JamesGamble.net

Earlier this year when I wrote up my resolutions for the year I promised myself that I would write more, but it seems like I’ve been falling behind on that front. I don’t know if a single post in more than a month can make me feel any better about letting my resolution lapse, but I’m going to give it a try. Let’s just call this post a March Update and call it a day.

What have I been doing? Well, aside from working a lot, I’ve been learning a lot. I’m currently working on the Microsoft 70-680 exam, and I hope to be ready to take it in a few weeks. Today I made a list of all the exams that I need to take for the Microsoft certifications that I want so I can more easily make a plan of attack. Once those are done, I would like to work on some CompTia exams. I don’t really need the CompTia exams, but they’re something that I really want. Since I’ve been working in the Information Technology field (11+ years) those exams have always been hanging over my head. I just want to get them done so I can say that I’ve passed them. It’s more for me than my resume, though it will make my resume look awesome at the same time.

I’ve finally found a system that works for me with studying for exams. I can’t read a book and learn what I need to know, that just doesn’t work for me. It never really has. I have to see it, and I have to be lectured on it. So, for me, I’ve found that watching CBT’s from a source like CBTNuggets.com or TrainSignal.com really make the most impact for me. I can watch a CBT once and remember the majority of the content whereas I could read an entire chapter in a technical book and remember absolutely nothing about what I just read.

You know, it’s weird. Over the last couple of years I’ve really learned a lot about myself and how I think. I’ve learned the methods of learning that work for me, and the methods that don’t. I’ve also learned that I have limits for certain types of activities and that if I feel like I’m getting overwhelmed, I need to pull things back a bit. I think all of that self discovery has made me a better learner and a better person. I feel like my mind is more organized and I also feel like I am in better control of my thoughts. It only took 30 years, eeh?

On another note, I passed the Apple 10.7 Integration exam last Friday and am now an Apple Certified Associate. I’ll update the resume section of my site another day. Up next the 10.8 Integration exam which is very similar to the 10.7 exam. Tomorrow I’ll finish the Codecademy HTML/CSS courses and I’ll be able to start working on the JavaScript lessons on Wednesday.

Finallly, I’ve been trying to watch one Khan Academy video and one TED talk a day. As of today I’ve watched 302 Khan Academy videos and 276 TED talks. Just thought I’d make a record of that somewhere.

So I’m learning Spanish, while relearning HTML, while learning CSS, while learning my company’s business intelligence software, while learning the stuff needed for the OS X 10.7 and 10.8 MS Integration certifications, while getting ready to learn all that’s required for a computer science degree. On the list of things to learn, various MS certifications, Python, geography (States, their Capitals, and the location of each on a map), lock picking, playing the harmonica, and a dozen other things. I just don’t have enough hours in the day. If I ever win the lottery I’m going to spend the rest of my life learning about all the things that interest me. On my yacht.

I’ll be receiving my tax refund this week. I had originally planned on putting some in savings and paying down some credit card debt, but I changed my plans when it hit me that my clothes were falling apart. My work pants are getting kind of thin in the crotch, and most of them have seams that are coming undone. My shoes are falling apart and my causal clothes are in pretty rough shape too. So, today, I bought a new wardrobe with my refund. New work pants, new shorts, new polo shirts, new shoes (causal and work), and new underwear. Additionally I paid off the remainder of my balance with T-Mobile so I’m free and clear with them. I’m going to make an appointment for next Saturday to get new tires put on my car along with an oil change, and then, poof, just like that, the refund is gone.

I don’t mind spending so much money on things if it’s stuff I actually need. I paid a little more for my new work pants and shoes than I would have normally, but I want them to last longer that the stuff I have now has lasted (about a year). The last pair of shoes I bought for work have only lasted about four months and now the sole is starting to separate from the shoe. I want some nice things, and I figured that I may as well buy them now while I have the money. I only need to buy some tanks, some v neck shirts, a new wallet, and a watch to complete the wardrobe. I’ll then have all new stuff.

If I have any money left over, I’m seriously thinking about purchasing one of those $250 Samsung Chromebooks, but I’m not so sure if a 11.6in screen will be big enough for me. I’m going to walk over to the Apple store sometimes this week and take a look at the 11.6in Macbook Airs for a size reference, just to see if it’s feasible. I have a 13.3in screen right now and it seems to be a good size. The Chromebook is less than two inches smaller so it may work out.

Today my manager and my new director were in town, but I really didn’t get much of a chance to chat with them. We had lunch together, but after that they were in meetings the rest of the day. I spent the day keeping busy and being as productive as possible. I’ve been pretty low key the last couple of days, and whenever I’m like that I find it easier to focus on getting things done.

Now that I’m home though, my legs and knees are aching, and I know the only thing that will help is a good night’s sleep. So, here in a bit, I’m going to take my nightly melatonin pill and hit the hay. I’ve got to work Thursday night, and Saturday I’m going to be going to my friend’s funeral.

In life there are certain people who weave in and out of the strands of your existence like a piece of thread being sewn into cloth. Every so often you will see them out and about somewhere, share a few laughs, and then go back to the business that is your own life. You think about them now and again, always with fond memories, and you wonder what they’ve been up to. You know you don’t see them enough, and you feel bad about it, but, you know, they’re probably busy too. For me, one of those people was a gentleman by the name of Dondi Ward.

Dondi and I first met when I worked at Kash n’ Karry as a teenager. I was a cashier and Dondi was a bagger. Physically he was larger than me and when we worked together on a register some of the customers gave us odd looks because of how big we were. We also went to the same high school together, and I saw him often in the halls. Even though he was a large man, and could look fairly intimidating if he wanted to, he was one of the most gentle people I’ve ever met. Dondi always had a smile on his face, and I can’t remember a single time when I saw him unhappy or down.

