to know:.

I'm like the only one
You tried to save when you fell out.

My ship of hopes:.

Truth be told, for the last couple of weeks I've been doing nothing but rest. I really needed it, but now it's time to go back to work, that is, start programming!!. I said in my thesis proposal that I would spent summer developing the methodology for the topic I chose, maintainability verification, and well, that's what I'll be doing for the foreseeable future!!.

I also said that I'd like to travel this summer, so next month I'll spend one week traveling across Chiapas. There are some other places in my agenda, I'm really looking forward to visit all of them!!:.

And I can't fall asleep
Without a little help.

With the lights turned on:.

Every now and then I receive emails from my school regarding academic and life guidance. To be honest, I don't usually read them, but today one of these emails got my attention because it had a link to check your current academic status. Out of curiosity I clicked on the link and instead of giving me personalized information it redirected me to the general academic regulations, needless to say I was disappointed.

Anyway, I'm telling this because I took the time to read the academic regulations, both of bachelor and postgraduate courses. It wasn't the first time I did this, back when I was studying my bachelor degree I had a little disagreement with some faculty members about some morale issues, and had to read very carefully those regulations to make sure I wasn't gonna have any serious trouble after all. Morale issues?, I know, it's not like we're living in the 18th century or something like that, but the problem is that in some aspects my schools is old-fashioned, mainly because it comes from a very conservative state here in Mexico. In the end, I didn't have any trouble, because truth be told, I did nothing wrong!!.

And I'll cross oceans,
Like never before,
So you can feel the way I feel it too.

To do each and every little thing:.

This week I started to read 'Cien años de soledad'. I know it's a classic book, and that I probably should've read it a long time ago, but it's never too late to redeem ourselves!:.

One of my hobbies has always been watching movies, and now I have plenty of free time to revisit classics and find new jewels. For instance, the other day I watched 'Wasting Away', totally amazing, one of the best zombie-movies ever!!. I truly recommend you give it a try. Today I watched 'Y tu mamá también', it just gave me more reasons to want to go to Oaxaca this summer!!:.

There's a light,
a certain kind of light,
that never shone on me.

The motion keeps my heart running:.

Today I officially finished the second semester of my master degree. Truth be told, I got very good grades, which is great, but let's remember that what I really care about is the master thesis, that's been my motivation from the very beginning!!:.

Well, now I can't wait any longer for a good rest in Texcoquito ranch!!:.

But I can't stop now,
I've got troubles of my own,
'Cause I'm short on time,

I'm lonely and I'm too tired to talk.

Oasis child born into a man:.

This weekend I was really tired, it had been long since I had such a tough week. In the end, I managed to finish projects, presentations and exams, and I even got time to go to one of the best concerts of the year: Beach House in the Lunario!!

Now it's time to get some rest, develop the system for my master's thesis, spend some quality time with my family, and last but not least travel!!. I'd like to take some eco-tourism journeys through mexican mountains, both in the south and in the north. I'm thinking, Oaxaca and Chihuahua, we'll see how it goes =):.

Don't I know you better than the rest?,
all deception, all deception from you.

If I wanted to:.

I thought I had at least two more weeks before the end of semester but today I was told that I have just one more week to go!!...I kind of freaked out because I still have plenty of things to do. Anyway, tomorrow I'll prepare the thesis proposal presentation for next Wednesday, that's what really matters to me at the moment:.

By the way, I still have a crush:.

My heart keeps breaking every morning,

my head keeps aching every night.

And you serve your time:.

I scheduled a meeting with two of my thesis advisors for next Tuesday, kind of a final presentation for my thesis proposal, wish me luck!!:.

Only three more weeks for Beach House's concert =):.

It's always good to see you again,
even if its coming to an end.

Too late to turn to turn back now:.

This week it's going to be all about the thesis proposal. I kind of left it behind last week because of the other final projects, but I'm running out of time for the next week's presentation, so I better start working!!:.

Last weekend I went with a couple of friends to have some tacos, simply amazing!!. Now that I think about it, I had tacos for dinner 3 days last week, it might not be as healthy as having some salad and stuff, but I don't mind =):.

And hold me for goodbyes-and whispered lullabyes

And tell me I am still

The man I'm supposed to be.

I'm calling it my best move:.

Well, it's been a while since my last post, but as they say, here I am!!

Let's see, I'm in the last part of the semester, so soon enough I'll have to finish and deliver final projects. Right now what concerns me the most is the theisis work, the proposal is almost done, but i should really start coding if I want something useful by the end of summer. Phrasing a colleague, r u ready?:..

Here's a final draft of my thesis proposal, any comments will be greatly appreciated: Thesis_proposal

Now, for something completely different, I'll admit I have a crush on someone...I know, I know, how could it be if I'm used to define my self as a 'cold-hearted boy'?, but I can't help it. It's interesting and weird at the same time, and I'll enjoy it for as long as I can =):...it's all platonic, and I'm not used to care, but I do now:.

This summer I want to travel, and I'm planning on doing what I did for holy week in Spain 2 years ago. Go to the bus station, take whatever bus that departs at the time, the farther the better, stay one or two days, and do it again. That was quite an experience, but the problem was that Spain is not that big, not all cities are well connected, and they don't start working till late morning!!.So, sometimes I could just travel a couple of hours in the night, and then was forced to sleep at the bus station waiting for any place to be open....the good thing is that Mexico is way bigger that Spain, cheaper and people start working early morning, so chances are I won't have to worry about walking alone in the dark waiting for some damn cafeteria to be open so I don't freeze to death!!:...=):.

And songs are never quite the answer
Just a soundtrack to a life
That is over all too soon
Helps to turn the days to night
While I was wrong and you were right.