Found yourself in a new direction:.

Some years ago I saw a particularly interesting story in the What the #$*! Do We (K)now!? film. It was about how native americans were not able to see Columbus' ships, when he first arrived to the new world. They couldn't see them, or maybe they did but decided to ignore them anyway, because those ships were very different to anything they knew. 

For them, a floating device should be similar to a canoe, and nothing else. The problem was that those new things were definitely not shaped as canoes. Of course, eventually they recognized Columbus' ships and their true function, but the morale of the story is that, most of the time, "we only see what we believe is possible, we tend to match patterns that already exist within ourselves". 

I'm telling this story because a similar situation happened to me these last weeks. I prepared an initial proposal for a combination of ideas that could be interesting for my current work, and I decided to present them to people working in two different domains. The responses I got from each group were totally (totally!) different. It's not that one of these groups is necessarily right or wrong, it just proves that the way you look at things depends a lot on your previous experience and knowledge, your existing patterns. Like I've said in previous posts, it's difficult to see things with a different perspective, but we should never stop trying!.

Anyway, in the following weeks I'll have the opportunity to discuss these ideas both with like-minded colleagues and with people with a much more different perspective than mine, we'll see how it goes  =):.

And in between,
it’s never as it seems.

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

While my blood's still flowing:.

Ok, today I want to ramble about the subject that has been on my mind for the last months: the French language.

Before I started studying it, like many people, I had a biased opinion towards the language. I thought it would be very difficult to use, due to its guttural nature, it's writing also seemed daunting, and most of all, the speed at which french people seem to speak is shocking. But as many things in life, if you try to understand something from its very basics, you eventually realize it all makes sense.

I've been studying with an approach that doesn't rely on teaching you grammar rules, instead, you infer them from small conversations and guided exercises. It's all based on the way children learn, and it's great. It's no secret that in order for this, or any other, approach to be effective, you really need to put effort and time. But unlike children, we also have another tool at our disposal: abstraction!.

From the very beginning, you start recognizing similarities with other romance languages. I had previously studied Spanish, English and Catalan, so many things in French already seemed familiar. As you progress, you also recognize patterns in the way things are pronounced and written, and you understand it's not as chaotic as you thought it would be. You start using it and you like the way you sound, obviously not like a french native, but strange and interesting =).

So far my strategy has been focused on learning enough grammar and vocabulary by my self, but now I'll pass to the next level, practice the language and challenge myself with other people. I know this is the only way to master anything in life.

In brief, after 5-6 months of studying French, I can tell you it's a great language, daunting at first, but always interesting. I never thought I would stop almost all of my activities just to learn a new language, but I don't regret it =):.

My regrets are few,
if my life is mine,
what shouldn't I do?

Pick me up and turn me round:.

Last week I received excellent news, the opportunity of studying a PhD abroad is getting closer =).

To be honest, I have mixed feelings. First, I'm not yet fluent in the French language, and that could be a serious problem. Then, there's the thesis' topic, cloud computing. It's not my area of expertise, but I have to admit it's one of the most relevant topics nowadays, so chances are there are a lot of areas of improvement there, which ultimately means I'll have the opportunity to deal with many interesting things.

That's my real motivation, I just like to deal with interesting things =). I'll need time to catch up, but I'll have enough time and proper guidance, let us hope I'm up for the challenge!!

I love the passing of time,
never for money,
always for love.

Non, rien de rien:.

Cela fait trois ans que j'ai décidé d'écrire toujours en anglais, mais maintenant je dois changer de langue parce que je veux étudier en France et j'ai besoin de pratiquer le français. Bien que mon niveau n'est pas bon, je pense que je peux améliorer avec assez de pratique.

C'est intéressant que les raisons pour changer de langue sont très similaires. Il y a trois ans, j'ai cherchais une occasion pour étudier une maîtrise, et maintenant que je l'ai fini, j'ai des plans pour un doctorat. L'éducation est encore important dans ma vie =):.

Non, je ne regrette rien,
Ni le bien qu'on m'a fait, ni le mal
Tout ça m'est bien égal.

Quiero verte yo:.

I've made my mind, this will be my last month of rest!. 

I've spent the last three months learning French, and though it's been interesting, now I need another motivation in my life. Historically, the only thing that has really mattered to me, besides my family, is programming, so that would be the natural choice. The plan of studying a PhD abroad is also open, but I hate just staying still, waiting for things to happen. I've already started looking for some positions in the industry, we'll see how that goes. 

I'm in no rush, I value my time =):.

No importa lo que digas,
no importa lo que vea,
yo creeré en mi sueño!

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.

