oddments thrown in the wind

Lover of books, forensic scientist by education, baby programmer

[choitaepoong]

What hurts is that people won’t start “caring” about you until they see you’ve been strip searched and flogged. When you’re bleeding and broken, that’s when their “love and compassion” starts. Love others before they’re broken and while they still have their dignity.

[choitaepoong]

Grace Hopper Academy - Foundations Week 1

So it starts!

I had done the pre-access material (albeit not understanding everything fully, I’m sure) so the first week material is “done” but I’m really trying to get the concepts down pat so that I can recall these concepts during my Checkpoint coming up this weekend (insert panic emoji here)

The unfortunate thing is that when Foundations staff reset my account to handle some bugs (issues with accessing Office Hours and Checkpoint), they removed me from the github group and added me back, which effectively deleted my TestFirst Part 1 solutions. I had erased all my previous work and was working on them from scratch, so it kind of sucked to have that all be erased :( but alas, I guess it’s good to start over.

I’m going to start peeking at the TestFirst Part 2 to get a head start.

At my current job, I was in line for a promotion for a next step up (Criminalist III) that I had always dreamt of getting. When I started as a Crim I, I always thought Crim IIIs were so cool because they were our supervisors and handled all the day-to-day lab workflow. I got to do a lot of that work as a pod 2.0 crim II but a lot of those tasks got re-assigned to Crim III recently. 

Although maybe I could’ve gone for the interview and gotten the promotion, I felt that I couldn’t just get the promotion and leave (taking away the possibility of a promotion for a deserving criminalist who would stay to perform the actual duties), so I told my direct supervisors that I will not be pursuing the promotion at this time. Not sure if this is a stupid thing to do, but I’m pretty sure it was the decent thing to do- if i’m going to give my 200% to this new endeavor, I should go ‘all in’ and not leave any kind of doubt behind. 

I have had huge amount of encouragement (although they all expressed that they would have loved for me to stay - not trying to sound egotistical but I am very happy that my 4 years of working hard was not in vain) in terms of my decision and people trying to find ways to have me back at the lab if I find programming a terrible life choice. I am so grateful for their support...and am as always, hoping desperately that I am making the right call here.

[choitaepoong]

April (questioning her career choices, to Donna): Donna, what do I do? If working around corpses isn’t right for me, then nothing is. I feel totally lost. Donna: Saturn’s return. April: What? Donna: Saturn’s orbit around the sun takes roughly 29 years. And when it gets back to where it was when you were born, lots of turmoil, self-discovery. When I was your age, I got banned from every river boat in Germany.

Parksandrec

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[choitaepoong]

NY resolution

1. Say “thank you for...” instead of saying sorry.

2. Complete photo challenge to keep myself creative

3. learn/practice/repeat codes

4. stop doubting myself but instead spend that time a) being productive b) doing something I enjoy. 

[choitaepoong]

Project Euler Problem 4

function isPalindrome(product) {  var strProduct = product.toString().split("")  if (strProduct.join("") === strProduct.reverse().join("")) {      return true  }  return false }

function largestPalindrome(a,b) {  var array = []  for (var a = 999; a > 100; a--) {    for (var b = 999; b > 100; b--) {      if (isPalindrome(a*b) === true) {        array.push(a*b)      }    }  }  return Math.max.apply(Math, array) }

largestPalindrome(999,999)

can make shorter by making a=<b all the time?

[choitaepoong]

Grace Hopper Academy - Path to Admissions

//note: I applied for 2017 February Cohort in December 2016//

These are just some of my personal thoughts about my application and what led to the acceptance. Since there aren’t many blog posts out there about the experience at GHA (since it’s a new program at this time, just a year old), I decided I should give it a try. I can’t promise that everyone’s application process will be the same (I’m only one person after all), but I hope it helps somebody. 

Just as a background, I’m a girl that’s as far removed from programming as you might imagine. I loved language arts/literature and history classes as a child and still enjoy reading books and love the stories about the days gone by. Maybe if I’d been terrible at school except in the arts, I’d have gone down a completely different path. However, I was pretty good at math and sciences as well - not like genius level, but enough to get 5′s on AP tests and get high scores on SAT/GRE maths. I decided I was going to be a doctor (ha ha) and graduated with a Biology degree. During my undergrad, I realized I didn’t really want to be a doctor (I also had low level of perseverance during my early 20s) and changed my path toward Forensics. I went to Master’s program in Forensic Science, which I think did help to get my foot in the door, and long story short- became a forensic scientist.

