Tag: coding

Accomplishments come in many forms

Today, I was mostly busy tidying, and it felt really good. I’ve been so focused on doing my course lately – so that I can get a job and start earning money and saving money, so that my man can do the training he needs to pursue a job as a pilot instead of his current job – that I’ve felt bad anytime I’ve wanted to tidy instead. Even tidying in the evening for a bit has felt unfair, somehow, not to mention exhausting after a day filled with working hard mentally and avoiding thinking about how much I want to tidy the house.

Today, for whatever reason, I just chose to let it all go and to do the tidying I desperately wanted to do.

And I’m so glad I did it that way. It made all the difference. And I even went and coded a little teensy bit just before bed, which was satisfying in its own way, since it wasn’t required (by me) today, yet I did it anyway.

I just feel so… accomplished… after today. Yeah. My whole body viscerally feels the sense of accomplishment from today, and it is awesome. I am incredibly grateful.

Tomorrow, I genuinely want to do more coding work, but I still want to have a day similar to today in terms of tidying. I have a few little things I want to finish up and one bigger project involving sorting through and creating a storing method for all the bathroom stuff (for both bathrooms, really). A third of it is in the living room, a third is split between the bedroom and the other bathroom, and the final third is sitting in the guest room right now. I am getting sick of seeing all that stuff around and having to avoid using this or that because it’s too much of a hassle to go pull out. We have our bathroom vanity and drawers put together now, so I can go ahead and sort everything out for actual everyday storage. Time to find places for everything, at last.

Oh… I also have a ton of laundry to fold. Ugh. Hahaha. Hey, perhaps my man will decide to lend a hand there and learn how to fold his different clothes so they all store properly in his drawers. That would be cool. However, the likelihood is rather slim, so I won’t hope too hard on it. Rather, I’ll hope plenty hard in it; I just won’t expect it actually to happen. That’s the one. 😛

Anyway, off to sleep now, way later than wanted. But much was accomplished today. Much.

Thank you, God. Your will be done. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

Sunday

For the first time in what feels like months, we got just to hang out and do stuff at home on a Sunday after Church. And it was awesome.

He got to get to work on finally sorting through the garage’s contents. I got to nap a bit, do some coding work for my courses, and get started on checking whether CDs were in my music library already (and adding them, if they weren’t). He came inside every so often just to see me and trade kisses, then went back out to continue working.

It was great. I had a really nice day, though am, nonetheless, going to bed quite exhausted.

At that, thank you, God. Amen. Goodnight.

Post-a-day 2023

A different day

It was very difficult to get out of bed this morning. Very difficult. I didn’t make the first workout’s alarm, as I was way too heavy with exhaustion. However, I snoozed the second workout’s alarm twice and then got myself up before it went off the third sounding… something like that. It might have been only one snooze… Whatever the case, it took a lot of effort to get up, even then, but I did it and I exercised.

Afterward, I made breakfast tacos for me and for my man, and I even weight and measured for his macro and calorie counts for his food. Then, though I wanted to sleep, I showered and got to work on my coding courses. Early afternoon, while he went to the gym, I finally lay down for a nap for about an hour. I needed it at that point, as my brain was starting to take breaks all on its own.

Afterward, I got back to work. One of the things I learned in the history but I was reading was about the original NASA computers – real people who did mathematical computations, before machines existed for it – and about the original IBM used at NASA, which took up an entire large room and required a whole slew of people just to make it work at any given time. It was a massive advancement at the time, though it is comical to consider that it could do less than just about any digital device we have today.

Nonetheless, reading that bit of history finally put me over the edge for wanting to see the movie it briefly referenced, “Hidden Figures”. I’ve known about the movie since it came out in 2016, but never quite worked up the full desire to sit and watch it. But now was the perfect time. I could appreciate – and understand! – so much more about it now than I would have even several weeks ago, let alone years ago. The movie was quite cool and was well done. Though, my man and I both chuckled at the part where a new reporter in the film said some absolute bogus info, stating the craft and man, Alan Shepard, would be traveling “at an altitude of 116 miles per hour.” Because altitude is measured in miles per hour, and all… 😛 That was rather funny to us, and we both enjoyed that we both caught it, especially since it was more of a filler kind of shot than a main one.

Anyway, I’m really glad we watched the film tonight. Now, however, I just go to sleep. Much more to do tomorrow! (Including that 7:30am workout that I always dread, somehow. Haha)

Post-a-day 2023

Another day

I had caffeine yesterday, and, due to my long mid-morning nap, I hadn’t realized how late in the day it was when I was having it. Therefore, as I lay in bed last night, just after 9pm, though I was exhausted, I never could truly fall asleep. I was doomed to dose for most of the night. By the time my alarm sounded just before six, I had deemed it smarter for me to go back to sleep than to go to the gym. I was, after all, finally able to sleep, and I still would be going to the gym four days in the week by the end of the week. So, I went back to sleep.

I ended up sleeping well for another three and a quarter hours, then got up just after nine and got to work.

Mid-afternoon, I met my mom to pick up a couple books, and ran a couple other errands before heading back home and doing more work.

