I had Graphic Design: Web Design class from 8:30 am until 11:00 am.
From 11:30 am until noon I had a meeting with a person from the Student Success Center at UAH. I just needed some orientation for having academic success, and I received great orientation. This adviser told me that I should focus on one thing at a time instead of trying to do everything and focus on the multiple things that I have to do. She told me that I should think about what I have to do now, today, and in the short term, instead of thinking about the huge amount of work and compromises that I have. That is a great advise. When we think of the total projects, activities, and everything that we have to do, it could seem daunting, but if we do one thing at a time, life can be easier.
At 3:55 pm I had Senior Software Studio class and after that the class that I had was Senior Project: Team Software Development.
After the Senior Project: Team Software Development class and the meeting that I had with my team for the presentation due this Wednesday in this class, I went to the meditate in front of the duck pond, near the Engineering Building at UAHuntsville. I had a lot of questions, doubts, worries and concerns that I just expressed to God in prayer, and at the end I had a great picture about my goals and what I expect God to give me in the future. I was kind of confused at first, but at the end I realized that all I need is faith and the panorama for my future is clear and promising. My conclusions were exactly the ones I had on November 27, 2010, when I went to meditate at night to this same place where I went today. I can't believe I had a negative and pessimistic attitude towards the brilliant and successful future that God has for me, just because sometimes it is easy to lose faith and forget how great our God is. But I'll keep my faith and know that everything I have asked God to give me is what I will receive. Faith is all we need.
When I came back to my dorm in North Campus Residence Hall I just realized that I had an email from my future employer, and it is confirmed that I will work for this company. On January 19 I received a message where I was kind of accepted to work for this company, but I had to send my curriculum vitae and it was not clear in the email if I was definitely accepted for working in this company. But now it is for sure, which is awesome and it is exactly the company that I want to work for because they do what I like and it is my best option for now. I can't think of a better place. They do what I like, and that is exactly the company that I want to start working for soon.
I worked on the final project that I have in Senior Project: Team Software Development. I made great progress on the sessions part, with PHP, AJAX, CSS, JavaScript, MySQL, XHTML, and all these kind of beautiful web technologies.
In the afternoon I went to this event, which is part of the Dora exhibit:
Don Bowyer Music Recital including "Horrors of War"
-UAH Roberts Recital Hall - Premiere of music in honor of prisoners of Dora - Composed and performed by Dr. Don Bowyer, Chair UAHuntsville Music Department
It was really nice. I went to this faculty recital with a great friend of mine, a really great friend. After that we went to eat to the cafeteria and we talked a lot, even in Spanish, since she can also speak Spanish.
I had a meeting with the three members of my team in Senior Project: Team Software Development. We worked from 10:00 until about 3:00 pm on the Requirements Specification Document. Jaime Montoya webmaster@jaimemontoya.com www.jaimemontoya.com
I feel that time goes by so fast. Sometimes I feel that my days are about 10 hours long instead of 24 hours. It is probably because of the huge work load that I have in my classes.
I had Web Seminar class from 11:30 am until 2:00 pm. After that I continued working with one of the members of my team until about 5:00 pm, and we almost finished one of the websites that we are working on, except for the photo gallery. We need to implement some JavaScript library like JQuery for that section of the site. The website looks exactly the same as the mock-up. I am very glad because I have learned to create websites with XHTML/CSS from an image or mock-up. It is something I did not know how to do before I came to study here at UAHuntsville. I knew CSS, and I know how to modify CSS, but I was not able to get an image or mock-up (like a JPEG or PNG image for example), and start coding XHTML/CSS from scratch to create a website. But I was able to do it for my two internships (two websites I created), as well as for this last site the I coded. One of the members of my group in Web Seminar created the mock-up and I coded it. I really like coding in XHTML/CSS. I find it easy. I think it is in fact considered easy to learn and easy to do. Combining JavaScript with CSS could be more complicated, like creating JavaScript slideshows got example. That is programming. I like JavaScript and I want to be an expert in JavaScript.
At about 6:00 pm I went to the UAH ACM meeting. I'm glad to be part of this club. After that, at about 8:00 pm I went to this event:
"Images of Dora: Art, Photographs and the Holocaust"
-UAH Chan Auditorium - Dramatic reading - Scholarly Talk by Dr. Daniel Magilow, Assistant Professor of German, University of Tennessee-Knoxville
After the this event I went home (North Campus Residence Hall at UAH is home for now) and worked fixing something in the Charger ACM webpage, since I am the webmaster of this site. It was a problem with Internet Explorer. I was super worried about it because if something does not work on Internet Explorer, it is a huge problem, since a lot of people use Internet Explorer. I was very worried because I like the photo gallery we have in the website, and it would be really bad to delete it or use it without having it working properly on Internet Explorer. I really needed to fix it. It took me maybe two hours or less to figure out what the problem was, but I am glad I could find the problem. I was wondering if it just would not work on Internet Explorer, but it does work. That is great. It is a good gallery with JQuery and Prototype combined. It is something original because both JQuery and Prototype are working together to make this photo gallery work. It was not easy for me to figure out how to make this work. It took me many hours and I almost gave up, but I could make it work and I like it.
