Caffeine elimination hasn't proven a problem so far as I haven't experienced nasty withdrawal symptoms (just minor headaches, which could have been caused by a lot of other things).
I haven't added sugar to what I've been drinking but I've failed with regards to avoiding ketchup (although I've been able to minimize it to 1 packet).
My oatmeal breakfast has also been sporadic but if I do miss my oatmeal, I make sure I eat at least a banana for its fiber.
* * *
I stayed late in the office (I was there until 12:30 AM) to finish the revision of a functional specification. After that, I went to Alabang and visited Irene during her lunch break (1:30 AM - 2:30 AM).
She offered me some tikoy, which I declined because I don't eat the stuff. I have a bit of Chinese blood in me but I don't speak Chinese or practice any Chinese traditions.
We drove to McDonald's in ATC. They've renovated the place, probably because they've had the same chairs and tables for more than a decade (or two) already, so it looked fresh.
Best thing about eating there is the free parking. Northgate Cyberzone's Food Square (or whatever it's called) has more choices but charges you a parking fee even if you just stay for 15 minutes.
I noticed that, because of the high sodium content of the cheeseburger, I feel bloated after drinking water. I have to avoid high sodium food if I don't want water retention.
We left McDo and got back to her office with plenty of time to spare.
8th caffeine free day...
Things I've decided to eliminate from my diet...
Caffeine
Sugar (adding sugar, at least, I can't realistically avoid all foods with sugar mixed in)
Ketchup
* * *
I managed to eat oatmeal and non-fat milk sans the banana (because there weren't any) for breakfast.
* * *
I'll be adding more to the list of things to eliminate as my control grows stronger.
Caffeine Free for 3 Days
This is my third day of abstaining from caffeine.
I've been having a headache daily since day 1. Perhaps it can be attributed to caffeine withdrawal. Oh well, it will pass.
I hope I can continue with this for at least 21 more days.
Starting tomorrow, I'm planning to have old fashioned oatmeal mixed with non-fat milk and a yellow banana for breakfast to help increase my fiber intake.
Paco, Samsung Omnia and Windows 7 Beta
Paco and I met up last Saturday.
He showed me his new phone, a Samsung Omnia, which had a lot of tricks up its sleeve. Aside from having a touch screen interface like the iPod, it had a smart reader that can grab the details off a business card, a smile detector that automatically takes pictures and because it's running Windows mobile, we can actually make apps for it. :)
We went to PC Express because he wanted to buy a new hard drive for his PC to install Windows 7 Beta. So, we walked from Las Piñas to Alabang (and back). It was faster this way as traffic around that time in AZR was hell. The 500 GB drive was unavailable so he settled for 320 GB.
Our meet ups won't be complete without Sonic Blast Man (arcade machine with a punching mitt) demolition so before going home we had a couple of rounds with it. For the first time, we tried to cheat (holding the punching wrist with the other hand) but we didn't know the technique so it didn't do much for our scores. Paco topped out at 146 and I had 142.
And that's that. ;)
Visual Studio is more than just "dead weight."
A coworker of mine uninstalled VS from his computer because he thought it just slowed things down during start up. He never had to use it for his projects anyway because they were always in PHP.
Today, however, he had to work with ASP .NET and DotNetNuke. He was using notepad to attempt to debug the web application and was getting nowhere fast. So, I decided to intervene and stop the pain by installing VS on his computer and showing him Intellisense, Dynamic Help and VS's debugging tools (breakpoints, tracepoints, etc.).
So at the end of the lesson, he learned that VS is more than just "dead weight."
A Lesson in Project Planning...
Erwin P, my new project manager, helped the development team replan our project.
I learned from him a very important thing: Always represent the client's tasks and deliverables in the project plan.
Why is this important? It is so because the team's tasks that DEPEND on feedback from the client cannot proceed until the client does its part. This way, if the project gets delayed because of a lack of feedback from the client, it protects us from getting the heat for something we don't have control over (read: it covers our collective asses). It also allows us to adjust the project plan accordingly.