After four years in the field, I do have to say that I did and still do love the field of forensic biology and DNA testing. This part is honestly the hardest part for me to let go of in switching careers and jumping into the unknown. My husband had some background in engineering and a huge interest in programming world (he’s not a programmer though), and just planted the seed in my head that I could try doing something different, exciting, and innovative. Personal reasons for why I chose to change is: 1) flexibility and versatility of a web developer career, 2) exploring the full potential of what I could learn and BE, 3) higher pay/better benefits obviously with innovative, motivated people and 4) that I love problem solving to help others/myself continually improve (aka obnoxious overachiever).

Researching

I researched quite a bit and actually applied to AppAcademy and Grace Hopper. I did get conditionally accepted into AppAcademy (~5-6 months before I applied to Grace Hopper) but wasn’t able to commit enough time/effort into it at the time. I think I was very overwhelmed by the new strange world of github and instructions about setting up my mac for all the additional work I had to complete before the next coding challenge interview. On top of full-time work (and when I work, I work 120% at least). So I respectfully let go of the conditional acceptance. 

When I heard about this women-only programming bootcamp, the idea suddenly became so much more palatable than the a/A. The interview process was also much friendlier at GHA. The slack office hours at a/A intimidated me rather than helped me, because the questions being asked there were so much further ahead than anything I had understood so far…but GHA offers a TA dedicated to three students in Foundations, and if you’re falling behind in foundations, you’re required to have a one-on-one with the TA until you get the work done. I love that support! All in all, I do keep reading great things about AppAcademy though (very selective 5% admission, ~98% graduates hired), and maybe if I was at a better place in my life in that time, I would’ve stuck with it and gotten through it somehow. But I am just thrilled by GHA at this moment!

Both of these are tuition-deferred schools, which is great for me because I wasn’t ready to commit 10k+ up front if I don’t eventually get a dev job after the program.

Application (December 4th //accidentally submitted)

The on-line application was pretty easy to complete. The first part requires the resume and test scores (either SATs/GREs). 

Second part was more of open-ended questions about why you’re interested in program, why do you think you’ll be a good student, etc

I wanted to take some time to answer these questions but didn’t have time to flesh out the answers, so I was going to come back to my admissions later, but I found out to my dismay the application had been submitted…but I did get invited to schedule my coding challenge on December 5th.

Timed Coding Challenge (December 8th)

I prepped by doing the Codewars 8kyu, 7kyu, and couple 6kyu problems & doing 80% of Codeacademy Javascript tracks according to the recommendations on GHA website (and Fullstack Academy website).

There were five problems, beginning with a pretty easy problem and working up to the toughest fifth one. I couldn’t answer the last question, but understood the general idea of what had to be done to solve the problem, so I just wrote that in the comments and submitted it.

They give you 75 minutes to complete it and I took ALL 75 minutes.

I did sort of panic at first…but thinking about the problems soon took over the nerves.

I got a email saying they want to interview me on December 9th! I really appreciated their fast turnaround time.

Live Coding Challenge/Interview (December 19th)

First of all, this was the best interview that I could’ve ever had! My interviewer Elisabeth was very patient and easy to talk to.

For what to expect, you can read this website. It is exactly as it is described.

The coding challenge was harder, but I was very comfortable in asking my interviewer questions to see how I could progress, communicated when I was lost/confused, and also did my best to demonstrate what I did know and what I thought should be done (even though I may not be able to find the right syntax/methods at the time). 

In the end we got the problems (two total) to work. I did contact Elisabeth later so I could look over the problems and learn the concepts behind them for the future.

Although I felt like I totally failed the problem-solving part, I came away with a great experience of learning from a compassionate and talented teacher. This is what I’m looking forward to the most at GHA this February…the positive collaborative learning environment!

Acceptance Email (December 21st) & Acceptance Call (December 27th)

Because I was spoiled by the quick turnaround time of GHA, I was hoping to hear from them on December 20th…however, they responded the day after that with a warm welcome from the Fullstack Admissions team. They said my admission was valid for any future cohort at Fullstack if I wished. Of course, I am going to stick with GHA :)

I scheduled a phone call conference with Shanna Gregory, the Dean of Grace Hopper. 

She said I could opt for a later cohort if I had any issues with starting in February - but I really wanted to start early, now that I’ve switched tracks already. It’s good to know they offer that flexibility, though!

The call was about 15 minutes, I didn’t really have more questions left at this point because I had attended their webinar and asked many questions to Elisabeth as well during the interview. I did confirm that their hiring outcomes were similar to the ones advertised by Fullstack Academy. 

