The Tube Strikes Back

Hello everybody!!
Here am I, one day more, sharing with you, my lovely and nonexistent reader,  other episode of my Londoner adventures. This exiting newest episode comes to you full of drama, comedy and suspense. How every story, it has a beginning and this one was placed on 9th of July, 5.15  a.m.

5.15 a.m.
The alarm beeps. Fuck. Usually it sounds at 5.30, just to let myself the pleasure of turn it off and keep sleeping half an hour more. Today I am not that lucky. Today there's no tube service at all, today there is a strike, what means I need to get Waterloo by bus, and I need two buses to do it. A second look at the phone tells me that I've expended about five minutes wallowing in self-pity. Time to get up. I get awkwardly off the bed, because my side is against the wall. Walk over my girlfriend's cousin, who sleeps on a mattress just placed on the floor to get the door and be able to go to the toilet, relieve myself and wash my face, slowly, since I am bloody sleepy. Once I'm done, I walk back to the room, suit me up, take my stuff and walk out through the flat door. I have time, so I don't need to run.

5.45 a.m.
The day is sunny, and it isn't cold at all. I walk my way to the bus stop just thinking how sleepy I am. I should be sleeping yet, everybody should be sleeping! According TFL webpage I need to take my bus earlier than 6:03 so I am in my time more than ever. Once in the bus stop I have to wait no more than a few minutes to the bus coming. It come plenty of people, but not as full to pass through the stop without stopping. It's normal, with or without strike most of the people are s

till sleeping, because they don't need to travel that long everyday to work. I step in the bus, pass my Oyster over the reader and... fuck! That unmistakable beep can just mean one thing. I haven't got money enough to the second bus. Amazing.

6.40 a.m.
I've got Holborn without troubles. The bus was full so I couldn't take a seat during the whole trip, and now I have to walk from here to Waterloo. Well, it isn't a long walk, and I have time enough (although my time advantage is going to be affected), but It's still pretty early to me getting a walk, nothing enjoyable. Still, a man has to do whatever he has, so I have a deep breath and start my travel. Walking has never killed anyone, has it? Even so, I have to be thankful, without the walk, I had never watched London from Waterloo Bridge in the morning. It is a nice view and I am pretty sure I'll never get it again.

7:00 a.m
I arrived to the station with enough time to get my train. I am proud of myself. I have problems to getting here on usual days but the hardest day I get in time. I wouldn't have  bet on me, and I'd have lost. I buy my daily ticket, walk to my train, get in and sit myself down. I take out my last comic book out of my bag and enjoy the reading until Weybrigde. I am at work at my usual hour (when I take the bus at time) and pass my day as usual, with all this lovely technologies as Sorax or CXL, with the concern about my way back. I know that's gonna be the hard part of the day.

6:45 p.m
I should have gone early today, I know is not going to be easy to get home with the strike, maybe coming here wasn't hard at all, but that time wasn't a busy time either. Now, millions of people are out of their works, going there and here chasing a chance to get their homes at time. It's gonna be rough. But there is nobody to drop me at the train station and I am bloody tired to get it by shoe, so I've been waiting to my wonderful colleague to give me a lift. I am able to get the 7:06 train and just half and hour later I am on Waterloo, walking through the station to get the bus stops, there are many buses to Holborn so I get in the first one coming and before 8 I am in there taking out of the bus just in front of the closed tube station, walking to Procter Street to get my last bus and, hopefully, being home before 9, because traffic sucks at this time.

7:50 p.m
I am in the stop, and it's crazy. There are people, many people, and the keep coming, not like the bus is doing. If a fresh bus came now, It'd be impossible to all the people get in, and I know the bus is not coming fresh... it'll be coming full like hell. In the best of the scenarios, there won't be any room inside, so the bus will pass through and we'll have to wait uncertain time until we'll be able to put a foot in a bus. That can become ugly, and after 25 minutes waiting and the bus not coming I decide to walk off and leave. I have no plan about it, I just know I am not going to get a bus there in a long, so I move forward the bus way, maybe I'll find another stop with less people, and where the bus has dropped some of the travelers.  I don't know.