At the end of it all, we even watched an episode of “Friends” before I came to bed, and it is only now just after 10pm. I feel very accomplished from today, and I am grateful for all the progress in my studies, as well as having been able to make the other errands work in the schedule and still get work done.

Thank you, God. Help me to continue in being satisfyingly productive each day, always pursuing your will. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Goodnight.

Post-a-day 2023

Productive again

Today, my body woke me at my 4:30-ish hour. I got up and went the bathroom, fully intending to go back to sleep. As I got back to bed, I considered that I might just want to stay up and go work out at the 5:15am class, instead of the 6:30am class, since I was already awake. But I didn’t want to take away sleep if I could still sleep well.

So, I agreed that I would lie down and see what happened. If I fell asleep, I needed the sleep. If I didn’t, then the rest would do me good, and I could get up in another 20 minutes to get ready for and go to the gym.

Sure enough, I was awake 20 minutes later, and so got up and got ready and headed to the gym. It was a great workout, and I was glad I had gone so early. I came home and ate protein and showered in the guest bathroom, then I went back to bed. I slept another four and a half hours – clearly, I still needed sleep, but just not anymore at 4:30 this morning.

And I slept hard. When I finally got up later, my man asked if I was going to the noon workout (in five minutes). He hadn’t even realized that I’d gone this morning. 😛

All that being said, I still had an extremely productive day, and am going to bed satisfied with my accomplishments.

I got a good amount done with my current project in my computer programming course, though not as much as I would have preferred. However, I am still so new to it all, I can’t expect to have it all figured out so quickly. These projects get me every time, the ones that are fully self-led, with no guidance whatsoever.

I ended up hitting a point where I knew I just needed to ask someone for some explanations, so I reached out to the meager few contacts I have in the world of computer programming. One of them told me to come on over to the house, so he could take a look and also show me some fun new stuff in the industry. I did, and the conversation was super helpful for me. It was only minimally helpful regarding the project itself, because he doesn’t do that work in particular (though, he was still helpful there, nonetheless). However, it was extremely helpful for me in terms of the mental doubts and struggles I’ve had about what I’m doing in general. He looked over the course syllabus and said it all looked really good. He agreed that I was on a good path and said that what I was doing was all right, that I had all the right instincts, and that he knew I would do very well in this industry. He mentioned, not for the first time, today that there are even people who go to school for this and get a full bachelor’s degree in it, but still can’t code – their brains just don’t have whatever it takes, don’t function in quite the right way. When I sent him a message of thanks later on, he replied, “Glad to hear it. I don’t know what it is, but you’ve got it.”

It was a very encouraging meeting. He genuinely believes that I won’t even have to wait six months to find work. “You can code!” And he was right – I can code. I just need to find the right place that will let me start where I am and continue to learn, because most people don’t start working in the industry, I think, with so little education in it as I currently have. But I am learning quickly and well – my brain truly is made for this kind of stuff – and that can make all the difference.

Anyway, not quite 9pm and I’m about to go finish my stretched and go to bed. It feels good.

Dear God, please, help me to follow the right path with all of this. Make my way clear for me, that I may pursue and fulfill your will in all that I do and that I may keep you present in all of my steps and in all of my successes. Help me to be the person I can be and want to be. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

Avoidance

I don’t wanna go to school tomorrow… But not because I don’t like school. Simply because I keep feeling a desire to avoid the situation as a whole. My assignment ends at 14:55 this coming Friday. With that, too, ends my clear daily goals and making a difference daily in the lives of others and having a clear purpose, as well as having a reasonable salary. All that goes away in a poof on Friday…

And I’m scared to face it, really, because the What’s Next is terrifying. Truly, it is. I’ll be pursuing coding full-time (as a learner, that is), in the hopes of finding work in the industry by January. That’s a lofty goal, I know. But someone told me today that I could make it happen in six months – he actually does this for a living, helping students pursue coding, you see, at a University, no less. If six months is his thought when he thinks I know nothing at all, then three months could be possible, right? I mean, all things are possible with God. And a lot will be up to me for making this all happen, though. Meaning just about all of it, really.

So, God, please, help me to be focused and effective and efficient these next several months as I pursue these dreams that have a massive edge of terror to them. The best ones always do, I know. Thank you for such a terrifying and wonderful opportunity. In your name, I pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thanks be to God. Hallelujah!

The force was with me

This morning, while putting together my supplements for the month, I had a desire to watch a Star Wars film. So, I turned it on and enjoyed it while doing the supplements.

Then, I went to work out with a friend at midday. It was awesome, of course.

Afterward, I immediately rushed to meet my dad at an open house we both were excited to see. It’s a house I’ve seen for most of my life, always wondering how it looks on the inside. The outside, of course, does not look like a house. It looks like a space ship out of a Star Wars film. Oh, wait…, because it actually was designed after one! So, it’s a Star Wars-themed house. Truly.

Get ready.

This evening, I sit down to my coding training work for the day. What is the while theme for the first topic of the day? Star Wars villains! So, I got to do some coding regarding the Star Wars films and their respective villains!

