Neeeext!?

I finished my edX HTML5 Course yesterday. It’s been a tough month for studying. I went to Virginia for a week to help a friend with lots of little ones get ready to move and, while I was able to access course material from my phone, it certainly wasn’t the amount of time I have been able to put in. It was worth it, though. I met a niece and two nephews for the first time and got caught up with a friend I’ve known for 21 years but haven’t seen in about five. Isn’t it weird, being a grown up?

Additionally, I applied for a job at an Amazon Fulfillment center to fill in the gaps while I continue my coding education and build a portfolio. Their hiring process is somewhat convoluted, due to the fact that they hire en masse, and has taken up a fair bit of time between research and visits to the office for the outside company they use to process new hires (an hour’s drive each way) but – eventually – I was selected to move forward and am just waiting for a start date.

Yesterday, when I sent the link for my edX certificate to my Dad, immediately after his congratulations he asked: “What next?” – a thing I love about him. He didn’t assume I was anywhere near done, he’s always been supportive of whatever path I decided to follow in terms of a career, which is pretty cool. Anyway, the next step will be to follow a guide I found in the freeCodeCamp forum. There are three, each involving more computer science/engineering components. After some research, many reviews, and advice from The Honey, I decided to start with the shortest “Job Ready” version, adding in math and algorithms, work on freeCodeCamp challenges when I need a break, and then move up from there. Another student had made each guide into Trello boards, super convenient. I installed RescueTime and Pomello to track the time I spent on each segment – then got to work.

One Down,

Two to go…

I finished the final for the HTML5 Intro course this morning. I passed with a 93 – which is more than okay with me, especially for doing six weeks worth of work in two weeks. It was just the encouragement I needed. My practice project was pretty simple, focused mostly on the importance of accessibility features and semantics, as well as the usefulness of the flexbox layout – but I did track the last couple weeks of updates so I can look back in a few weeks and cry at it, haha!

On to Part I 🙂

Tunnel Vision

First of all, this photo isn’t mine. I lost mine by being one of those dummies who knows better but procrastinates backing up their photos until one day the phone actually dies and they’re gone. I found this one by Googling the Detroit airport.

Anyway, I have decided to put a hold on the pork chops recipe I keep teasing, I’m going to use it in a project for the html5/css class I’m taking. I’m in the middle of week four, but on track to finish the intro course by the end of next week. I can’t wait to start the next course; it feels good to be learning again. Being able to use the knowledge I’m gaining almost instantly feels even better. It’s why I’ve been a bit absent here, I’ve started dreaming about my homework projects and I don’t even mind.

After a bit of trial and error, I’ve caught up on a year of missed sleep and found a routine that works: I work out in the morning before breakfast, take a quick shower, eat while I check my socials, and get to “work”. I take a twenty minute break after a couple hours to practice what little yoga I’ve learned, and light housework like throwing in a load of laundry, then I sit back down and study until lunch. I’ve gotten out of the habit of stocking much junk food, so I usually eat something nutritious, do a little more housework, and get back to work until about four o’clock when I go for a quick run or do a bigger house chore, then make dinner.

It sounds kind of boring to write out, I guess – but I can’t tell you how nice it is to have a normal routine that allows me to take care of myself and my house whilst learning something valuable that I actually enjoy. AND I get to sit in front of this awesome window for most of the day. I’m happy in spite of myself and healthier than I’ve been in a long time. This is what I want for myself and I am just praying an opportunity comes along that allows me to keep something similar. At least for a while.

Time to get back to work.

New Things

I bought this little primrose during a quick grocery run earlier in the week. My houseplants haven’t been doing so well since the cold set in but the primrose is supposed to thrive in cooler temperatures so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. You may or may not know that Primrose was the name of Katniss’ younger sister in The Hunger Games so, when I sent a picture of it to my seventeen year old sister she threatened to kill me if I let it die. If you’re familiar with the series you know why, otherwise I won’t spoil it – I enjoyed those books immensely and I can’t even lie about it.
In the past few days I’ve made some concrete decisions as well in terms of finding suitable work. I’ve started brushing up for a CompTIA A+ Certification using a video series by Professor Messer. The series is pretty cool, breaking each section down into concise seven or eight minute chunks really helps with both focus and reference; so if you’re looking into getting this cert yourself (or are simply interested in brushing up on the material), based on what I’ve seen so far I’d definitely recommend his work.
I also signed up for a three part HTML5/CSS series on edX.org, more as a refresher and to learn about new features since it’s been a while, but I’ll also be taking their courses on JavaScript and teaching myself PHP when I’m through.
I’m thinking I’ll start with IT support after I get the A+ while continuing to work toward web development and see what happens from there.

Last week I spent two days writing and rewriting my email application to Automattic before sending it on Sunday, but I’ve since read that they don’t usually provide much training so I’m doing my best not to have high hopes for that one (and more or less failing, haha), at least until I’ve trained myself more thoroughly. They seem like a great company to work for so I’m hoping at the very least to get a constructive letdown.

And finally, after years of curiosity, I’ve started doing yoga. Not because everyone’s doing it, but because I really wanted something low impact to compliment running and yoga reportedly has the added benefit of being stress relieving so I figured why not? I just started following some super basic tutorials online this week, just twenty minutes in the morning and afternoon between studying and general homemaking. But I am pretty sore, in a good way. So if anyone has some recommendations on tutorials along those lines for a super awkward beginner feel free to link ’em in the comments, and thanks in advance.