8:25 p.m
I am hungry. I refuse to walk a single step more without any of food. I get into a supermarket somewhere between Procter St. and Holborn Circus and provide myself with a meal deal. Drink coke is going to be good. I was right, round here the stops are quieter, but the buses are still full so there's no chance to get one. I fell kind of sorry about the people waiting in that stop, No way buses are stopping there. I keep walking. I am tired, but the sandwich is helping me to don't lose my energies and sleepover in a park. After a eternity I get City Thameslink Railway Station. Maybe I can get a train there straight away to Whitechapel, and hopefully, in there, taking a bus will be easy pie, at least the 205. But no, I don't understand the trains in this city, why they don't just have a mpa in the stations to see how get the places? The only maps I can find are the lines passing directely through this station, and there isn't a line connecting here and Whitechapel. Poor me. I'm pretty tired to figure out anything, so I'll take the easiest solution, keep walking towards my house.

9:05 p.m
Bank Station. Did I tell I am tired? I have a chance now, my last hope. DLR is working and bank has a DLR station, I just need to get there and use the DLR to Limehouse, is not as close as Stepney Green, but it's close enough to me. I am here now. I approach the entry of the station... and it's close. There is a connection underground between Bank and Monument stations, and it looks like to get DLR station I need to walk down to Monument. I've done that way a few times, is nothing, but I am tired, really. I am not trying a running gag here. I just wanna get home as soon as possible, and probably spent the night crying on my pillow. Com'on Brayan! Put yourself together. You can do it! I walk down to Monument, get inside the stations, walk up to Bank DLR shorter than a blink. Wait the train, get inside, say thanks to the city gods to let me sleep in my bed this night and count the seconds to get Limehouse, just two stops from Bank.

9:45 p.m
I walk out from Limehouse station and I am disoriented. I've been close here a couple of times, but never in the station so I need to get oriented. Just in front of me there is a cycle hire those bikes that one day, suddenly, become from Barclays to Santander and nobody looks to have noticed. I use the map there to know which one was the way to my home. I figure it out, and start walking, one more time, to my house. About 10 I finally get my house, my girlfriend has been a day off, but we couldn't take advantage on it, so I've been the whole walking through the city. I am... ok, I won't say it again, but once I get my flat, I open the door and I kiss my girlfriend, I get the bed like never in my life.

Thanks for reading.

One year ago, in Spain...

Hello everybody!

One whole year, 365 days, a huge quantity of hours, minutes and seconds. Three quite different jobs, two places to live (almost three) and a stunning, almost sick and for sure crazy, amount of Sterling Pounds spent I don't really know how. Today, my imaginary reader, in 4th of June I reach my first year in this country and I think is a good time to look back and put my impressions together.

All you should know my earlier days, those where I used to publish new posts diary, that didn't last too much, I have to admit, but what can I say, every single man who know a little about me knows that I am not the sort of man constant and disciplined enough to keep that rhythm too long. In those early days my English was crap, raw but true, perhaps if you compare my skill with most of Spaniards coming here it was really good, but at the end of the day I couldn't understand a shit, specially by phone, so that was kind of hard to me getting a job. Today is not much better, I concede it, but at least, depending on who is speaking to me, probably where are they from, I can understand many of the things they are telling me, guess others and pretend I am getting the rest of them.

In my way to this point I have met many people, people whom I liked and whom I disliked, taken them into my Facebook collection of friends (the good ones at least), like past echoes of my previous beings. I'd like to be more in touch with many of them, but I am quite bad keeping in touch, maybe this is why I can be good moving forward and miss nothing too much, but this has some disadvantages, like have nothing to do but playing video games when I am alone on Saturday while my girl is working. I do like video games, but I wouldn't mind at all go out sometimes and take a beer or something... (If anyone is reading this for real, yes, this is an insinuation).

One of the things I've realize since I am here is how the people get bemused when I explain I am not thinking about come back to Spain. I always wanted to go out, the bad situation of the country has nothing to do with it. Yes, it help me to decide to move out in that moment, like a final push to turn me on, but the idea was always there. Indeed, my girl career is not one to keep quiet in a place, since is a global business, so we always have known we'll move somewhere, depending on the moment and the precise situation in that moment. Therefore I can tell, knowing like know my country and its people, that Spain hasn't many chances to become my home in a long while. I've always known, in addition, that my first place to move was in the United Kingdom or Ireland, because I need a good English skill to make the world my home, and these are the easiest destinations to improve it

