and another chapter about to closed

Its been a while since I last updated my blog..to be exact 281 days or 9 months and 8 days. Oh well time flies so fast..I did not noticed it was that long.

Last June 1, I wrote about joining a firm. Now I am about to leave again. Why? It’s complicated. It took me quite a while to decide, It was not an easy decision but I know it is the right thing to do at this point in my career. Why complicated? Because I gained new friends, which is not surprising for me..because everywhere I go I tend to make new acquaintance that eventually become close to me. I am happy. Then why do I have leave?

To be continued..

Too many new things in my life..

Its been a while since I last updated my blog..I was really busy the past months although I was not working full time back then, still a lot of things is going on with me, for example I was busy sleeping until 10 in the morning, hectic schedule with reading and solving puzzles, too occupied in playing PSP and PS2…busy right?..Seriously I was not a total bum, I still have my clients to deal with, but most of the time I chose to put them on hold and get back to them when I have the inspiration or motivation to work. That is the beauty of being a freelance. I worked at my own pace and my own time as long as I can deliver what is expected from me and best of all, nobody has to shout at me “Hey you there! We have a deadline to beat, get your lazy ass up and work!”. If you think being a freelance is fun, well no doubt It is! Except that it also entails a lot of discipline, you can not always put everything on hold and leave everything hanging into thin air, you must also restrain yourself from going back to bed, watching television or playing games because otherwise your clients will look for a new consultant, who will prioritize them. That is the moral lesson of this story, and I had to learn that the past months, not that my clients terminated my contract and got a new set of consultants. I just had to consciously keep that in mind so that it would not happen to me. Being a consultant or freelance is something not new to me, I have done that countless times, while working full time I had other jobs along the side. I was used to working frantically, jumping from one project to another, working 8 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon and rushing to be online again by 7pm to have a virtual meeting with the other developers who are geographically dispersed and staying up late until the wee hours of the morning. I missed those days! I have realized that I am unfamiliar to having too much time. That is new to me.

Anyway, I was offered a full time job again. At first I was not interested because I do not have any plan of being an 8 to 5 employee again, I was having a blast being a freelancer. A few weeks later I changed my mind, I said I missed the good old frantic days of my life, so I accepted it. So what is new about that? It is in a different location (not the usual Ortigas or Makati where I used to work), a whole new set of people and a new set of clothes..this time I won’t be using my usual outfit of shirts, jeans and rubber shoes. The office attire should be slacks, blouse and ladies pumps..yep I will be wearing girly shoes. So that is definitely new to me.

Third new thing about me, I am going back to school in pursuit of a second degree. I will be taking up Masters of Technology Management. This will require me to face fresh new challenges and overcome obstacles such as: managing time between my son and my husband, my work and my other work..:). But I am optimistic, I will persevere. I am confident that I can pass the day to day inconveniences, the late and sleepless nights of reviewing for the exam. After all, some sacrifices are necessary when you are working to fulfill your new found passion.

Top Five Mistakes I see …

1. Fuzzy Vision and Mission. Lack of strategic alignment; management of the organization do not know where the company is going and what it is trying to achieve in the future.

2. Making the same mistake twice. Everyone makes mistakes. Making the same mistake twice because a lesson was not learned the first time is foolish. Especially for a leader of the company. The ability to manage continuous change and constantly adapt to rapidly changing environments by introducing new business ideas and concepts is the primary concern of the management.

3. Blaming co-workers, employees and subordinates for the managements own shortcomings. First rule of leadership when something goes wrong its always your fault.

4. Bad mouth your employees. Bad mouthing your employees is like bad mouthing yourself.

5. Gossip. Gossip often seems harmless, even fun. In fact, gossip erodes confidence in your judgment. If the management gossip about one person, they will be expected to gossip about everyone. Gossip erodes trust in the management, the very thing you are trying to build.

I am ashamed to say I am part of this management, I admit and acknowleged the faults and mistakes I have contributed. I will own up my errors and bad decisions, without weaseling. More important, I want to correct my mistakes and learn from them. Unlike some people who distance themselves from responsibility for their actions and resort to self-justification, persuading themselves that they did nothing wrong — that, in fact, they did a good thing.

I fully comprehend the gravity of the situation, this is something that should not be ignored or disregarded because it affects my attitude towards work, my characteristics as a person and my beliefs. I need to do something about it. I have resigned from Wingcast Incorporated Philippines, not because I am running away from the challenges but because I have realized my insufficient knowledge, the void and my incompleteness to set things right. I need to find myself and learn. If I stay longer the system will eat me up alive!

A series of fortunate and not so fortunate events…

This is a report I sent to UNDP/IOSN as part of the FOSS Exchange Grant program I had recently participated.

