Sorting Algorithm

So I just completed a sorting algorithm that was an optional exercise for us to do. It said it would take us 2-10 hours to complete, and it only took me an hour and a half so I'm feeling pretty good about that. I'm feeling less good about the fact that I had written out the correct code over an hour ago. It was the first thing I typed, but I must have changed it before I tested the code so I thought it was wrong...

Despite that, this has me feeling really good about where I am to start the session in February!

Productivity

I gotta say, I love going to a coffee shop to work. At home I am surrounded by all my hobbies. There is a fridge full of food waiting to be cooked. Yes that is a hobby, but since eating is a neccessity, I put it in a different category than say Magic: The Gathering. Although some may argue that Magic is also a necessity, and I would not disagree with them. There are boxes waiting to be unpacked. Did I mention that I've had to move twice this month? There are ever growing piles of laundry and dishes.

The point being, I can have a very productive day at home, working hard, and yet get nothing that was on my list for that day done. That's what happened to me yesterday. I ended up spending the entire day getting moved in because I decided that I couldn't get any work done while surrounded by boxes. I got a lot done. I think it will only take one more day dedicated towards the moving process to get myself settled in. But that list of things I set for myself to spend the day getting done yesterday? Nada.

So today I dragged myself to bed at 8:30. (I am not a morning person. As in, I don't believe in being awake until morning is over.) And went to Starbucks where the only thing to distract me from my work is taking a drink of my coffee. And in the past three and a half hours I managed to finish everything that I was supposed to get done. All of it.

So obviously there are some changes I need to make to my home environment before I start Coding Dojo. Good to know. Until then, I've scheduled till around 5pm to be here so I can accomplish more.

Cold

My room is 22 degrees colder than the rest of the house. I may be an Alaskan girl at heart, but I've had seven years to acclimate to warmer weather. Also, there is no snow. This was actually my first Christmas without snow. Call me a purest, but if it's going to be cold, I want snow.

Day 3

Well it's day three of working on my precourse material for Coding Dojo. I don't have much to report. I slept in super late today, but when I woke up I felt infinitely better than I had the previous day so I guess I needed it. Thus far, all of the precourse material had been review for me. I take this as a good sign, and looking ahead I think I will be able to get done with both parts three and four as well as repeating part two to make sure that I've gotten it completely down tomorrow. I've been happy with the pace I've gone through the material. I know I'll slow down a lot once I get to things that I haven't done before so it's nice that I'm getting through this quickly so that I'll have more time to spend on the stuff I haven't already gotten down. Like I said, I don't have much to report so I'm just gonna get back to work, and maybe spend sometime reading tonight!

Another day, another post.

Hello lovelies,

Today is day two of my attempting to post everyday. So far so good. I haven't been feeling great. I had a caffeine headache till 6pm. I really need to start drinking tea again instead of coffee and redbulls. Shouldn't be too hard. These days tea is far more accessible for me. It will also save me money so win-win-win. I've only gotten in about three to four hours on my pre-course material today though I will certainly work on it more after I post this. Until I'm done at my job (my last day is the 26th) I'm going to be on a night schedule so I'm not concerned about how much time I've spent thus far. Additionally, I have the next three days off so I look forward to being productive while being able to relax a bit.

Despite not having spent as much time as I would have liked today, I have been happy with what I've gotten done thus far. I feel like I'm getting through the lists of things to do efficiently. I will say that I am developing a nice ever-growing list of things I need to look up. I will probably have to schedule a good six hours tomorrow or the next day to devote to that. School doesn't start for three weeks so I probably don't need to work as much as I'm planning to, but I'm excited to get a jump on things and find a good routine for myself.

I don't think I have anything more to say for now. So I guess I'll be off!

Coding Dojo

And once again, it has been almost a year since my last post. I truly am terrible at this. On the bright side, I now have something to make me post regularly, and hopefully get myself into the habit. A few days ago I received my acceptance letter from Coding Dojo. For those who don't know, this is a three month super intensive "coding bootcamp". It's basically a computer science degree compiled into a three month program. It takes less time than a CS degree, and less money, but requires persistence, determination, and focus. Luckily, those are my specialty. So as of February 2nd, I will be putting in roughly 15 hour days. I couldn't be more excited.

This also meant that I got to give my two weeks notice at my job today. I can't tell you how much stress that will relieve for me. It's not that I disliked the job itself, on the contrary, I love working hard, and would probably be happy in most any job as long as I was accomplishing something. The problem was that I was morally opposed to the way my employers ran their business and more specifically how they treat their staff. I won't go into specifics. The point is, I won't have to work their too much longer.

But back to Coding Dojo. Today I paid the $1000 security deposit to secure my seat and get access to the precourse material. This consists of lectures, articles, courses, lots of downloads, etc. to complete. One of the things on the list was to make a blog if we didn't already have one and to start posting about our experience. To be honest, I spent a long time debating if I should use this blog or not. If I should delete all of my old posts or not. People I actually know or will meet will be reading this blog. It's been almost two and a half years since I started this blog during which time I struggled with high school, an anxiety disorder, college, dropping out of college, and going back to finish my associates degree. I've grown a lot. I've experienced a lot. This blog doesn't show much of it since I hardly post, but it shows some. My past is a part of me, and I won't just erase it. In addition, I don't think people talk about their struggles with anxiety disorders enough. There isn't much awareness even though our society breeds it. I'm not going to remove what I've written about it.

For the at least the next three months I will be attempting to post everyday. Therefore I will be pretty happy if I end up posting once a week on here. I'm all about progress these days, and I view every post as progress. As for Coding Dojo, I was somewhat skeptical about their program when I first started the application process, but I've been nothing but impressed by the staff and what I've seen thus far of the program. I also love that they have given me work to do before the program actually starts. I'm ready to get a jump on things!

Till next time.

Moving Forward

It's been almost a year since I've posted on here. I didn't realize, or I would have posted a long time ago. So here is a quick overview of the past year. The last time I posted was about a week before I left for Washington State University. I won't go into specifics, but WSU ended up being a really bad experience for me that resulted in me dropping out after the first semester, and backtracking significantly in my depression and anxiety. I then spent the next few months working, and getting back to a safe emotional place.

I realized that moving back in with my parents wasn't conducive towards the personal growth that I was hoping to achieve, so I moved in with some friends about a forty five minute drive away. Once I had gotten myself to a healthier place, I enrolled in the spring quarter at the community college near where I live. I few weeks ago, I finished up my Associates Degree.

After that my parents had a far different reaction than I was anticipating. I expected them to want me to continue to move forward. Pick the next step, and take it. The reaction I got was almost the complete opposite. My mom talked about how since I got my Associates at 18, I was now two years ahead of everyone else, and that meant I had some time to explore my interests and just enjoy life.

So I guess we'll see where life takes me next.