Had to do a lot of chores that required me to stand in line three times today. All the time I keep on thinking that the person/s in front of me are ALWAYS too slow; it was frustrating and irritating at the same time. It’s not a good feeling if you need to go somewhere fast. I found it as a massive test of patience and understanding. However, the feeling of irritation was always there. How can I overcome it?
Never stand in line in the first place
If you can come earlier than most, then it would be wise to do so. However, if you really cannot …
Go to the location at a time when most people won’t be there
Example, if you’re going to deposit your money in the bank–don’t do it on payday. It would be wiser if you do it a few days or even a week after.
Designate someone else to go in line for you
It sounds rude, but hear me out first. If you need to go in line in three different places, it would be best if you can give the other two jobs to someone else. That way you only need to go in line once and the other jobs get accomplished as well.
Culling things to make sure there is enough space and time for you to do anything can be considered as important, not only as a minimalist, but also to ensure that your sanity remains solid.
If there’s too many things in front of you, finding the most important stuff can really be a challenge. This is what I experienced when I dove head-first into GTD. I got a long list and just the number of all the things that needed to be done stood in front of me–all begging me as if to say–“Do me first! your job/family/self depends on this. Do me now!” Instead of inspiring me, it exhausted me. Too many choices make anyone dumb. And yes, it’s been scientifically proven.
Culling it down to the top 3 things that need to be done is ideal but the other stuff will move without you. And all the while while you’re working on your MITs (Most Important Things), the other stuff you’ve decided to ignore is waiting to bite you in the ass in a few minutes.
How do you do it then? Which do you need to do first? Prioritization can be such a fluke that those you’re basically prioritizing now were the stuff you ignored a couple of days ago. It’ll be more of fire-fighting rather than fire-prevention. You prioritize work to make sure the kids get fed well. But in the meantime, the kids are feeling full but ignored. Is it either-or? Is there no Win-win resolution in this case?
Sometimes it’s best to let things happen when they do happen.
It may seem like a daredevil/irresponsible move, but I believe that things will fall where they will even if you have a thousand versions of yourself to do all the work that needs to be done. Que sera, sera. Take it day by day, moment by moment. Why bother through all the long planning if it’s all going to be ruined anyway? I plan when I want to plan, not because I NEED to.
I’ve decided to post some stuff that is unedited and raw. It goes against most blogging “standard rules” but I feel it would be beneficial if others see the raw emotion and thoughts underneath. Like a Jackson Pollock painting but in written form.
Most will think it’s all just laziness–that it will be in disarray and thoughts would be tangent. Yes, it might or it might not. Who’s to say (or blame)? I’ve decided to embark on this experiment/madness and want to see how it goes.
The only things I will edit are the typos. Besides that, all the words and thoughts in it are in its original form.
Being free is hard. I once read that people would rather be held within the confines of proprietary software and SaaS‘s comforting embrace rather than trudge along in the rocky path of freedom.
“I can’t get Skrype to work on this.”
“My friends are all in Facebork.”
“WTH, I can’t watch Frash on this!”
“No way! I can’t play my MMOs on this?”
One of the first things some Free Software users would say is: “That’s non-free software and you should stop using it.” The usual reaction by the non-free user would be to shun them, thinking that they are religious zealots, and having impractical ideas in today’s technology. But if they grew in a background full of Windrows and non-free software, then it shouldn’t be a surprise that those are the ONLY things that they are looking for.
Instead of berating them, it would be best to inform them of other alternatives.
“You can use Ekiga.”
“There’s Identica for that.”
“Well, most video sites are in HTML5 nowadays.”
“Have you tried Ryzom?”
If they like them, than you’ve won half of the battle already. Once they get a hang of it, tell them why it’s important. At first they will resist, as most users aren’t developers and they won’t see the reason why the four freedoms are important. Inform them of the possible security and privacy problems that proprietary software has, and how it’s so inflexible that waiting for a patch depends so much on the original devs only.
It takes time to unlearn these things: “old habits die hard” as they say. It’s like expecting a drug addict to be cured over night by going cold turkey–it won’t happen. My suggestion is to slowly wean them away from non-free software until it’s totally out of their system. That’s why most of them first drift to Open Source rather than straight to Free Software. Consider it as a halfway house before going to freedom. There will be some challenges along the way, but don’t give up.
Nothing like something bad happening that makes you realize what’s really important to you.
Almost got robbed the other day.