About Joanna Liza Mariazeta

My Name is Joanna Liza Mariazeta Taguinod 26 years old and a proud Filipino, I am formerly the Chief Technology Officer of a small medium enterprise. I was one of the participants in Asia Source 2 which was held in Sukabumi, Indonesia. I have long been using Free/Libre Open Source Technology way back 2002, and I believe in the power of FOSS, I also believe in its ideal of sharing and helping each other. Although I get dissappointed sometimes because of the Alpha Male and Alpha Female culture, which is very evident in mailing list and in forums sites. But that doesn’t stop me from helping those who need help. I have been involved in several FOSS oriented Project like “Piloting Free and Open Source Softwares (FOSS) using Open Standards in E-Governance Applications for Local Government Units” which was funded by European Commission. Since joining Asia Source 2, I am now more active in FOSS projects and information dissemination about FOSS. Im proud to say that I make a living by using and deploying FOSS and at the same time advocacy is part of what I am doing. I am also a volunteer advocate for International Open Source Network, I recently participated and had a talk in PHP Users Group Conference here in the Philippines where I imparted how it feels like to be part of Asia Source 2 Boot camp, how to contribute to FOSS projects and being fortunate to be chosen as an IOSN beneficiary two times this year.

Aside from FOSS advocacy, I also encourage and mentor females who wants to be in the Information Technology, It is very evident that there is a gender imbalance in IT, very few women choose the career path of being a Developer, Systems Administrator etc. Taking part in AstConference or being successful in what I do is a great example for those women out there to show them that there is an equal oppurtunity for women.

 

The Event

AsterConference will again take the ground of its own home town in Kuala Lumpur on the 19th November 2007

AsterConference is a conference dedicated to the wildly popular Asterisk, the open source telecommunication platform that has taken the world by storm. This conference will bring to each locality a panel of regional and local speakers to share their knowledge and expertise on the potential and benefits of what Asterisk can bring to a corporation of all sizes. Targeting both potential and existing user audiences, the conference will help the audience to have a wider understanding of what Asterisk is, its powerful and cost-saving applications, and hear testimonies of how companies have benefited greatly from it.

 

My Expectations about the Event

Thru AsterConference I expect to expand my knowledge about Asterisk, get to know the latest happenings in Asterisk community, the new technologies and functionalities that will be incorporated in the future development of Asterisk. I also want to get first hand information about the companies who utilizes the potential of Asterisk, get to see their working demostration of products built on top of Asterisks.

 

My Travel Experience

I was really excited when I received the email that I was accepted for the FOSS Exchange Grant. I was really fortunate to have been a beneficiary for the Exchange Grant program, I plan to take the Digium Certification and attend the Asterisk Conference. I plan to make the most out of this event and so I made preparations for the exam that I will take, I studied and read the whole O’reilly book which Digium recommended as guide for the exam. As the exam nears there was no confirmation regarding my flight details and where to get my allowance and it made me quite alarmed. I patiently waited for several days until I can no longer take it and sent an email back to UNDP, they replied that I should wait for the call coming from UNDP Philippines, it is only 2 days before the exam and I still did not receive any calls yet. Unfortunately for me the whole examination thing went down to drain. I was not able to take the exam, nobody called or emailed me. I was disappointed and distressed. I thought I should make the initiative to call UNDP Philippines because if I do not do that, then I would not be able to attend even the conference and so I did. I asked them if I could atleast route my flight to Singapore instead of going directly to Kuala Lumpur, a fellow participant in Singapore is planning to go to the conference also, we plan to go there by bus . I thought maybe this time I will be permitted to make up for the inconvenience. Again another unfortunate thing, they said I have to pay for the price difference of routing to Singapore. Oh well, I guess it could not be help, the difference is quite big and so I have to inform my friend from Singapore that I wont be able to stop by and just directly fly to Kuala Lumpur.

After several exchanged of email they have finally booked my flight. I was booked noon of November 17. I thought atleast I am 1 day early from the conference. I can still do some sight seeing and visit the famous Petronas Tower.

November 17

Malaysia Airline from Manila landed in Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

I was overwhelmed seeing the brimming Kuala Lumpur International Airport. I guess you can tell the progress of a country by seeing their airport and KLIA surely says a lot about malaysias advancement. As I was enjoying the varied surroundings around me an acquintance I met named Idris Ashraf at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, while I was waiting to board, called my attention. He asked if I am okay I seemed to look lost, he instructed me to take Taxi instead of riding the Express Train when going to the city, he said it is safer since its already dark outside. I thanked him and bid my farewell, I have a lot of exploring to do. I do not feel scared instead I feel excited. On my way out to the immigration officer I did what Idris told me to do, I got myself an airport taxi and we headed out to the great city.

After 45 minutes I was at the front of my chosen hotel which was not far from China Town. I got myself a room and unpacked my things. I roam around the hotel for a little while, then I decided to check out China town, just like any china town in other countries, its really the bargain hunters paradise. Vendors had spread out their wares on the street, the place is especially notoriuous for imitation goods on sale here – from designer stuffs to illegal VCDs/DVDs. You can also smell chinese delicacies on the streets. Even if shopping and dining is not the main purpose of going in china town, wandering around is still enjoyable experience with its spectacular sights and sounds.