But people in here is different. they come here just because they have nothing better to do with their lives. Coming here until the planets line up themselves and some jobs grown magically out the ground. Keeping and eye in the mother country and keeping missing friends, families and things like weather or food (I even like British food). Probably I am different because I've never felt pride to be from Spain, Madrid or wherever, It's just a bloody portion of ground, I'd dare to say is not a good one, and not just because politicians in there are corrupt, stupid or both, they can just break whatever the people let them to break, and they have been breaking lots of things for years because those people who shouldn't let them do it, are as corrupt, stupid or both as the proper politicians. Why the hell I should miss it or rather feel pride of being from there? Not me, national pride is a pretty stupid feeling if they asked me, one cannot chose its born place, but can chose its living one,

Moving on, this particular country has really wonderful things. I flame myself to haven't done too many things, I should've go out more I don't know many of the things I'd like to know about this city, but the things I know I love them. Its multiculturalism is amazing, maybe the most used sentence inside the limits of the city is "Where are you from?" and it's kind of funny. I don't know a single city without magical places, so London has its. I love walking round Coven Garden, with its street musicians or wandering Seven Dials. Just to put some examples.

One year and finally I got it. I have Not-The-Perfect job of my dreams, we are looking for a house for  live on our own, and we can save some money at the end of the month, we could even go to a magical holidays in Greece!! I have just come back from there and I planned write something about the journey, but I liked somehow celebrate my first year as emigrant developer, and we all know that I'm not gonna write two post in a week. But this is far to be over. I really need to boost my English, my target is feel comfortable to watch any movie in the cinema. I really miss go to the cinema, more than any stupid food, or even my Xbox One and I need to achieve it before the new Star Wars movie is released, so I have to put my act together to get it.

This is my last year resume, I hope you all had enjoyed your as much as me.

Don't do simple things! people could do his work looks too easy!

Hello everybody!

I yesterday had another interesting day in the wonderful world of Sorax. The story starts with the quiet and marvelous girls of operations, who never use to open tickets or to come with complicated requests (I have just realized that you, lovely-and-probably-non-existent reader, are not able to get the sarcastic tone in my worlds, but in my mind there no room for doubts, I am being sarcastic, they always have the most complicated and imaginative ways to make my labour as hard as interesting. I would be nothing without them).

One of these girls, the manager indeed, had a simply-looked and nothing crazy request. Change the set up of a specific customer, she needed that, after this customer takes his fuel, to generate his invoice not this day, how is suppose to be, but 4 days after. "Ok", I think, "It's time to move some walls". But after I started my job she noticed me. "Now we are doing similar with other customers, you can do the same with this one".

Wow! My lucky day, This was going to be easy as a pie!. I just had to look for in the code (this is still kind of scaring) in which part this invoice date is generated and, hopefully find an exception to this other ones and copy and paste. In five minutes it would be done! Even there was a chance that in the customer window already exist a way to change that! (I feel the obligation to warn you, my lovely reader, that now I don't mean to be sarcastic at all. I actually thought that) My first try was this one, I look into the customer settings with the purpose to find this magic key to change the invoice configuration. Of course it wasn't, this should be kind of foresighted and in this application nothing is ready to be used. If they have needed some special configuration in a moment, they put the modification how it comes, with no taking the possibility  of apply the same change to another different item, understanding item as customer, order or whatever.

Second try, look into the code to get the point of invoice date generation. This could be easy in any application but it never is in Sorax. But I was hoping it wouldn't be harder than other complicated changes I had to do. I was wrong. There is no place on Sorax where the date is calculated. There is no exception write in Sorax, this date is shown in a report and it is created dynamically when the report is created, this date is not stored or updated in any time, just get a couple of rules, and applied them in the stored procedure (this is a command, for foreign ones, which is placed on the database instead the code, and is not the best place to put business rules, in the other way this is the best way to get raw data from the database and it never happens, life is tough).

Ok, the date is calculated on the fly and the rules to do the exceptions are the craziest rules to do anything in the world.Seriously. I'm glad to explain, I'll put all my energies to explain it in the most simple and less technical way it can be possible.

