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.

That's what she said:.

Today two things will mark the end of an era. First, I'll attend to the graduation ceremony for my Master's degree, and second, the 7th season of 'The Office' will come to an end. I know that the second event might sound trivial, but I've been a huge fan of that show since I first watched it in 2007.

In the beginning, I liked 'The Office' because it really portrayed the boredom and awkwardness that you find in any traditional company. People are usually unhappy, they just go to work, expect to do the less amount of work they can, and then go back home and start all over again. The problem is they get used to it, and then one day they realize they're 40, they wasted their lives and there's no way they can change now...

With time, the show lost some of its original scent, and some even say it should've ended a long time ago. This is why this particular season finale is so important, it's the goodbye of 'Michael Scott', main character and world's best boss =). The show might not live long without him, but let's not worry about that now, let's just remember some his best moments. 

Good luck Michael!!

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.

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.

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.