No tratemos de correr antes de andar:.

I've always had a passion for languages, it's amazing how they shape your thoughts and, to some extent, who you think you are. Right now there's a possibility I'll go study abroad, specifically to a french speaking country, which is why I've been studying French on my spare time for the last couple of weeks.

I'm using the Rosetta Stone approach, and if you haven't heard of it before, let me tell you it's great!!. They try and teach you not by translating words or sentences from your native language, but by letting you associate images, colors and sounds to concepts, just the way you learned your first language =). It's an interesting approach, if you ever find yourself trying to learn a new language, I would recommend you give this software a shot!!:.

Esta noche estamos vivos,
sólo este momento es realidad.

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.

For reasons unknown:.

The year is coming to an end, which is great because it also means I'm about to finish my master's degree. To be honest, I enjoyed most of this year and a half at school, though there are many things I'd change. Anyway, I think this is an excellent opportunity to stop for a moment and make some comments about things that have been in my mind for sometime now.

When I graduated from college five years ago, most of my generation was interested in software engineering and solving problems at a high abstraction level. Yesterday I went to a small conference at school, where the best projects of the computer department courses where presented, and you know what?, 80% of these projects were games!. I'm not saying this is necessarily a bad thing, but I kind of disagree in giving such an emphasis in these kind of topics, and not so much on server side technologies and stuff like that.

Another thing, maybe related, we really need better programmers!. People who can dig into problems, manage the abstractions and come up with innovative solutions. Sadly, most of the programmers I've come across don't do that. And what's more, when you point out that their work is not good enough, instead of trying to improve it, they resent it and take it as a personal matter. The truth is I've also done that, maybe it's the huge ego inside every programmer =). The lesson here is to accept you're not always right, even if it takes you sometime to realize that.

I pack my case, I check my face
I look a little bit older,
I look a little bit colder.

Y te duermes?:.

It's really funny when you realize time doesn't mean anything at all. You could sit for what seems an eternity listening to someone ramble, and when you finally look at your watch it's only been half an hour, for God's sake!!. In my case these last two or three weeks have been exactly the opposite. It's like every Thursday night I stop for a moment and think, oh oh, it's almost the end of the week and I still have a lot of things to do!, why didn't I work on that before??.

This wouldn't be much of a worry if this weren't my last semester at school, for now, but it is, and I'm expected to finish my thesis work in less than a week!. Well, no more excuses, tomorrow will be thesis-day!!:.

Vivan las noches,
el sol, la sal.

My sign is vital, my hands are cold:.

I tend to have just two levels of attention for what I do, either obsession or complete indifference. Of course, this has brought me problems, specially when it comes to people, but that's just the way I am.

Well, I'm telling this because yesterday I took an exam of a class I don't really care about, with awful results. I hadn't felt that lost since I took the first Physics I exam, about 9 years ago!. However, I still don't care about that class, and I probably should:.

Close your eyes,
clear your heart,
cut the cord.

Make revision to a dream:.

It's kind of sad to say this, but if it weren't for yoga I wouldn't have any interesting class this semester. The problem is that I'm taking two of the so-called core courses, that is, mandatory courses for everyone. This implies two things, not everyone has the same level/interest for those particular classes, and teachers only treat subjects in rather general levels. In other words, boring!!:.

For instance, if you have colleagues that can barely program their way out of a Basic program, you cannot expect them to have decent discussions about real world software engineering!!. If not even the teacher can understand a beautiful code when it passes right through his nose, you're wasting your time. What's more, if he can't even understand, let alone explain, topics he is supposed to teach you, you are not in good hands.

If a teacher spends most of her class showing you how to use some program, just a damn UML modeling tool, all hope is lost!!. If you combine this with unsupported claims against current trends like Agile Modeling, or avoid discussions just by claiming 'this is what's been used in the industry', you might as well just be losing your time.

I know that at a postgraduate level you are supposed to specialize in the things you like, and that courses like the ones I mentioned above are intended to give you an introduction to areas you wouldn't normally consider. Still, the quality of the particular courses I'm taking right now is way below the average!!:.

You need something for which to care,
saying, why can't we look the other way?

So let's set up and see:.

It's been two weeks since I came back to school. Truth be told, though I've enjoyed the courses I chose for this semester, the very best is not an academic one, but Yoga. I had my very first approach to Yoga precisely when I was about to graduate from college, and five years later I'm taking the same course, but with several improvements.

The thing I like the most is to be aware of the way you breathe. I know we're used to think about this process as something mechanical, but it can be more, much more, than that!.

Just looking out on the day,
of another dream.

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.

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.

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.