Firstly I'll explain how I would've done it, in the strange scenario that I would've done in a stored procedure, perhaps in a parallel universe where I am forever drunk. I would've put a condition to know if the customer is an exception and if it is, I would've write a simple rule like "if the customer is an exception the date is 'usual date' plus 2" or better, "if the customer is this one, date is 'usual date' plus 2, if it is this other, date is 'usual date' plus 4, any other just get the 'usual bloody date'." write this in the code is as simple as it looks, really, as my girlfriend says: easy peasy.

Now I'll explain how it is done. In some part of the code (actually in the middle of an instruction to get data) there is a condition, similar than my condition in the structure, but not in the meaning. "If the customer is any of the special ones, just change in a non-permanent way, just to the report, the delivery method to this other delivery method which is being used for other things, but we are gonna use it for this too, for the other let the delivery method as it is" (this delivery method is a little related to the generation of the date, but actually it isn't that much, just different method had different payment rules, but it does not apply in this case... or it shouldn't). In other part of the code there is another condition, the one with the dates. "If delivery method is 2, calculate as usual, but if you don't have all the data to do it (because it is possible that some bastard put a fake delivery method in here) that means that this is one of the special customers. It this is happening, just check not the unique identifier of the customer but the payment term of it, if it is X add one day to the 'usual date' because this is the special among the special ones, but if the payment term is another just add 2 days" What??? C'mon!! Are you fucking serious? I had to read it through like ten bloody times to get that was actually what i was looking for. I got quite confused, I had to talk with the requester to be sure that I was understanding everything, after I read it again and repeat this chat-read process like three times. 

Finally I changed the crazy way to a intermediate point between this one, and my drunk-parallel-universe way to make it just some kind of easy to add a new customer to the exceptions. Now, cross your fingers to haven't break any other place in this never-boring labyrinth. Maybe I have not been quite able to make you, my always lovely reader, such a crazy stuff was this, I have read the explanation like three times and looks like I am complaining about nothing. If it was the situation,  please don't trust in the appearances, it has been quite mad.

I had time to do more interesting things, but no-one of them as remarkable to this one. Even the last problem with the invoices (of course, something is always happening with invoices), though it is not quite fixed yet after a whole week looking at it, has been so regular if you compare with this thing.

Never got bored in this place!

See you around!

How the White Bunny would say: "I'm late!"

Hello Everybody!

How's it going? I bet your day is better than mine. Everything started at 7:20 a. m. when I woke up and realized that was exactly an hour and twenty minutes after I have to wake up to get work in time (that means half an hour before my starting time, but I'm still favouring that to expend almost six ponds taking a taxi every morning). Ok, I overslept, is not a big deal, you know, It's me, this was going to happen sooner or later, but thanks my transport routines it shouldn't be a real problem. If everything had gone properly, I could've got the office just fifteen minutes later, twenty as much. But no, mates. I had no problems with the tube, besides some minor delays because some minor stops between stations, but nothing more serious than usual. District line actually sucks, nothing new about this. Anyway I could get Waterloo at 8:00 so I was going to be able to take my train at 8:12, just one hour later than always, but without the traffic everything point to me able to get the office just at 8:50 (many times I got there at 7:50 so it was hardly possible) but no.

I walk to the ticket machines, as every day. More people than usual was queued to use them and I was kinda hurry, but that didn't worry me, because I know that people are stupid enough to don't realize that there are more machines at the back of the first ones you can see when got exit from the tube. So I walk round the line of machines to see how mostly of those at th

e back were free. Therefore, while most of people was waiting their time to use the busy machines, the few ones who were able to use our eyes to see around were using the free ones. Great!

I select my travel options in a quite automatically way (I could do it with my eyes being shut) and put my card into the card reader. 

"Please remove your card"

Those scary words were printed in the display. I obeyed and tried again. Same. In the proper screen the message was more discomforting if possible "Your card cant be read". Shit. If this had happened at my usual hour, it wouldn't be quite bad. I could go with my oyster to my manager place and beg him for a ride, but he should be already in the office and I was losing time whit the bloody machine. Don't panic. I can try to get some cash in an ATM Machine.

