OT… again

I have to do OT tonight because I forgot to consider the possibility of receiving fragmented data packets over the network. This is because the data that our application receives from another machine can have as much as 4000 characters or more.

And since it is only now that I have remembered that someone had warned me about this possibility (aaaaargh! how could I have forgotten?! sometimes, I really think there’s something with my short-term memory…), I have to make a quick modification now so that my module will be ready for tomorrow, which is the start of our official testing. And oh, I also have to test the modification if it works. And did I mention that I noticed something I did with the code which I think I shouldn’t have done. Actually, I think there was a reason before why I did it, but now I forgot why I did it. Confusing? Well, I’m confused myself. Looks like I’ve got some work to do.

I don’t mind doing OT most of the time (I don’t have much to do at home anyway… and if the OT is really necessary, a programmer’s gotta do what a programmer’s gotta do, right? ). However, right now, I don’t feel like staying late in the office. I really want to sleep.  

Since our official testing starts tomorrow, I guess I have to finish the modifications tonight. Right now, I’m relying on music to keep me going. At first, I thought the piano version of Utada Hikaru’s First Love has lost its magic on me. I was still feeling grumpy after I listened to the MP3, like a child about to throw a tantrum because she hasn’t slept. It turned out that all it takes was some other music to cheer me up a bit. Writing a quick (and somewhat incoherent?) post helps too… and of course, the coffee I had this morning and the tea I had this afternoon. Now you know why my blog is sub-titled “living a life fueled by coffee and tea”.

As one of my roommates said, I’m running on part blood, part caffeine. Well, mostly caffeine. Hehehe.

We just had our medical exam a couple of weeks ago. I wonder what the med-techs found out about my blood. Hehehe.

Speaking of caffeine, I really think our company should provide us free coffee, tea, and/or softdrink. Hehehe. That’s wishful thinking, I guess…

Okay, back to work…

woohoo!!!

this morning, we were able to make our final release. hopefully, it is really our final release. yey! 

right now, i’m still reeling from the nearly 24-hour overtime we just had.  but the thought that we finally hurdled the last obstacle in our race to catch the ever-changeable deadline gives  me enough energy to blog about it. 

unlike the previous project, there are more things that i wish i could have done for this project. if i had done those things, i believe my module would have had less bugs and i would have less stress from trying to fix those bugs:

- when  you’re given the chance to choose your own module in ”rush-release” projects, choose something that’s challenging enough for you to learn something new but still manageable enough for you to be able to minimize OT (especially if you have whole-day MCS classes on Saturdays).

- make sure you read and understand the specs very well. if there are unclear items, ask right away to avoid costly mistakes (and time-consuming rework) during design and implementation.

- if possible, request PL/TL to have a DD group review instead of a user review. this is to be able to inform the reviewers of concerns regarding the module and get feedback right away. 

- always check for memory leaks.

- when you feel like you don’t like doing something because it’s too tedious, this is a sign that you must do this thing right away. don’t put it off. doing so will just give you more excuses to put it off until the last minute, causing you more trouble than  just the little inconvenience you could have gotten if you had done the thing earlier.

- unit-test all functions. if there is not enough time, unit-test all major functions. if there is still not enough time, do OT. it’s better to suffer during coding and UT phase rather than suffer more in fixing bugs during IT.

- don’t panic when called upon to confirm a possible bug found in your own module. check if all inputs (input files, inputs coming from other modules) are correct before confirming that the bug is indeed in your own module.

- focus. if there are concerns that tend to distract you from work, take care of them right away if they can be taken cared of quickly. if they are concerns that require more time to be addressed,  get back to them when work is done. (if you like, schedule some definite time in the near future to address a specific concern and stick to that schedule.)  though you would like to be free of concerns (some of which are not yours in the first place) while working, you cannot work and attend to concerns that pop up during work at the same time (not unless you have a dual-core mind ). it’s a reality you have to accept and deal with. focus on your own work. let other concerns take a backseat for a while.

so that’s it for the project. well, it’s not really over yet. there are still some wrap-up stuff (document updates, evaluation, etc.) that we have to do after the release. but i’m glad we’re over the critical part. hopefully, all goes well. congratulations to our team! though the countless OT’s we rendered were exhausting and stressful, our team’s cooperation and sense of humor made them seem less so. 

p.s. a second ago, our bridge engineer sent an email informing us that the presentation of our software to the client went well. hopefully, hopefully, things will continue to go well until the project wrap-up.

thinking in the bathroom

waaaa… i was nearly late in coming to the office today. if i had arrived seven minutes later, it would mean a deduction of 15 minutes worth of pay on my next payday. whew.

as usual, i blame my near-tardiness to my 30-minute to 1-hour indulgence in the bathroom. weird, huh? why do i take that long? for me, the bathroom is the only place where i can be alone with my thoughts. it is where i can review the past day, plan for the day or week ahead, and think of future plans undisturbed. that’s why even though the bathroom that i use is small to the point that it can be claustrophobia-inducing at times, i still like taking my time in there.

anyway… lately, my “bathroom thoughts” are centered on staying in or leaving the company where i am currently employed. it’s not just because a lot of people either have gone or are still planning to go elsewhere. i don’t submit to fad that easily. but lately, i couldn’t help but keep comparing my plans in the past to what is actually happening in my life right now, and to what i think will happen in the next 5 years if i continue on this path that i am taking.

number of what i deemed were short-term plans (supposed to be fulfilled in three years) in the past: 7

number of plans fulfilled so far: 2/7

number of the “more important” plans that i have fulfilled so far: 1/3.

number of the “less important” plans” that i have fulfilled so far: 1/4

number of plans that i think i will be able to fulfill this year: ?

number of plans i think i will be able to fulfill next year: given the hectic project schedule plus my “whole day Saturday schedule”, i really don’t know. perhaps 0?

there we have it. an oversimplified analysis of my life that gives us a picture of where i’m headed: (drum roll, please…) nowhere.

hmmm… it might be that i lack the motivation, the energy, the time, the discipline, the skill, or the opportunity. but then again, i’m beginning to think that if i have more time spent at home than in the office doing OT, would i have the time and the energy to improve myself? if i were working in another company right now, would i have better opportunities to grow as a software engineer? this was only a tiny thought that had somehow lodged itself at the back of my mind after i realized that OT was fun only if it is done once in a while. now, as we do OT almost everyday, the thought seems to have found its way to the forefront. i don’t really mind having to render OT once in a while. once-in-a-while OT is like having project overnights in college all over again. i like the jubilant feeling when our team is able to deliver a project on time despite the almost-impossible odds (short schedule, OT). we even got an award for it however, almost-everyday OT is sometimes too much. if we keep having short-term projects that require OT, i don’t think i’ll be able to keep up.

i’m running out of reasons to stay. but, the reasons that are left still matter to me. but, are they worth it? so many buts… tsk, tsk.

stay or leave. stay or leave. i guess they’ll be occupying my bathroom thoughts until i finally figure something out.