Something I have realized is that some of my priorities and objectives have changed. What I wanted to achieve before studying here in the United States is not exactly what I wanted to achieve last semester, and it is not exactly what I want to get in life now. Heraclitus was right when affirming that the only constant is change. I change, everyone changes. God is always the same. But everything else is in constant change. My goals change, my priorities change, and it will be the same in the future. What is super important to me right now will mean nothing in the future. What mean nothing to me right now will be a top priority to me in the future. That is life. Let's say it in French: C'est la vie!
I love this song:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wear_Sunscreen has details about this song. Everybody is free to be happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am happy. I have so many blessings and I have tons of reasons to feel happy and grateful!
Some diseases are contagious. A negative attitude is contagious. A positive attitude is contagious too. I decide to have a positive attitude and make everyone around me feel this positive energy. I like the philosophical posts of Grisel, from Barcelona, Spain: http://e-merald.blogspot.com/ I met her in Campus Party Iberoamérica, in El Salvador, at the end of October 2008. I have not been reading her posts so far, but I think she has some good and positive messages and that is good. So from now on one of my goals, priorities and determinations is to be super positive and I can make this contagious. It does not mean to be unrealistic about problems and difficult circumstances and something like living in a different world, apart from reality. But it just means to be super positive no matter what.
I had Advanced Graphic Design II class in the morning, and in the afternoon I had Senior Software Studio class at 4:00 pm and after that, at 5:30 pm the class that I had was Senior Project: Team Software Development.
I got 88% in my second Flash project (for Advanced Graphic Design II). I got 88% in my first project too. I thought this would be a Flash class only, but it feels like a graphic design class combined with Flash. We have to create very well designed thumbnails (hand-drawn thumbnails), and we need to create the images for our Flash projects. So this is really an advanced graphic design class, with the difference that we are supposed to be great at graphic design already. It is assumed that we are skilled and great in Photoshop and Illustrator, as well as in drawing, etc. My classmates are graphic designers and that is basically their major: art. As a student majoring engineering (I am a computer science student), I need to catch up with all the graphic design stuff. I know Photoshop, I have used Illustrator, but these guys (my classmates) are kind of experts at it, I mean they know a lot because it is the software they have been using for a couple of years. It's difficult for me to get high marks in this class. The professor grades the graphic design, not only the Flash skills. A big part of the grade is based on the graphic design quality.
My Senior Software Studio is so difficult, just understanding the requirements from the customer is not easy. We have to create an Automatic Position Reporting System (in my case I am working on the data broker part with my team). Super hard.
My Senior Project: Team Software Development is not easy, the program we have to develop is complex, but I understand the requirements in general, and it is a system that I definitely can do. The problem is that I cannot focus my attention 100% on this project, and we have to do a lot of paperwork, which is time consuming and I feel that it is a waste of time for a project that is not real. I know in real life paperwork is necessary because of contracts, agreements, money, etc. But for this project I would rather to focus my attention in creating the software itself, not on presentations and paperwork. The first half of the semester is almost over and we have just the first part of the system, because we are still working on documentation, requirements, etc.
My Web Seminar class is fun, I wish it was the only class I was taking this semester, I like the real web projects that we have, but it is too bad that I cannot focus all my attention on this class. We have real clients, we are creating real websites, but I cannot spend all my time on these projects, because my other classes are super difficult and time consuming.
I wonder if I made a good election with the classes I enrolled this semester. I have my work cut out for me this semester and for some reason, it is not fun. I love studying, but for some reason now I feel it like a hard duty and I wonder why I am not enjoying it. Probably because it is stressful, grades involved, I don't know. I had tough semesters before in El Salvador. But I do not like the fact that I am just an exchange student, and I had the opportunity to relax, have fun, take easy classes, and enjoy living in the United States, and I decided to take hard classes in order to transfer these classes to my university in El Salvador and graduate without taking any more undergraduate classes in my country. This has a price and I am paying it. I should not have problems transferring classes. But I really do not want to take undergraduate classes in El Salvador anymore. So on one hand it feels good to think that I'll be able to work when I am back home, but on the other hand it does not feel good to have tons of work and a tough semester being an exchange student, which gives me the opportunity to know many places, get involved in different activities, etc. Anyways, I do not want to have a negative attitude at all, and I am grateful for what I have. But I wonder why I'm so stressed out school. In El Salvador, studying engineering is fucking hard (as people say here). By the way this is not the kind of language I use at all, but everyone says that here. It is a very common expression. So I am used to hard work, difficult classes, etc. But the fact that I am an exchange student makes me wish to have a very easy time here, with all As like I did last semester. I'll get high marks at the end anyways, no matter how difficult my classes are. Anyways, I need to be very positive and enjoy as much as I can my last days in the United States. Maybe because these are my last days in the United States I just want to relax and enjoy the country before I get back to El Salvador. I wonder what is waiting for me in El Salvador, what kind of job, etc. But I do not have to worry or think too much about it now. School is enough to keep me busy for now.