I use to go to a public dock in San Antonio that is on Lake Jovita. I wouldn’t go to fish or anything; I’d go for the quiet. Sometimes when I went out there, Dondi would be there fishing with a piece of fishing line using his hands to pull it in when he caught something. We’d often joke around that we’d never leave the area and fifty years from now we’d be the old grumpy men sitting in front of the local store, playing checkers and complaining about the young people.

Dondi lit up a room and anyone that met him fell in love with him. He was just a good, gentle, and kind person. One of the best I ever had the pleasure of meeting. Saturday he passed away. He’s been on my mind constantly and I can’t believe he’s gone. He was my age, and now, he’s just gone. I’ll go to the service and pay my respects. He deserves that much from me.

I’ll miss you Dondi, and I’ll never forget you.

I went over to my parent’s house tonight for a visit. My dad cooked some steaks on the grill and my mom set us up with some baked potatoes and some salad. Me? Well, I just supervised.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to next week. My boss and my new director will be in town so I’ll get to spend some time with them. Plus I’m taking Friday off, so the week won’t be too terribly long. Even though I have Friday off, I do have some work to do Saturday, but I’m hoping that I can schedule that to run automatically. The wonders of modern technology, eeh?

Other than that, there’s not a whole lot going on. I’m trying to learn Spanish via Duolingo, but I’m realizing for the first time that it’s harder as a 30 year old to memorize stuff than it was when I was 16. I can still do it, it just takes more repetition, which I’m fine with.

I’m not sure what happened with today, but it was frustrating from start to end. Little things everywhere just picking away at my sanity and filling my life with stress. Maybe today I just couldn’t tolerate things as well as I normally can, or maybe it actually was more stressful than usual. I’m not really sure at this point. I’m just glad that my cold is nearly gone, tomorrow is Friday (and payday), and I don’t have to work this weekend. Tonight will be an early night and tomorrow will be better.

Early January saw me getting over a bad cold, but it looks like another one is going to make a run on me. I’ve been taking vitamins since my previous cold, and I’ve generally been staying away from unhealthy stuff, so I’m hoping this one will be milder. I’m also avoiding the nighttime medicine that I took the last time, because it caused my sinuses to get clogged so much that I got a sinus infection. This time I’m just going to stick with the daytime stuff because it has a decongestant and to help me sleep at night I’ll just take melatonin. We just had a bout of colder weather so I think the temperature change and the lack of moisture in the air caused this one.

You know, sometimes you just wake up knowing that the rest of your day is going to be a messy blur.

Today, my friend, was one of those days.

I don’t really want to go into it, I’m just glad it’s over. Hopefully tomorrow will work out better.

I’m home now, just finished a dinner of fresh strawberries. I’m going to be taking my daily melatonin pill in about a half hour. Oh, as an update to that, I’m sleeping much much better, and I’m actually getting to bed on time. This week has been pretty stressful and I’ve been able to handle it fairly well and I think that’s mostly due to getting plenty of sleep at night.

For many years of my youth, I struggled to do even the most basic tasks when asked to. I struggled to pay attention to the assignments on the board, and I struggled to focus on the assignment once I finally started it. I struggled to keep looking at someone in the face when having a conversation with them, and I struggled to keep on topic when I was actually able to look at their face during the conversation. My mind is constantly skipping from one subject to the next and each day is a struggle to keep that under control. At work, the smallest sound can distract me from what I’m working on, but oddly keeping headphones on with low music doesn’t bother me. Each time I’m interrupted, it gets harder and harder to get back to the task that I was working on. If interrupted enough, I melt down and just sit in my chair, looking at my monitor, doing absolutely nothing. I can’t do anything else. The problems are compounded when I don’t get enough sleep, or if I know I have to continue working once I get home. Each day is a fight for me and some days are better than others.

Over the years, I’ve found ways to cope. One of the best things I can do for myself is get enough sleep each night. Ever since I was a little boy, I’ve always needed more sleep than most. I’ve found as an adult, as long as I get nine hours of sleep a night, I can cope with my attention issues a LOT better. If I get eight hours of sleep a night, I can still cope, but near the end of the day I start to get frustrated. Nine hours seems to be my magic number. Another thing I can do is to take a daily multi-vitamin each morning. I feel better physically when I do that, and anytime I miss a dose, I feel it during the day.

However, the biggest thing I can do for myself (alluded to above), is to stick to the crazy routine I’ve set for myself. If I complete all the tasks in my routine each day, it just makes the next day better. I feel better about myself, and am happier. The routine involves everything from reading a certain number of pages in my most recent book to watching a TED talk.

I started doing an explicit daily routine about two years ago and it has really helped me to be more productive. As I’ve done my daily checklist, it has become easier to add and remove things as necessary. I feel like I can tackle big things, as long as I break them down into small enough segments so that I don’t get overwhelmed. I spend a great deal of time thinking about what next to add to my routine (or what to remove), and I’m feeling pretty good about adding a daily writing requirement to the routine (no more than 100 words) so I can write the novel that I’ve been pondering for some years. If 100 words doesn’t work, or it becomes too much, I’ll lower it down to 50 words. Part of the routine is that I need to be flexible on the checklist. The daily goals need to be fluid, otherwise I’ll just get frustrated and quit what I’m working on.

Anyway, I didn’t mean for this post to be nearly 600 words, so I’m going to cut it short. I have some other coping methods for my attention issues, so maybe I’ll post those later.