These machines use to be free at 7, I use them sometimes to get cash for the bus, or even take a coffee in my favourite coffee shop at the station, where the girl put my coffee before I had to ask for it. But it wasn't 7, it was 8, ant there was a queue to use them. I checked my phone to know the time, watches are from the past, and I was about to lost the 8:12 train, but there is a slower one at 8:20 make me able to get the office at Not-Too-Much-Later-Than 9. Perfect, my turn to use the ATM. put my card and fantastic! it requested my pin number. I put it, selected the option to get cash, and.., "Sorry, we cannot provide that amount at this moment"

What??! I should have money, shouldn't I? I called my girlfriend (she should be sleeping, but thankfully she is off today) and asked her about the money. Yes, there are money in the account. So the bloody machine gave to me a bloody and nothing accurate message about my situation. Indeed, it requested my pin but I was thinking that probably it didn't even check whether or not the number was right. Apparently I had an actual problem in my hands. I text my manager to let him know about my  particular series of unfortunate events and put myself to look for a bank office near me. 

The closest one was next to Aldwych, not too long walk, but I wasn't in the mood, you know? I took a bus just to cross Waterloo Bridge and walk to the office. Closed, of course. It was 8:30 in that moment and the bank would be open at 9. Relax, I said to myself, you can get some breakfast in somewhere meanwhile...  but no, I had no card so I could do nothing but wait till the bank was open.

They open, I got in, I talk with the workers, they quickly ordered a new card to me (two bloody weeks I have to wait) and dispensed some cash to me. I got back to the train station (by bus) bought my tickets and waited till the next train departs, exactly at 9:42 because I couldn't even take the 9:20 train. This train, indeed, got delayed 5 minutes, but it didn't bother me, anyway I was bloody late this morning.

That point I couldn't help but compare my like Ulysses in my own odyssey, just a couple of differences with the original. He was looking forward to get home, where his loyal wife was unconditionally waiting for him; and he was coming from the war, where nobody should like to be. I was coming from my bed, with my girlfriend warming it up; and I wasn't really looking forward to get anywhere else, mainly to work with (and probably get lost in) my maze. And it is in this exact point, indeed, when I realize that I don't really like my life as similar to a Greek tragedy as it is lately.

With all my luck I was wondering if the train was going to blow up, or maybe some terrorist'd hijack it (there was a passenger with a pony tail style like Steven Seagal in flesh,so I wasn't worry at all) but there were no more incidents. I take my taxi without problems and got the office to see I had my box full of tickets, because if something gotta go wrong in the labyrinth, it gotta be when I'm not in time, thereby everyone can notice my absence.

It the rest of my life things are not bad, I'm still looking forward to moving closer, probably we'll move in to Surbiton, this way we are between my workplace and my girlfriend's. Last week one of the workmates whom I feel more comfortable with, specially 'cause she was on the team what tears more walls down in the maze, leaved the company and most of us went to take some drinks and say goodbye to her. I felt a little sorry because someone was missing, her very best friend in here, but I got over it quickly when I thought she wasn't there just because she was in a paradisical holidays and not dealing with regular people problems, like got overslept, lost her train and got broken her bank card... however, we had some fun, although I finished early because my girlfriend was waiting for me at home and I could fit in a little more with all my work mates. Even one of then what I thought she didn't like me, sent a request to be friends in Facebook, so I have a new potential reader of this (I know, I'm a dreamer)

Anyway, I'm expecting the next one, bigger and better.

Fixed it! or The strange case of the shared numbers.

Hello everybody!

Yes, it is hard to believe, even to me, but I have been working on the same problem for the third week in a row. Actually, if you see the incidents separately, they don't look like the same problem, but in fact they are. I could explain with all the technical terms and write a boring post which nobody will read.... or I can tell a simple and nice story, almost a fable, and write a interesting, maybe funny, post which nobody will read. Of course I'll do the second one.

Once upon a time a fresh and promising company. How any other company, this had some customers, there is no surprise on this fact. Those customer wanted to buy products, and this little company was exiting to sell them, so they were all, customers and company, happy. Sometimes, some of those customers, paid more than they wanted to buy, how can happen in any other company, where is no surprise on this fact. When this happened, the Company had no problem to give the money back to the customer, and this way, they
could be still being happy together.

On the paper the thing were as simple as that, but the company had to have all this transactions, -picking names randomly, orders when the customer bought, returns when the company gave money back- in the system, to keep the records, reports and other boring and administrative things which let the company grow up. Thereby about this time the company bought a system to manage all this data and implemented it on its guts. The system worked perfectly and everybody could be happy and probably was. This system, and now I'm about telling some highly relevant data -this is not a Sherlock Holmes story, I want you to keep the details, there will not be a living room scene-, assign a number to every order and return it generates. As curiosity, it can manage a number being shared to an order and a return with no complications, though it never had to do such a thing.