Deposit ($3000) is due in a week and I can’t wait to start my prepwork :)

In the meantime, it’s back to codewars and Project Euler for me…Foundations starts January 27th. Hope I can keep this studying going! (I’ve been studying 2-3 hours every night) I’ll be documenting as I go,…

[choitaepoong]

Two days after the election

I’m still hurt and disheartened…but also immensely encouraged by the outpouring of love and support toward those who are marginalized and terrorized by the results. As an Asian American woman, I do have some concerns for the future but my fears are far less significant compared to the possible terrors that loom for our friends and neighbors unless we wake up from the daydreams of complacency and apathy. If you are scared, feel completely alone, and have lost hope in this world, we are with you. I am with you. You are not alone in your tears, grief, and struggle. We must and will stand together through this.

[choitaepoong]

1:05am election 2016

It's a tragedy that this election has pitted Americans against each other so that the two halves of this country are forced to view the other half as something alien, foreign, and completely illogical. Is there a way to mend the rift? Is there a way for me to understand why this decision was not a decision driven by a hatred of certain gender, race, and religion? Is there a way we can be one united country again, with logical decision-making for our country that we can all be ultimately be respectful of?

[choitaepoong]

Today I'm incredibly tired and sad. I worked so hard today, being accommodating and thoughtful to the very limit of what I could be. Answering five people's questions about exam throughout the day, picking up most of the difficult exam (fingernails, hat, suspect/vic kit, etc), and figuring out tomorrow's workload. At the end of the day my hands went spazzy and my eyes hurt from working but I finished what needed to be done to keep our group going. I'm so tired because I don't know if any of that will ever be really appreciated. Or respected. Or even noticed. Too easily hard work is dismissed by a wisecrack or by focusing on mistakes. I'm disheartened when I hear of lazy, reactive people be praised and uplifted. I can't help comparing myself to those people's effortless lives and the extent I have to TRY so hard to be liked or wanted in a social setting. I don't know why I feel this way so much. I wish I was impervious to these feelings

[choitaepoong]

[choitaepoong]

another tough day

Everyday I think about how lucky I am to be working where I am, in the city of millions of people, finding joy in solving problems and contributing to the greater community outside of myself. It really makes me realize there's no room for demeaning others, exaggerating each other's human mistakes, comparing scores on the very small competitions we secretly undertake that ultimately have no meaning in the large tapestry of life. I am glad and thankful to be the flawed and weak person that I am, and in my weakness I hope I am letting others flourish in the best way that they can, without exploiting and hurting others...

[choitaepoong]

What I'm reading & what I look like today

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Beat down properly today

When I get bullied (yes there are bullies even when you're a grown up, unfortunately), I am angry that I am angrier at myself for not fighting back than at the speech/actions of a crazy sociopathic individual

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Good bye Halmuni

My mom's mom passed yesterday in sleep. She had been ailing for three years and although I knew she was very close to passing, I never thought it would actually happen. My halmuni was a woman of tremendous faith, endless humility, and steadfast love. Her name was Yeoboon after Yeppeun because she was so pretty. She had six children with her husband but soon became a single mother when my grandfather died in a traffic accident. Nevertheless, she took on jobs selling things on the streets and cleaning offices to make ends meet and to give her children a chance at a prosperous life. I honestly have no idea how strong she must've been to make it through on her own. Her love for God was even greater than her love of her family. She cried out to God in times of need. She thanked Him first over all else when there was something to celebrate. She spread goodness and understanding to those who were around her and shared the gospel in the every action of her life. She reminded each of her children of the hardship she'd been through and how God still blessed her life everyday by his steadfast presence and overflowing love. She always wanted to feed her grandkids whenever she got the chance. She made everything from scratch and made food that was amazing. I think my mom's food is amazing but my mom says halmuni's food is even better so...how amazing is that? She would always press a few bills into my hand when I visited Korea to go and eat something yummy. She would let me put on the A/C even though she would never put it on for herself in extreme heat. I wish I had gotten to grow up close to her, to have been able to take care of her in the last moments of her life. I also know that now that she's in heaven, she's dancing with joy that she's reunited with her Father in heaven. She is looking over us and praying for our family that we would follow her example and live for Christ. I hope I can honor her in the way I show love to people, by how I have patience for all, and how I work hard to love on the people around me and people who are affected by my work. I love you halmuni. You are the true hero of our age. I will miss you but I surely will see you one day.

[choitaepoong]

My life in a nutshell…well a bit exaggerated in parts but yeah

[choitaepoong]