Goodbye 2011

If I would describe 2011, it would be -- Comfortable in my own skin. This past year was about getting my self-esteem back. I've always felt like I'm nobody. I've been haunted by my mistakes, but in the last half of 2011, I was able to pull everything together. Running and career brought that back to me. Everything pays off, you'll just have to work really hard for it, with a pinch of patience.

My motivation for running was to fight hypertension. I've been diagnosed of hypertension back in college - those sleepless nights of studying and machine exercises. I would usually buy venti-sized coffee at Starbucks to keep me awake. Sometimes, I even ask for an extra espresso shot. I just love coffee so much, even on any other day. I was not aware that it was doing me harm already. I don't think it's the actual coffee, but of me staying up late, and even sleepless on some occasions. I just realized that lately. I eat healthy and I'm very active, that's why it was hard for me to accept that I'm broken. And finally, I found the pattern by how I find it hard to sleep lately - and so, my BP was going up again. I value my sleep more now. With running, I tire my body out so by night, I find it easier to sleep. Plus, I'm losing weight now. At the start of the year, I was doing gym, but was not able to lose substantially. Now, from 180 lbs, I'm a 168!

My first 21K - Adidas King of the Road, BGC.

A career - that's what I've been really fighting for. I feel like I've been left behind - yes, I'm still not over that extra year in college, when I was targetting to graduate in four and a half years! Ever since, I've felt that obssession to work extra harder than others do. I just had my break the second half of this year. And as they say, you'll just have to act on it when you see a good opportunity. When I knew that I hopped on the right train, I just spent more hours in the office as I should be. If I want to be somebody, I just have to set my targets and work at it. I was competing with nobody else but myself back then. I triumphed. I now believe that I am capable of things. That, no one can take away from me. I will succeed further!

I just realized that it was totally normal to make big mistakes in your life; that it is better that you commit them early on your life. How cliche it may sound, they really teach you and make you as you are today. You will never really understand it until you've been through those hard times. Now, I bid 2011 farewell. To more successes in 2012!

Personal Record

Been lazy writing. Been seriously running. Now, I list my PR's, as they call it --

5.2k - K! Run - 00:37:10
10k - Run Rizal - 01:12:28
21k - Adidas King of the Road - 02:35:00

This Saturday, I hope to beat my best time for 10k in Energizer Night Run 2011. Excited to see friends too. :) After that, I have Run United Leg 3 to punish my legs again for another 21k run. Wish me luck!! 

Happy Birthday, Pards!

September 25 is one of the dates that is extra special to me – it’s the birthday of my closest friend. I can’t remember when I started to call her “Pards” but I think it came from her back in college. We’ve been classmates since freshman year – we walk our way from our dorms to our department together, attend our 7AM classes without taking bath on a few ocassions, do celebrations in the weirdest places and ways with our friends, and the list could just go on.

And guess what, up until now, we work in the same office. Hahah! We didn’t talk about it, we just saw each other on our final interview in our current company. We parted ways back in college as we streamlined to our majors even though we are in the same department. I guess things fall into place in a weird way, but I just know that Marie is a friend for keeps. Happy Birthday, Pards! Wish you’ll lose some pounds soon, haha!

Strobes

Strobist photography is characterized by the use of off-camera flash and lights to enhance lighting quality on a subject. Usually involves triggers like sync cables and wireless switches. Luckily, I was able to try it, for free. A colleague from work was generous enough to lend and teach our small group of enthusiasts. Only problem now is that I would die to get these stuff for myself. They cost a fortune! At least for me… >.<

One of the questions that a noob photographer is “What do I buy next?” – new lens or external flash. Before, I was so sure it should be lenses, thinking that in low light, you need a fast lens, But then again, its all about the light. If you know how to setup or look for good lighting setup, then you’re good without fast lenses. You’d need flash for instance, with triggers on the side. If you can’t find good light, then bring one!

And yeah! I was able to try strobist – courtesy of the good samaritan at work. Look up. Setup with flash in softbox positioned almost right above where Grace’s face is positioned to. Another flash in slave mode is positioned to her back with orange gel, which gives that brownish color on the right side of her hair. Also, I did post processing on the image – still something I learned from work, haha! (never thought good things are for free already) Did a gaussian blur layer then muted those areas where detail is needed. There you go!

Next target, do strobist  on an outdoor shoot! Yeah!

I’m running now

I was hypertensive again. This is one of the most frustrating facts about my self, that I thought was out of my system already. I think I eat healthy, and I think I’m active enough – I go to the gym, I do badminton, what more? And yes, being the “kuripot” that I am, I refuse to take meds. Anyways, this is what I learned from my mom -- She was hypertensive before, but she fought it with a change in lifestyle – she became active in badminton. I just thought, maybe I’m not putting enough effort. And so, I started running seriously. It seems like badminton is not good cardio training, but running is. Guess what, my BP is back to normal.