But it's okay, things around us do not have to change. The only thing we need to change is the way we look at it. I love the movie Life is Beautiful. It is one of my favorite movies ever, probably my favorite one. Being positive. That is what matters. Life is beautiful!!! No more complaining. Israel had that huge mistake that offended God so much. I have learned from that and I'll have a positive attitude. I really like this song:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wear_Sunscreen has details about this song. Everybody is free to be happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I worked from about 4:00 am until like 9:00 am on the Requirements Specification Document for my Senior Project: Team Software Development class. Then I worked on a website until about 11:00 am. In the morning I received a phone call from the UAH Wellness Center, and they let me know that my liver are good to take the medicine I need for my skin problem... I had a blood test yesterday, but everything is alright. From 11:30 am until 2:00 pm I had Web Seminar class.
At about 4:00 pm I went to Walmart in my bicycle. Yeah, I have done this several times! I am not sure about the schedules of public transportation here in Huntsville, Alabama, so I went in my bicycle, since I did not want to go in the bus and come back walking, or in a taxi. I do not have a car, but a bicycle is just fine. I will miss my bike when I am back in El Salvador. I bought a lot of personal stuff in Walmart, but not food because I have plenty of food here at UAH. There is a lot of food for students here at UAH with the meal plans, and I still have some food I bought too, so I really do not need to buy extra food at all.
This is the medicine I bought in Walmart, and I started the treatment today:
Directions: TAKE ONE TABLET BY MOUTH EVERY DAY FOR 30 DAYS TERBINAFINE 250MG TAB TERBINAFINE (TER-bin-a-feen) COMMON USES: This medicine is an antifungal agent used to treat fungal infections of the skin and nails. HOW TO USE THIS MEDICINE: Follow the directions fr using this medicine provided by your doctor. This medicine may come with a patient information leaflet. Ask your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist any questions you may have about this medicine. This medicine may be taken on an empty stomach or with food. TAKE THIS MEDICINE at the same time each day. STORE THIS MEDICINE at room temperature in a tightly-closed container, away from heat and light. TO CLEAR UP YOUR INFECTION COMPLETELY, continue taking this medicine for the full course of treatment. Do not miss any doses. IF YOU MISS A DOSE OF THIS MEDICINE and you are taking 1 dose daily, take the missed dose if you remember the same day. Skip the missed dose if you do not remember until the next day. DO not take 2 doses at once. CAUTIONS: DO NOT TAKE THIS MEDICINE if you are allergic to it or are allergic to any ingredient in this product. IT MAY TAKE SEVERAL WEEKS TO MONTHS for your symptoms to improve. Do not stop using this medicine without checking with your doctor. KEET ALL DOCTOR AND LABORATORY APPOINTMENTS while you are using this medicine. Laboratory and/or medical tests such as liver function tests may be done to monitor your progress or to check for side effects. This medicine may cause liver problems. Alcohol use combined with this medicine may increase your risk. Talk with your doctor about drinking alcohol with this medicine. IF YOU EXPERIENCE difficulty breathing; tightness of chest; swelling of eyelids, face, or lips; or if you develop a rash or hives, tell your doctor immediately. Do not take any more doses of this medicine unless your doctor tells you to do so. BEFORE YOU BEGIN TAKING ANY NEW MEDICINE, either prescription or over-the-counter, check with your doctor or pharmacist. FOR WOMEN: IF YOU PLAN ON BECOMING PREGNANT, discuss with your doctor the benefits and risks of usning this medicin during pregnancy. THIS MEDICINE IS EXCRETED IN BREAST MILK. DO NOT BREAST-FEED while taking this medicine.
POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS: SIDE EFFECTS, that may go away during treatment, include change in sense of taste, diarrhea, nausea, or itching. If they continue or are bothersome, check with your doctor. CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR AS SOON AS POSSIBLE if you experience sore throat, fever, or vision changes. CONTACT YOUR DOCTOR IMMEDIATELY if you experience skin rash; peeling skin; unusual tiredness; continuing nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, or loss of appetite; yellowing of the skin or eyes; dark urine; or pale stools. Do not take any more of this medicine unless your doctor tells you to do so. AN ALLERGIC REACTION to this medicine is unlikely, but seek immediate medical attention if it occurs. Symptoms of an allergic reaction include rash, itching, swelling, dizziness, or trouble breathing. If you notice other effects not listed above, contact your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist. This is not a complete list of all side effects that may occur. If you have questions about side effects, contact your healthcare provider. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
BEFORE USING THIS MEDICINE: Some medicines or medical conditions may interact with this medicine. INFORM YOUR DOCTOR OR PHARMACIST of all prescription and over-the-counter medicine that you are taking. ADDITIONAL MONITORING OF YOUR DOSE OR CONDITION may be needed if you are taking "blood thinners" such as warfarin, cimetidine, rifampin, or tricyclic antidepressants such as amitriptyline. Inform your doctor of any other medical conditions, allergies, pregnancy, or breast-feeding. USE OF THIS MEDICINE IS NOT RECOMMENDED if you have a history of liver disease. Contact your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions or concerns about taking this medicine.