How crazy and silly and fun is that??? Three appearances of Star Wars in a single day…, and I almost never watch films these days, so even that one was a surprise on its own!

Oh, and by the way, the house was ridiculous and awesome. It felt like a high end, lounge-y space ship from Star Wars would have been. Totally.

Post-a-day 2021

Taking strides

I asked, I prayed, and I meditated on my request last night. I slept with the mala last night, and wore the mala all day today, reminding myself of the intention I set with it, each time I noticed it.

And that was great.

I had breakfast with my dad.

That was great, too.

I reached out to someone who, for whatever reason, kept calling out in my mind for me to contact. A male, yes.

And that, though nothing has come of it, including a response from him, also was great.

And I continued my progress on this coding adventure today, making what felt like major strides. I finished the CSS intro course, and then a coding intro course I had forgotten that I had ever begun (because before HTML basics caught my attention as an option!).

Finishing that felt great.

Then, I began working on an app that the family friend sent me for learning and using Swift, so I can learn to do the coding used for Apple products. That part was a blast. And I apparently am great and a natural at it, because I was doing things that just made sense to me (in order to create the shortest code), and then, in the following lesson, it would ‘teach me’ how to do what I totally had just already done… I was almost always one step ahead of the game.

That all was really great. I had to force myself to stop, using the iPad’s battery depletion as my excuse to have to stop for the day.

I was supposed to go to a yoga class with girls from the gym this evening. But I wasn’t feeling like getting out so late. I was grateful to receive a message declaring a need to reschedule from one of the girls. Woohoo! So, I worked for hours on the Swift program instead.

So, that was awesome.

And I began the reorganization and tidying that I have been very much avoiding for quite some months now (since March). There is still more to do tomorrow, especially, but it feels much mote doable, now that I have actually started it and have a vision for it.

So, that was a great relief, at least.

In other words, my day today was really awesome, and I am extremely grateful for it.

Post-a-day 2021

Nerves

I think I’m nervous. I’ve been hesitant to share with too many people about this whole computer programming and engineering thing. And I think I finally saw today why. I think I’m afraid that I’m not actually good enough for it. I’ve always seen people who do this kind of thing well to be of a caliber above me, somehow. Super brainiacs, so to speak. I’m certainly smart, but I’ve never considered myself to be that smart.

And yet, as I mentioned while speaking of my concerns the other day with the family friend – who, by the way, is one of those super brainiacs and who has confessed complete confidence in me on this endeavour -, what I have done and can do with human languages is, in its core, remarkable. Sure, it is normal and no big deal for me – it is my own brain’s workings, after all, so I know nothing else. And yet, compared to how most people’s brains work around language and languages – especially people who were not born into a multi-lingual or bilingual family -, what mine does is a total anomaly. I’ve always held that I have a math brain…, and that language is just math to me. But who ever crosses that barrier between math and language/writing? Indeed, who ever dissolves that barrier? For me, it just doesn’t exist.

And so, I can see how my brain is already set up to step into that role of super brainiac, in a way. It already is a super brainiac around language education and teaching. Now, let’s have it expand into the real of computer language and art. I am ready to create, and to improve all this junk that is out there everywhere, currently wasting people’s time left and right…

Let’s do this.

LFG

Post-a-day 2021

Learning

I began last week learning something entirely new to me. Okay, so it isn’t exactly entirely new to me – I first learned some foundations for it back in middle school. Mrs. N**** taught us in computer lab. I think most of the other kids, the girls especially, weren’t huge fans of it and didn’t really get it too well. But I was and I did. It was HTML.

Hypertext Markup Language, that is.

And, you know, though I didn’t ever realize that I could pursue learning HTML, I did pursue learning other languages. Remember, languages and math are all the same thing to me. So, a computer language just feels like a fun cross between the human spoken/written languages and the math ones. No wonder it was easy for me to pick up, and no wonder I loved it back in middle school.

But I never knew that this was the foundation upon which all of this ‘computer programming’ and ‘software engineering’ was based. Don’t ask me how – I don’t know how I didn’t ever make that connection. But, finally, I did last week.

And I’m doing beginner work on it all now, starting off with a course on HTML. Though I’m in this course to learn HTML, I kind of feel like reading the comprehensive list of code for HTML would be easier for me at the point. The blocks of text that attempt to explain things to me are often much more confusing that just looking at the actual code itself. I regularly go back to the text after reading the code, and decipher it that way – the code makes more sense seen than talked about. Does that makes sense, how I said that? I guess it is like just about anything else: you can talk to me for days about it, but, until you show it to me, it is just words and ideas, and doesn’t fully make sense or click.

But this stuff is clicking. And I’m liking it. A lot.

I’ll finish the HTML foundations course tomorrow or the next day, I think, and move into CSS or iOS app development training next. Or both…

It’s funny, though. I can tell this is important to me, because I won’t let myself cover too much direct information in a day, so as not to confuse it all later. And I am excited every night before bed, as I plan out when I will be working on it all tomorrow.

Man… did I mention that I’m a nerd? Well, it just got a bit more obvious. 😛

Post-a-day 2021