The company, with his new brand application was quite happy as a kid with a new brand toy. It could sell its products to its consumers and invoice then to keep the archive, and same with the returns. But the company, as every good one, was more ambitious than that. They wanted an application to rule them all. An application to automatize many of the processes that they have to do in the whole order's life cycle, with a friendly interface and a nice company logo on the main window. This application would be connected to the bought one, which was in charge of all this important staff about taking and giving money from and to the customers, but this new one could be in charge of all these particularities which made the company different to the rest.

This application was made by a person whom I never met, but whom I can tell a few things thanks to his code. How some wise one said one time: "Tell me how you code, and I tell who you are". This man was intelligent, and mainly autodidact, but he had no experience coding. Probably it was his first formal application and, frankly, this had to be an actual challenge to him. The thing is, when you know how to code, but are a strange to the right way to have the things done, is like if you know how to move chess pieces but have no idea about strategy. You can play, but probably you won't win. This developer played, and was beating problems as they was coming, and finally got a functional program which fit with the company expectations, but he didn't follow any strategy and the application, although it does whatever they wanted it to do, don't do anything in the correct way.

The database is a chaos, redundant data and mazy relations, crazy and unmanageable procedures and slowly-as-hell queries to generate views (usually a view is a optimized way to view the data... in this case is a madness guilty to have loading times to most of the windows in the application, loading times that people are used to manage as it was the most common thing and no-avoidable what's not true. And really wrong fields chosen to make the links between its database and the third party database which was being used for the company since beginning of the days. And this is the main protagonist of this history.

As I said, this third party application could work with shared numbers between orders and returns, although it never happened. This never happened because the two sequences of numbers was set with a big difference between them. What happen with these numbers on this new application? These numbers are used to link an order in the new system with the old one, but these numbers can be no-unique, thereby this link can link a single element of the new application with two, one order and one return with the other, the day in which the lower of the sequences reaches up the bottom of the higher one. In other words, this new application can't manage a shared number between an order and a credit note, and if someday these sequences match, this would be a doom. And nobody could foresee it.

All right, this date, the Doomsday  from now on (or D-Day -wink-), is not a theoretical date, it's not a scary tale to tell to those kids who doesn't like to eat their vegetables, this date is real, and it has its own name: 24th March 2015. This day everything went wrong with the invoicing system, and no one had a clue what was happened. Problems started to show up in many fronts, and when you could fix one, like a hydra, other two occupied its place. Luckily, and yes, it was just a big huge amount of luck, I found the problem and I set the number of one of the sequences about 800% bigger than the other, but the problem was still there. Before we realize this was the problem, many orders and returns shared the number, orders were duplicated and too many other boring things. Step by step I could fix every and each one of them (crossed fingers) related with this problem, but probably (pretty sure) my changes will have consequences in the future, because, you know, those Jenga pieces have been moved and the equilibrium of this maze has been altered.

At least I can tell I'm starting to map this labyrinth, and I think people in operations team are happy with me, what is the important. Ego's one is not going to be boosted by itself.

In next episodes...
Will a simple and foreign developer can beat the Minotaur of this labyrinth?
Will our charismatic protagonist buy a car so he doesn't have to take a taxi whenever lost a train?
Is he going to move out to a closer place soon?
Is he going to achieve a listening skill enough to watch anything without closed captions?
And the most important, will he can understand his workmates' technical problems at the first try?
Soon in your computers. Don't lost!

Travel to Wales, Land of the Drag... Sheeps.

Hello Everyone!!

