A Programmer's Must Know's and Must Have's (from a newbie's point of view)

1. Caffeine helps. Somehow it boosts you up pag ikaw ay inaantok na at halos ayaw mo nang magsalita kasi frustrated ka na sa program mo.

2. Definition of Responsibility. You're a programmer. If your program turns out to be a crap, that's your responsibility. Face the consequences. You might as well get a RESUME ready always.

3. Value of Time. Your working hours increase as the deadline approaches. You should be willing to work late at night figuring out how your code will work properly.

4. Logic. You will deal with logic constantly.

5. Sleep. You should value sleep. At times, programmers takes their codes to their sleep, so master that craft, hehehe...

6. Skill. Improve on that. No one is indispensable. There are a lot of programmers out there who can always take your place if you don't hone your skills.

7. Don't forget the real world. Watch out. You might develop habits caused by prolonged exposure to coding. One day you might be saying, Roses are #FF0000, violets are #0000FF. Or maybe answer TRUE to this question: "Which do you prefer, Compaq OR ACER?"

Salvation: What About?

Our salvation showcases God’s mercy. It makes nothing of our effort but everything of His.

For my own sake and for the
honor of my name I will hold
back my anger and not wipe
you out. I refined you in the
furnace of affliction but found no
silver there. You are worthless,
with nothing good in you at all.
Yet for my own sake — yes,
for my own sake — I will save you
from my anger and not destroy you
lest the heathen say their gods
have conquered me. I will not
let them have my glory.
(Is. 48:9-11 TLB)

God saves us for the same reason he saved the Jews. Can we add anything to this salvation? No, because the work is finished. Can we earn this salvation? No. Don’t dishonor God by trying.

Dare we boast about salvation? By no means. The giver of the bread, not the beggar, deserves praise.

After all, it’s not about what we do; it’s all about what He does

Bring It To You

I was just about to write this entry when the music in my playlist changed to the next one. I wanted to cry but then I had to stop my tears from falling cause I am just a meter away from my boss's desk. The song's lyrics struck my soul so hard that I stopped from typing to in my GEditor. So to distract myself from shedding a tear, I went to my browser and keyed in the song's title. I searched for the lyrics and there it was. I was dumbfounded to see myself in those lyrics - broken, torn, lost, weary, tired.

All of these words on paper
All of these thoughts in my head
Deals I've made with the maker
The need that sleeps in my bed

All of these stones in my pocket
Daydreams I've left on the shore
The jagged half of a locket
I lay it all at your door

I bring it to you
There's magic in all that you do
I bring you the scraps that make up my soul
You make me whole
I'm gold
I bring it to you

Songs I've shouted to heaven
Secrets I've kept in a box trust never given
Keys that don't fit in a lock.

I bring it to you
There's magic in all that you do
I bring you the scraps that make up my soul
You make me whole
I'm gold
I bring it to you

But more than anything
I bring you love, I bring you love

I bring it to you
There's magic in all that you do
I bring you the scraps that make up my soul
You make me whole
I'm gold
I bring it to you

I bring it to you
There's magic in all that you do
I bring you the scraps that make up my soul
You make me whole
I'm gold

Of Programming and the Realities of It

When I filed my resignation from my previous work, I made mention about a job offer which I consider to be a dream job: PROGRAMMER. Ha ha ha... From five years of working in the academe, teaching students who are mainly reluctant to learn anything new, students who just enrolled Computer Science because they thought that it is cool, to the new world of programming. Come on, what was I thinking? Maybe I only wanted to escape the routine life I had that's why I wanted to get away.

Three months after, here I am still a noob in this venture. Everything I thought I knew were just a speck compared the Programmer's World. Things are different when you are in front of the computer. I thought it would be cool but it's not. I have gone through a lot of "mess up" compilation and testing periods. I have tried committing projects in the repo which made the other classes in the repo not work as expected. There were days when I can't sleep because my unsolved projects keeps ringing through my subconscious that I even take them to my sleep.

Yeah. Those are but a few of the things that happen to a programmer. But the most important thing that I have learned is not to stop learning. During my three-month proby period, I was subject to learning... I read a C book that is 400+ pages, an 800+ pages Bash scripting guide, and a 300+ pages Subversion book plus a tutorial in VALA language. After each reading comes an assessment test where I was expected to write codes that will ultimately test what I have learned during my reading time.

It was tough, huh... It was. I learned the hard way. Programmers around me are not newbies; they were previously employed in IT companies; they code, test and implement while I was there inside a room teaching(if that's how it's called). They're young, with established background in software development whereas I, I am just nothing compared to them.

I still have "mess-ups" with my codes but being a programmer, responsibility comes. The booze from coffee is enough to muster my guts and say: "Sorry...", "I'll make it better next time..", "It won't happen again."

Of Real Life and Mafia Wars

I was hooked into Mafia Wars few months ago that when you'd browse my profile, wala kang makikita kundi Mafia Wars lahat. While most Facebook fanatics were worrying on their crops, their harvest and all sorts of Farmville terminologies, I was busy trying to acquire and protect my properties, doing hoodlum jobs, and recruiting mafia players to join my family.

There were times when I would wake up in the middle of the night and think about collecting my property gains. Ha ha ha ha... It was worth a while sulking over my lost properties (and cash of course). It was fun having the thrill of punching someone who just gave you a quick sucker punch because he realized that he was after all outmanned. The feeling that you were betrayed when one of your clan members would sell you out to a clan fight... Whew...

Sometimes, you feel the disgust right in your guts when you look into your profile and see that someone continually fought your ass off until you lose your life in a fight.

Ah Mafia Wars... It's real life after all...

There are people who would sell you out. Some would stab you in the back because they know they don't stand a chance with winning in a fair play. But these people makes life fun... Just imagine how they feel when they see you. They feel disgust maybe, envy mostly, hmmmmm ano pa kaya... What a torment they are into while you are just doing nothing...hahaha... You torment their soul and their guts doing nothing... Whose loss??? Not yours, definitely theirs...

I love Mafia Wars!!!