I was riding the commute to work at around 5 AM, when our jeep was stopped by two men. One of them wielding a revolver and the other was blocking the exit of the vehicle. The one with the gun asked us not to look up and was about to rob everyone, when they stopped and decided to take the jeepney driver’s earnings for that morning. There was another jeep coming on the same road and they hid.
Although nothing was taken away from me, the first thing on my mind was, “How do I take the SIM card off my phone without them seeing?” It wasn’t losing the money or anything else that mattered for me. It was the information on my phone; my friend’s mobile numbers, my wife’s texts, and other government-mandated information that the robbers may use or sell.
I need to take those government data off my phone and make sure I have a copy of all the numbers on my address book.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgicuytCkoY#]
If you don’t know what the software you’re using is for, then you’re not using it–but being used by it.
Okay I’m convinced, it’s time to learn more about programming.
I am a GNU/Linux user and I have been for more than 4 years already.
I first found about GNU/Linux in the late 1990s when Bayanihan Linux was giving away free CDs. At first I was astonished that they were giving these away for free, when compared to Windows 3.1 which my parents bought for me at a hefty price. Unfortunately, I was too busy to ever go to their location that I eventually forgot about the whole thing.
My second meeting with GNU/Linux happened just 4 years ago. It started out when my Microsoft Windows XP crashed and needed to re-install it. I was very concerned as it may just crash again due to viruses, etc. and that’s where I remembered to look up Bayanihan again. I read more about how it was a distro based (on then) Mandrake. I decided to try out Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex. To say that I was surprised that worked right out of the box (or Disc) was an understatement. It had nearly everything I needed to run a computer. Although I still dual-booted at the time because I was heavily into MMORPGs.
Then the Windows XP crashed again and I just had had enough of it that I decided to go full-time Ubuntu. I was still able to play my games and everything else, but I wanted to learn more about the philosophy behind GNU/Linux–and that’s where I discovered Free Software. With the problems that Karmic Koala was giving me I decided to replace it with Trisquel.
So far I have been enjoying using the distro while I’m slowly transitioning my kids into using Free Software. I hope that in the future, I’ll find a way to study more about developing free software.
I’ve been mulling it all week already: should I have my own blog, email, xmpp, and microblog instance?
Seeing that my old Statusnet personal site was taken down without my knowledge, made me realize that depending on other people/corporations for my online information would not be the right way to go. For example, right now I depend on Automattic, Hushmail, Twitter, Core.im and Status.net for most of my online duties and info. Any of those companies can do whatever they want with my information: delete it, sell it, etc. I feel helpless.
On the other hand, setting up my own site seems to be an expensive and technical challenge. I’m not really sure if I can maintain it both financially and technically as I have very little of those. Although an online friend told me that he’d help me, I’m still looking at this like it was an icewall in Winterfell.
Maybe I’ll revisit this once I get a pay raise soon.
I won’t be carrying/wearing anything worth more than 1,000 PHP ($22) on me when I go out of the house. Anything above that would make me feel uneasy when in public places. It’s a wonder for me how many people would safeguard their pricey things and clothes because they’re expensive. Some of them would avoid having their jackets get wet in the rain because it’s expensive–but what is it for then?
Others might say that quality items are expensive, but to that I say, living a happy life is quality in itself and I don’t need expensive things to be happy. As long as it secures me from the extremes of nature, I’m fine!
The great thing about cheap items is that they can easily be replaced, it’s sold almost anywhere, and one wouldn’t feel so bad if it ever gets damaged.
I asked myself why I needed a smartphone in the first place. I already have my old non-smartphone (an Alcatel e101) with me and I’ve been able to function with or without it. It’s a handy tool when contacting my friends and family when they’re/I’m out, it’s a nice alarm clock, and calculator.
Although it would be beneficial to have a smartphone, I don’t see it as an essential tool for me. I can lose it and still be able to contact anyone in the phonebook via IM, eMail, landline, or face-to-face. I might not be able to take photos with it but I can bring my digicam with me if need be (plus it takes pictures way better than any smartphone). No need for a music player in my phone since I stopped listening to music while walking after I nearly got into an accident. Reading books while in transit makes me dizzy so no need for a mobile eBook reader. Playing games on my computer is still better than straining my eyes on a smartphone’s tiny screen. Following someone’s social network is better (and cheaper) on the computer.
Some might think I’m just an old curmudgeon wishing for days past and that’s alright. I’m sticking to my old phone until it breaks.