Though the primitive purpose of my blog is to discuss issues in Computer Science, it’s always tempting to write something a bit off-the-topic. The subject matter I want to put in writing this time is about conquering happiness. Whilst the topic is very clique when we can easily stumble upon such topic in countless number of articles, in both tabloid and non-tabloid newspaper, I still think it is always of concern, particularly to programmers.
As often, when being interviewed, people tend to portray a programmer or a computer scientist as a weird, non-sporty, untidy and super fatty/skinny person who is heavily addicted to computers, not to mention sugar drinks. They may also wonder how such sort of people can overcome depressions, or tragically, whether programmers are always in state of bad mood, and that’s why they eventually become so weird ?!
I cannot answer those questions but there is a story I want to tell. In my first year at VUB, besides being intrigued by new programming stuffs, it was both appealing and entertaining to me to meet up a group of second year Master students, called InfoGroup. They own a separate and ample room in a building. In that room, besides desktops and books, I could see a lot of snacks, beers, wines and of course sugar drinks. I still remember a skinny, curly hair guy who put a monitor on top of many Cokes cans, surrounding his working cubic was a mountain of snacks. Many of his friends, both sitting next and in front of him, also seemed so nerdy with countless lines of codes running on their screens. It was actually an interesting experience to me because it was the first time, I understood why people being so serious about programmers. It did not take me long to get used to those kinds of people, but until now, whenever I recall those moments, I always feel very funny.
Non-sporty, odd, snack addictive, etc. There are maybe more adjectives to depict a software programmers, but the truth is I never see myself being such kind of people, except the part that I am truly addictive to computers. However, the critical part I would like to emphasise is I always have weekly plans to clean up myself, both mentally and physically, through varied kinds of exercises. I also have to say that it is very hard to stick to the plan when there are thousands of bugs can silently sneak into any line of codes for which a developer has to sweatily burn his ass to write. None of developers want bugs, at least to me, but when bugs occur, it is often that I have to skip meals to fix. In such case, snacks and sugar drinks become more tempting, and sometimes unavoided.
Nonetheless, in my experience, using sugar and being active likely get me depressed and foggy. When I was in that state of mood, I can write no line of codes. I get easily get struck by minor bugs. My creativity is dead and more importantly, insomnia occurs more often. It is extremely difficult to stay upbeat during those moments. Unhappiness and loneliness creep into my heart, getting me feel bad at everything, including myself.
In order to stay upbeat, swimming, running and weight lifting has become the norm in my life style for approximately 5 years. Whilst running and weight lifting are suitable for gloomy days, swimming is always my first choice when days become warm and sunny. I always have positive feelings after every swimming session. My mind is refreshed and my flesh is toned up. Come back to nerdy guys in InfoGroup at VUB. In my second year when going to gym, I surprisingly saw a nerdy and skinny guy of InfoGroup signed up for a gym class. Many days later, I saw more members of that group went to the gym. It was once again surprisingly and entertaining to me when I saw such change. I have no clue about it but I was more happy to chit chat with them in gym class rather than in computer room.