I'm here sooner than you expected, I can tell it. Well Actually I've planned this post some time ago, in relation to my recent visit to Cardiff, to one of the famous Terminals of Prax (my company, or one of its names... I'm still lost with that). To be honest I never wanted to go, so probably I didn't get this travel with the best of the moods, I wasn't willing to get away to my girlfriend and to sleep alone. But I always keep the chance to have some of fun there in the north. I thought I could even visit the city around, mainly since all I know about Cardiff can be resumed in three points: 1) It is in wales, probably the most celtic country, and I kinda like celtic stuff... at least I liked that trilogy of books than my brother lend me somewhen (I'd swear they're still in my mothers house); 2) There is a football field, probably belonging to somewhat important team, as one of my former-former-colleagues in the sauna went to there to see a mach between Sevilla and Real Madrid, although I don't like football so this is less relevant to me; and 3) There should be a Time-Space Rift (also known as The Rift) which is used by The Doctor to recharge his Tardis. That could be the less relevant thing about Cardiff, since this is stuff from Doctor Who and I still can difference between fiction and reality, but I don't know, maybe there is something touristic to do about the show... At least I didn't know even that city exists before I saw it on the the series (please, forgive my ignorance). However my touristic visit to the city will've to be in other time.

The adventure started on Tuesday, 10.30 am. I was at my office waiting for my travel-mate were ready to go. I was working to build a new room to our lovely unstable labyrinth when we were ready to departure. A brief stop in Tesco to get provision and fuel to the van and so. The travel was long, and bored. Sometimes a little chat, sometimes a few twits and I'd say I had a little nap. Actually I know I am not the most sociable person, even in my own language, but in English I'm worst. I know that and probably if I had been traveling with anyone whom I fell closer it could've be some different... but one doesn't chose their cards.

Well, after 3 hours we got the office in Cardiff, in the port, to be precise. The people there were really nice. I couldn't stop to imagine them as masculine men of the docks, whose hands were bigger than my face. At the beginning I was a little afraid to don't understand them, I'm not used to welsh accent, but I didn't appreciate anything. Indeed I might say it's harder to understand some Londoners... we were there installing some computers, we couldn't start with the server because we didn't have the right rails to install it on the closet. At 6 we had enough and went to the hotel, after a couple of mistaken tries to find hotel's parking (it was hider than it should) we checked in and went to walk around, to see potential places to take our dinner. As in the car, this probably had been nicer with either, me being more sociable, or being with someone whom I knew better. But we were chatting a little and checking the zone. After that we get into the hotel, and expend the rest of the afternoon there.

At evening I called my mate to plan something to dinner, and we went to McDonalds. Not the best place but we got fed at least. I enjoyed an ice-cream for free thanks to the current promotion (that one to collect monopoly streets, cool!) I realice that the closest street to my house, Whitechapel Road, is on the worst street group. To explain, that means I'm living in the Londoner version of Lavapies. After that we went again to the hotel, and I use my time to watch something of British TV, therefore I have no TV in my house yet. I started watching a pretty boring "Movie" movie, exactly Date Movie, when my girlfriend get out of her job and called me. When we hanged up, I've lost most of the movie so I zapped to found one of those movies you never know about, and probably never will unless you got lucky. Something like when at my parent's they changed the channel and was starting Iron Sky, one crazy movie about Nazis based on the Moon. This one was called Cockneys vs Zombies, so it couldn't disappoint... and British (you can tell it for the title) so two points in favour. If I had to resume the movie using a line, and thinking this line is not actually a hard work, that movie was like "Shaun of the Dead" crossing over "Lock, stock and two smoking barrels" or whatever else of the Guy Ritchie's first works. That movie was probably the best of my travel.

The second day was worse. We took our breakfast (not a bad one, I have to admit it) and went to the office again. We finished of configure the computers and we started with the server. Actually we haven't got the right rails yet, so the temporary solution was place the server on the top of the rack. To be honest most of the time I was doing nothing. I feel quite useless and unproductive. And the day before I receipt a call of my manager telling me what something was imploding in the invoice system (actually we have been inherit problems for two weeks, as I tell, when a wall falls in the maze never do it alone, and the wall which fell two weeks ago was little but bloody important, and started a kind of ripple effect in the whole system) I couldn't help but think how I was wasting time on Cardiff instead fix the problem and probably finish the new feature to the end of the week (now I know that's impossible, goodbye bonus). In addition, the server was causing troubles. Better said, the network configuration was doing and didn't want to be friend with the new server. We had to stay there till almost 9 in the evening.  So we arrived to London at 12, so I get my home at 1 so I overslept this morning... and you can tell I won't receive a pat on the back (so better don't talk about bonuses...).

