New beginnings.

So I'm done with my first week with Oracle. All I can say that working for a big firm is a change for me. There are lots of documentations, processes and other stuff - which for me, is good albeit a bit too "taxing" for a happy-go-lucky guy like me. As for the commuting, all I can say that it's a freaking battlefield everyday. 5 years ago, during my first work, it isn't like what it is now during mornings, but nowadays, damn, it's hell. I've tried a few routes, but it seems the best and fastest route requires me to stand on buses and wait on freaking long lines. On days I don't go to gym, the travel time is 2 hours. I also tried bringing a car, but hell, 300 gas and parking? No way. Anyway, I think this will be worth it.

As for technical stuff - I think Oracle is pretty cool (I love the documentations, the technical cookbooks etc). Although I'm a bit worried (and skeptical) that I'll do a little coding from what I've seen so far from the trainings I've been. I've asked about this from a guy from the team, he said that I don't have to worry since he codes. Well, I don't want my gears to get rust, so to speak.

My plan is to get certs. One of the reason I declined a contractual job at RCBC (big money, but no benefits) and didn't take my other interviews seriously, is that Oracle now owns Sun - the guys who made Java (the stuff I breathe in for the past 5 years of my working career). That's pretty big. And I hear they're going to change the Certifications from (example) Sun Certified Java Programmer to Oracle Certified Java Programmer. Well, that's pretty cool. I plan to get SCWCD next year and I'll try to get the Enterprise Cert too if time allows. Then I'm off to a far off place. Yeah, I'm pretty particular with my time plan and stuff.

Anyway, outside Oracle, it seems like I can't pursue my plans to going to KL and Bali this October although I got my tickets already. I can't go asking for leaves because I've only worked here for a week. I was told that my team is one of the core teams of Oracle, so I can't compromise that. I gave up a few vacays to prepare for this one but hey, things don't usually go smooth. So instead of having 5 days taken off me, I decided not to go at all to the trip. I said sorry to the trip master (Hi Phil) and I look forward to the next trip he'll cook up (although it's not out of country).

For health stuff, I decided to go healthy. I want to maximize my workouts so I started from scratch since my gains are pretty non existent - not that I workout poorly (I got lots of that, thank you), but I think the slow gains come from diet. I'm the kind of guy who rarely ask for help, and usually rely on the net to get answers, so I had a screwed up program that didn't help me.

As for the "healthy" diet - I eat at least 5 times a day. No rice. I eat rice on my free days and mornings if I can't help it. My main meal is salad with lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, chicken, cheese, and a teaspoon of dressing. I don't eat junk anymore and I always have a health bar or a sandwich with peanut butter on it.

I got a few pounds on but it seems to me that my damn belly is deteriorating bit by bit. A few people notices, so it's good enough for me. As for workout, I scratched the whole ego thing, and started from scratch. I think this will work. I hope this works. Come summer, I wish I have abs. Hehe. Well, that's a long shot, but everything starts from something, doesn't it?

I hope everything goes forward this time. I will not compromise and will not make excuses. And again, as the great Kelso once said - "The world is an oyster, and I'm ready to shuck it."