You know, the name Jose Amaya brings back some specific memories for me. It’s not about some grand theory or anything, but a very down-to-earth lesson I picked up years ago. I was much younger then, full of piss and vinegar, thinking I knew how to get things done fast.
The Old Workshop Days
I remember working on this one particularly finicky project. We were trying to get a new system integrated, and things just kept failing. One component would work, then another would break. Classic stuff, right? Stress levels were high, and everyone was scrambling, trying to patch things up, rebooting servers, tweaking code on the fly. Real headless chicken mode.
And then there was Jose Amaya. He was an older guy on the team, quiet, didn’t say much. While we were all running around, he’d just be there, methodically working his way through things. Honestly, at first, I thought he was too slow. I’d be like, “Come on, Jose, we need to move faster!” He’d just nod, maybe give a little smile, and carry on.
Learning the Hard Way (or Jose’s Way)
So, there was this one persistent bug. We’d spent days on it. I’d tried everything I could think of, my “quick fixes” weren’t fixing anything. The pressure was on. The boss was getting antsy. We were all stumped.
I remember watching Jose. He didn’t just jump into the code, which is what I, and most of the younger guys, were doing. Nah.
He started way back.
- He pulled out the original design documents. Yep, the ones nobody looks at.
- He checked the configuration files, line by line. Super tedious stuff.
- Then he started tracing the data flow, step by step, with simple tools. Not guessing, but actually watching it.
- He’d make notes. Tiny, neat notes on a pad.
It felt like watching paint dry to my impatient self back then. I was thinking, “We’re burning daylight here!”
After a few hours of this, while the rest of us were still theorizing and trying random things, Jose quietly said, “I think I found it.” Turns out, it was a ridiculously small setting, something about a port number being off by one digit in a config file we all assumed was correct because it used to be correct. Something we’d all overlooked in our rush.
What I Took Away
That was a bit of a lightbulb moment for me. My “practice” since then, inspired by Jose, wasn’t about learning a new complex skill. It was about learning patience and thoroughness. It was about understanding that sometimes, the fastest way to solve a problem is to go slow and be methodical. To not make assumptions.
So, when I get stuck on something nasty these days, I try to channel a bit of Jose Amaya.
- Stop rushing. Take a breath.
- Go back to basics. What are the assumptions I’m making?
- Check the simple stuff first. The really, really simple stuff. You’d be surprised.
- Document what I’m doing and seeing, even if it seems obvious.
It’s not glamorous. It’s not flashy. But man, it has saved my bacon more times than I can count. So yeah, Jose Amaya. Didn’t teach me with lectures, just by doing. And I’m glad I was paying enough attention to finally get it.