Just last Sunday, I finished my first 10k! I thought I was not going to finish it, but hell, I finished it at 1:12:28. I found it hard to breathe, even if my legs keep going. I walked at some point but seeing the girls (Rancy & Ash) I’m with pushed me to go further. And there, eventually I saw the water pouring out the fire truck, the LED timers and the RFID reader. Yeah! I made it. Got a medal for it! Run Rizal cleared.

Next stop. K! Run in UPD this Sunday. My target, finish it at a faster pace. >.<

New Theme.

Don’t reinvent the wheel – I’ve been saying this often lately. I just believe that it really makes sense. In a world where there is a lot to learn, it simply is a waste of time to learn everything from scratch if you can get something out of the shelf. When I made my first post here, I swore, I was going to learn CSS and HTML. I guess a sufficient dose of laziness kicked into me that’s why I’m better of using this theme out of a gallery. That’s the same reason why WYSIWYG (yeah! so much fun saying this word!) was created, right? Hmmm, and CMS’s too! Wohoho!

So there goes why I just changed themes. I got frustrated understanding the analysis of http://gtmetrix.com/ on my blog. Since it is endorsed by Blogger, guess this one’s optimized. Now, I just have to think about the content that I have to put in, then everything just falls into place. Which reminds me – how many posts have I made this year? Wahahahah! Guess I should be posting more often now. Let’s see…

What Worked For Me in Getting Salesforce.com Certified

Like I promised, here goes my post about how I studied for the Salesforce.com Certified Force.com Developer certification. I’ll enumerate the resources that really helped me in answering those questions. I think what I have is credible enough, because I passed the exam the first time I took it. I actually was hesitant to take it because when I search the net, many people have taken it like thrice to pass it. Good thing I read those, which made me study a lot, $200 is a lot of money to waste. On the list are –

1. Salesforce.com Documentation – http://wiki.developerforce.com/index.php/Documentation

a. Help & Training – you see this on your app setup, which is also available in a compiled PDF version; login to your org, and you will see a link to download the PDF version – you should know this if you are really into SFDC – you’ll just have to dig every detail;
b. Force.com Fundamentals – http://www.salesforce.com/us/developer/docs/fundamentals/index.htm
c. Force.com Workbook – http://www.salesforce.com/us/developer/docs/workbook/workbook.pdf

2.  iTunes SFDC Training & Cert – this is fun; Chris, the instructor, really does a good job. His discussions will make it easier to remember and helps you not get bored over the material. His students has these really crazy questions, but in the end, you’ll realize, it helps a lot.


Some notes that might also be helpful –

1. Practice answering mocks under time pressure. It’s 60 Q’s in 90 mins, that’s 1.5 mins per question. Questions may not be as hard as you’d expect them to be, but it will eat up your time understanding the requirements/constraints presented in each situation. Maybe only 10-15 out of 60 Q’s are enumeration/identification type of questions.
2. Develop a complete application. It’s easy if you’d come across the situations given, but if not, thinking about the design implications will eat up your time. Having everything visual in your head makes it really easy.
3. Make sure you know everything that can be done in your App/Security menu.
4. When studying, you should differentiate if it’s ADMIN or DEV stuff.
5. There are key words i.e. time-based workflow for reminder/follow-up mails, validation rules for check before write to DB;


This is just from my point of view, you may have an easier time studying for it, but this is what I think worked for me. Hope this would help people out there.

Usapang Raket

I’ve started to become an enthusiast of photography out of frustration on my photos before. I loved to take photos way back, but I never mind the quality until I got hold of the real thing. Indeed, SLR’s give taking photos a whole new meaning, and a lot of effort. I just said to myself, no matter what, I’ll get myself one – and I did. Months after I quit my stint at a contact center, I received my back pay. The moment that amount of money laid on my hands, I knew right away where I’m going to spend it.



Now, its been more than I year already since I had my D5000. It’s and entry-level camera, but with enough skills, you’ll be able to snap good shots too. I’m far from pro, but I was able to get a bit of cash out of my hobby already. Been out there twice now. First one was early this year. Took photos for a school website. On top is one of the shoots I took then, that’s 23rd of March this year. Hopefully, I get even better and have more photo ops. Extra raket! Eventually, I’ll be able to complete and upgrade my gear. Yeah!

Salesforce.com Certified Force.com Developer

It’s been ages now, I know. Hahaha! Been busy. Wednesday was actually a big day for me. I took salesforce.com DEV401 certification in Makati testing center – and it freaked me out a lot. I’m pretty confident that I studied enough, but the possibility that something would come up that I didn’t came across is just nerve racking. The paranoia just almost killed me. It reminds me of those times in college. I would walk into an exam, very relaxed, walk out the exam room, devastated.