November 18

I fetched a friend who came from Singapore in Puduraya Bus Terminal. We will be visiting the famous Petronas Tower. We rode the train going to KLCC, I notice that in Malaysia there is a varied mix of different cultures, however multi-racial this country is, you can see that all culture and religion blend well together. We first went to Suria KLCC, it is surrounded by hotels, office buildings, and a scenic park. Inside Petronas the intricate walls and floors are really nice. We first went to Petrosains where we spent almost 4 hours, reading and discovering the concept of science and technology of the petroleum industry. It was totally fun interacting with the exhibits on display. From time to time I had to ask one of the attendants how to play with a certain exhibits, I was amazed at how friendly the people are and how good they are in speaking english. Almost all the people that I talked to, was able to speak and understand me very well. Truly the people in Malaysia are nice and friendly, from Idris, the friend I met in Manila Airport, the vendors in China Town and the attendants in Suria, they all welcomed my questions with hospitality and friendliness. We then went to check out Aquaria. It was really a beautiful site to visit, located inside the mall. Inside Aquaria you will find land and sea animals. I was really amazed seeing the 90m acrylic tunnel showcasing brilliant sea creatures. I was really awed by the places I visited and the friendliness and hospitality of the malaysians, I know there are still more places I should visit in Malaysia and I plan to go back some time.

November 19 (The day of the conference)

I was way too early, I was the first participant to arrive. I asked the organizers how many participants they were expecting, she said around 150, I thought this must be a good conference to be able to attract such crowd, considering you have to pay almost $200. I was really excited. I got the provided toolkits and freebies and proceed to take my seat. As I made my way inside the conference hall, I checked out the booth of some of the sponsors which are Digium, Sangoma and JCMex.

The program started late, it was 9:08 AM and introduction is still not on the way. There was a mixed up with the schedule, some speakers did not came on time. We waited for another 30 minutes for the other participants to arrive, Until the organizers finally decided that the conference should start. I looked at my back and saw that there were only few who attended. I do not know if the participants are late or some just did not show up.

The program started with a phone patch to Mark Spencer, he wished the participants and speakers good luck and he told us how committed he is in keeping the Asterisk Community alive.

It was followed by discussing the Asterisk Global Perspective by Mr. Greg Vance representative of Digium and Director of Global Sales.

I noticed that A2Billing topic is too technical for other participants to understand, the speaker Mr. Areski Belaid, founder and author of A2Billing should have limited the subject to common demoninators where both technical person and corporate people can understand well. Other topics and speakers did not register well in my mind, honestly because they were not interesting enough to make their message and contents get across the audience. Almost all the speakers started their talk with answering the question like “What is Asterisk? ” or “What can Asterisk do for you?”. They have all made impeccable answers, but the problem is, none of them really showed or demonstrated a real life and functional prototype of Asterisk. I have met a lot of business men during that conference and I am pretty sure that they would be most interested if they see a working Asterisk demonstration rather than listing its features and reading it out loud to the participants. I was also disappointed that there were no speed geeking rounds or cafe sessions that would have encouraged participants involvement in the conference. Bottom line, it was a classic conference environment where speakers deliver lectures or talks to passive audiences. There is one topic that stood out and rose my interest, it was Mr. David Duffett’s Speech Technology and Asterisk. Based in Mr. Duffett’s talk, Speech Technology in relation to Asterisk looks very promising, I asked a couple of questions regarding localization in Japanese and Chinese, if there was an availability and how active is the Asterisk community in building this localized version. I was working for a japanese company back then.
Overall I am glad to have participated in the AsterConference much more in visiting Kuala Lumpur, although there were minor disappointment and unfortunate happenings, I met a lot of interesting people with whom I probably will stay in contact, thanks to common interests and malaysian friendliness.
Thru this conference I realized that many businesses are already interested in the power of Asterisk and customizing it to their own needs, however I also realized that due to this high demand, we still lack (especially here in the Philippines) Asterisk Developers and Experts. In the future I want to help out in a local Asterisk conference here in Manila, targeting potential Asterisk Developers as the main audience, aside from that if its possible to mainstream Asterisk boot camp and certification, this can only be achieve if Digium would lower the fees for the certification.

 

360-degree appraisal

I get antsy right around performance review time..Why? Its because I am no GOD..just because some damn business man put me in this position does not mean I am special. I am ordinary and I am no better than the rest of my colleugues..I dislike being put in a predicament where the lives of the people that I evaluate will be in my hands, the result will either recommend them for promotion or worst terminate them. And I definitely hate bringing the bad news…I believe that there is always a room for improvement..YES! some people maybe slow at this moment but, that does not mean that they are slow forever. I like giving people chances..oppurtunities to improve.

I found a solution where I do not have to be the sole judge..It is called 360-degree appraisals, rather than the typical supervisor-subordinate scenario. 360-degree appraisal acts more like a jury: I will have to bring together the developers who actually deal with the ratee everyday, we will create a pool of information and perspectives on which we can all base our decision. Plus, it also enables me to compare my perception on the ratee’s programming skills, styles and performance with the other evaluators. Wooh!.. What a relief!