X-Treme Programming

Hello everybody!
Here we are once more time. This time they waiting's been short than the last time, probably it is because a) I have more time to develop my creativity (even losing about three hours by day in travels, and "gifting" one hour more to my company thanks to bus times, see last publication); or b) I am so less tired after job-sessions than before by far. I'd bet a combination of both. However I am here again and I am plenty of news to spread.

My first month with the new job has been interesting. I've had a chance to feel confortable with the place, knowing more about the business step by step (though sometimes such step means be push into a spiking hole, I'll expand it later) and knowing more about the application we have to maintenance while the new one is developing (if it is someday), knowing better the people whom I have to work with (I'm still liking them), and, resuming, feeling like I am one more member in the team.

In the other hand, I've realize another significan disadvantage. It is relating to the traveling (what else?), not about the time but about the money. Transport in this country is not cheaper, that's known by all, but this is crazy. I have to take a tube from my house, East London, Zone 2, to Waterloo Station, Central-South, Zone 1. This ticket, is off-peak if I don't get delayed at mornings, £2.30 each; once I get Waterloo, I have to get my all-lovely-train to Weybridge £15.40 out and return ticket; and from Weybridge, if every happens on track, I can get a bus which drop me at office's door (yes, 30 minutes before my must-in time) whose tickets cost £2 each. Thereby, if I don't oversleep, and tube-train combination don't delay I spend about £25 per day. If something goes bad, I have to pick a taxi from Weybridge to the office, which cost about £5 (this have happened two times till now, and no one because of my, but the train...). According all of this, and since my girlfriend doesn't seem to quitting from her job, everything points to me buying a car.

Getting a car is not an exiting idea to me, I don't like drive, I don't like have a car (costs, maintenances, responsibilities, dependencies...) and I don't know a damn about them, so I'm afraid to be deceived by any of these cunning knaves who fill this city. But probably I'll do it finally. I don't wanna expend so much money on this, and if I can chose I prefer a diesel motor, to expend even less on fuel, but right now it's so early to say anything.

Turning back to the job. As I said I like it, actually a big amount of my energy have to be focused to fix any raised bug in the old application (from now on Old Sorax, hopefully I'm not revealing any company secret) with, common sense'd say, shouldn't be too much as this application is being used for six years or so, but If you don't mind a small literally touch in this, we can compare a good application with a tough castle, but modern and prepared to be changed, with sockets and plugs to add, remove or replace different parts of this castle. A bad application can be like a small settle, with thin wooden planks stuck at ground in a way that you couldn't move it if you want, but a wind with strength enough could break the wall in bits. This application is none of those. This one is a maze made with Jenga blocks, you have to go over the corridors (and got a dead end many times) to find the wall you wanted to move, and when you find it, probably the wall and the ones touching it fall down because you sneeze to close of them.

My job, sometimes is moving walls, or create new ones, but sometimes I have to find a hole in these walls and plug it, what is like sneeze but ten times stronger. I actually find this pretty entertaining, and let me be closer the rest of the people in the office, which is good to my English skill and to my social life (someday my girlfriend won't can say all my friends are actually hers) and, to be honest, fixing bugs is my favourite part of a developing job, even when I have to deal at same time with three Critically-Critical-Dead-Threaten ones as have happening latest days (headache is my middle name)... Maybe I have something broken on my head, but I actually enjoyed it, even when I stare at the code and I can see how it is staring me back with evil intentions.

But working is not every I have been doing. I have had time to take some beers with my colleague in
here, yes, who was gonna say I was gonna drink beer with a relative frecuency. It's true I never was a beer lover, but I've found these ale beers more interesting than usual lagers we can find in Spain. In addition, spend a time with people outside job environment is really thankfully.

Besides I have spent more time with my girlfriend's mates, whom are, at this moment, the closest thing I have right now to actual friends (with a exception of my workmate whom I hang out to take beers). A couple weeks ago we went together to Thorpe Park, a theme park near to here. It was awesome. I had lots of fun, and I loved it. This parks reminded me a little to my childhood theme park, both are small compared with others like Warner Bros Park or Disneyland, and both don't concern too much about decorates and atrezzo, they just care about rides. Those rides were so exciting and one of them, my favourite, named Colossus, was really thrilling. It was funny when I was perfect posing in all the pictures on the rides, looking at the camera and smiling or so... but what can I say? I have years of experience posing at rides to get the perfect picture.