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.

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

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.

I'm a twentysomething and I'll keep being me:.

After years of expensive education
A car full of books and anticipation
I'm an expert on Shakespeare and that's a hell of a lot
But the world don't need scholars as much as I thought

Maybe I'll go traveling for a year
Finding myself or start a career
I could work for the poor though I'm hungry for fame
We all seem so different but we're just the same

Maybe I'll go to the gym, so I don't get fat
Aren't things more easy with a tight six pack?
Who knows the answers? Who do you trust?
I can't even separate love from lust

Maybe I'll move back home and pay off my loans
Working nine to five answering phones
Don't make me live for my Friday nights
Drinking eight pints and getting in fights

I don't want to get up, just let me lie in
Leave me alone, I'm a twenty something

Maybe I'll just fall in love that could solve it all
Philosophers say that, that's enough
There surely must be more

Love ain't the answer, nor is work
The truth eludes me so much it hurts
But I'm still having fun and I guess that's the key
I'm a twenty something and I'll keep being me

I'm a twenty something
Let me lie in, leave me alone
I'm a twenty something


Jamie Cullum

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.