I started writing this entry the day before the exam, but my blogging service is blocked in the office, so I almost forgot how much I wanted to post this, but then, here goes. I’m completely overwhelmed by how much things happened, but all I know is I have a handful to thank. But I would just like to bring that spot to Jackie, my manager.  It was really her that inspired me in getting certified in this technology. A lot of people might have misunderstood her, but if they only know how good her intentions are in every thing she does or say, you’ll hate yourself for doubting her a minute. I just know for a fact that I will go places with my faith on her alone.
I want to end this post with a snippet of what I originally wrote three days back – “If I pass the exam, I’ll post stuff that I studied for it, hopefully get more hits to my site, haha! And I promise myself, I’ll spend more time to my photography and publishing them here as well. For now, good luck to me! Hope everything ends well.”

Adios!

A New Year

Okay, this is to the third post of the year. Cheers! Haha! I barely write now. As my usual line goes, a lot has been happening lately. Before, I would find time to stop and think about what I'm going to do for a whole week. But lately, I've been caught up with a whirlwind of tasks - mostly not work related. Even though it comes out stressful at times, its just not really so - because it all dwells with photography, something I want to the rest of my life.

Last week, I received an alert that my domain is going to expire. It was a wake up call for binog.net. Suddenly, I felt like I need to write more, hence this post. I want to share what I've been doing these past few days.

I've had my camera since June 1st last year. I've read a lot of tutorials online, but it felt incomplete. There was no validation if what I was reading was really worthwhile or was I even understanding everything correctly. I decided that I need some formal training - I enrolled to FPPF's (Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation) five-whole-sunday workshop. I just had my third sunday last week, and I can say that I've really learned a lot. There are some things that only pro's can deliver well.

I stood up and headed the photography club in our company. I know, I'm far from pro, but there just have to be someone who have to do the dirty work to make things happening. So I was the sacrificial lamb. We've been talking about building the club but no one wants to take the spot, so I did. I know, its suicide, but I'm up for it.

So there, I think this space on the net is going to be my portfolio. (as if! hahaha!)

Definitely Pulped Up!

I just drank a bottle of Minute Maid Pulpy. They say it’s got ‘no preservatives added’. Aw, c’mon…It’s bottled juice. Is that even possible? So I thought maybe the makers of the drink have a very intricate method of locking in the freshness of the fruit. It really is hard to believe everything you see in ads nowadays, sometimes it’s just all about marketing and making products sell.

I didn’t believe it the first time I heard it’s got no preservatives added.  So I read the ingredients (even the fine print) and everything checked out! It really has NO PRESERVATIVES ADDED!  That means it doesn’t have ingredients that may turn out to be allergens, or worse...carcinogens!  Whew! Now that’s healthy goodness that tastes so good, I feel that my mind is now at ease with the idea of buying the drink often because it really tastes good.

So okay, it’s got no preservatives added. That’s really good, right?  Not just because it doesn’t have those icky, harmful ingredients, but it also means it is guilt free, it definitely is good for the body.

So far anyone who still has a hard time believing that Minute Maid has got no preservatives added - meaning it's THAT natural, it's almost like it's plucked straight from the tree, it's just as Mother Nature wanted your orange juice to be, it's got nothing but the good stuff yes, none of those potentially toxic stuff that can harm your brain, kidneys, heart; cause tumors aargh- the list of preservatives' bad effects just go on!!! Anyway, just to prove a point on just how good Minute Maid Pulpy is 'cause it's got NO PRESERVATIVES ADDED, I'm gonna drink a bottle, and even highly recommend it to my friends!

Feels good to know about the real pulpy deal, right? C’mon show me a smile on the comment box, and you might win yourself a Really Pulpy Deal! (That’s a chance to win a Minute Maid gift pack simply by commenting. Sweet! C'mon you just might be picked as the lucky 'commentor'!)

Love,
binog.net

Rock It, 2011!

Since I started actively blogging in Multiply, I forgot this piece of me here. Its about time, let's get this party started! Woooohoooo! Let's go 2011! And to start the year right, there are some things in need of some revision.

I've been thinking of my new year's resolution over the last long weekend of 2010, but didn't came up until now. Being a fan of The Simple Dollar blog, I pretty much wanted to make sure that my resolution is worthwhile and realistic.

I've tried to reflect on all the things that I wanted - did I get them all? Well, no. I thought deeply why, and after sometime, I found a word that pretty much describes it, that is, half-heartedness. Its that lack of will power that destroys everything. When you want something realized, its just you who would make it happen.

Half-heartedness. Why do it later if you can do it today. Being a kid, maybe even a brat sometimes would make everything better. Remember when you wanted to something and you just wouldn't take no as an answer. I think that is one trait that most of us need to relive. In focusing in that philosophy, I believe it would get you to wherever and whatever you want to. Do or die this year. Some good vibes are coming in, specially that this the year of rabbits. Its very favorable to us in terms of money, love and career. Hell yeah! We need some party! Let me kick it off with my cover of Just Dance by Lady Gaga. Oso and the Bozos (my band) was suppose to play it in our company's Christmas Party but some shit happenned. (oh well, no to bad energy!) Play it ba-beh!