After Omphaloskepsis

Do not believe everything that you read.

1

That's another thing I got from Anonymous Lawyer.  Do not believe everything that you read!  Especially those written by bloggers. hehehe (^o^)/  I finally finished the book and was devastated with the ending. *sigh*  For the first time I actually felt sympathetic for the jerk and didn't root for the underdogs.  

I realized that this may have something to do with me feeling that I have been the underdog all my life.  Although I feel it, most people around me probably don't perceive me as such.  I guess I'm really not one then if the people's perception don't reflect it.  It's about time to start feeling like a champion and being one, I guess.

2

I discovered something last week.  When I dream of paradise, I dream of myself lounging by the sea surrounded by fine white sand and clear blue skies, smelling the cool crisp air, listening to the rhythmic splashes of the waves, and drinking an ice cold buko juice (coconut juice) complete with a tiny umbrella.  I noticed that I had the beach all to myself.  There were no people swimming on the beach, no children making sand castles by the shore, not even extra lounge chairs by my side.  There was only one chair and I was on it.  

If ever you've seen yourself the same way, you're probably the only company you'll ever need.  The world will never be to your liking and people will continue to disappoint you because they will never be you.  Imagine your vision of paradise.  Maybe you'll learn something from it.

3

There were some quotes from Agassi's book that I forgot to write about.  One was when he wrote "I play and keep playing because I choose to play.  Even if it's not your ideal life, you can always choose it.  No matter what your life is, choosing it changes everything." Because believe it or not, Agassi hated tennis and yet he excelled playing tennis and became one of the greatest champions of all time.

And Anonymous Lawyer had this to say about the Musician who has decided to pursue music instead of practicing law after graduation, "For some reason, no one ever wonders "what if" they don't pursue a career at a big law firm ... It's not brave to pursue impossible dreams.  It's brave to put those dreams aside and suck it up and choose a real job instead.  It's brave to fight through the imaginary "crisis of the soul" and realize that most people don't love their jobs but they do them anyway."

For that matter, I don't believe someone ever wondered "what if I pursued a career in software programming?" as well.  Nevertheless, just choose to love whatever you're doing and although you might not become as great as Agassi you might still get that applause from your peers.

"I tell the players: You'll hear a lot of applause in your life, fellas, but none will mean more to you than that applause from your peers.  I hope each of you hears that at the end." - Andre Agassi -

Do everything well and do it the best you can and people, even your competition, will respect you for it.  Surround yourself with people that will appreciate your skill and whatever else there is that you have to give.

4

And yes, this blog hasn't always been truthful.  In a way, I use this blog to project a world  (my world) where the glass is always half full.  Writing it really makes a difference.  It makes you internalize it more than when you've just thought about it.  I guess the sentence "Convince yourself" would apply here.  It will help you keep your sanity but only for a while.  Sooner or later the bubble will burst.  (And when it does, just start writing again. hehehe (^o^)/)

5

If you're wondering about the title, check this article called "If you gain wisdom from staring at your belly button it's omphaloskepsis ..."  Simply put it's like meditating while thinking or probably looking at your navel area.  There's some interesting trivia about our belly button in the article.  If you're interested, or have nothing better to do, check it out. (^o^)v

Again, do not believe everything that you read. 

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Ahhhhhhhhh!

Creaking floor panels! 

Slamming doors! Vibrating windows! 

Whistling gusty winds that blew my concentration away. 

Oh! Typhoon Basyang!

Your presence I feel.  

Giving me headaches enough to kill.

Peace and quiet, I long dear.

I'm off to my room to chill. 

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Anonymous Programmer

I'm reading through the first few weeks (which is how the author referred to chapters in the book) of Anonymous Lawyer, a novel by Jeremy Blachman about a hiring partner at one of the world's largest law firms.  There's a reason behind why he used "weeks" instead of "chapters." That's because the novel was adopted from his blog of the same title. If you click this link, it will take you to the Anonymous Lawyer blog site which remains to be one of the most popular blog sites in the web today.  It even now has a spin off site called the Anonymous Law Firm.  For all those seeking opportunities how to make money online or simply if you want to be famous, this is certainly another possibility!       

I simply can't get enough of the book.  I find it hilarious!  It's fun and interesting to read the thoughts of a lawyer who's a jerk most of the time but can be sensible at times as well.  I know that the book is a work of fiction but the caption at the back saying "He lives a lie but posts the truth" seems to sum it all up.  The character may be fictional but the ideas presented seem to reflect what the author, who happens to be a lawyer himself, believes is needed to become a partner in a big law firm albeit being over exaggerated at times.  The book is highly recommended! Special mention goes to aspiring lawyers who want to know if they have what it takes to be a partner according to Anonymous Lawyer's standards.

An anecdote about billable hours reminded me of my time as a software engineer in Anonymous Company.  In an effort to improve processes and measure the actual time spent on programming in a certain project, Anonymous Company required everyone to log the hours worked on every project at the end of the day.  The catch is, everyone was expected to allocate the total working hours spent in a day into specific projects.  I couldn't help but be skeptical because I couldn't find projects labeled as "Bathroom time", "Snack time", and "Sleep / Rest time" on the charts!  Not that any decent programmer would actually input times spent for these, but it just shows how some processes will not work for every system.  Not to mention that for most projects, more than 50 percent of the time allotted for development are actually spent idle.  Just like Anonymous Lawyer  who charged his clients around 600 dollars for his bathroom time, I can't help but think that we may have done the same!  Although I doubt that the time would come when software programmers can charge 600 dollars per hour! (^o^)/  Imagining the days when I just sat the whole day staring at my computer, waiting for updates and fixes, and yet willfully inputting 8 hours for a certain project makes me feel a little guilt within me.  Although it is abruptly followed by a feeling of entitlement considering that staring at the computer and doing nothing at all for the whole day is actually more difficult than doing actual programming (^o-)v.

On a last note, I'd like to share what Anonymous Lawyer had to say about his nephew who's a sophomore in college and is taking up painting.  He wrote "He thinks making money is wrong unless you do something good with it. He said I'm selfish. ... I think he has a lot of growing up to do. ...  He wants to paint.  Not everyone who wants to paint can make a living painting.  He doesn't understand that the world doesn't always let you do what you want to do.  There are sacrifices and trade offs.  You can't always follow your heart. ... Too many kids are stupid these days.  They have too many options.  Too many choices.  They think they can have ridiculous dreams and make them come true. ... I understand going for it if you don't have anything else you can do.  But if you're smart enough to get a real job, and make some real money, you're just being an idiot not to secure your future."  

I don't know about his nephew, but it surely knocked some sense into me. (^o-)v.

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