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[codecorsetcat-blog]

Procrastination

I find that this is something that is very common coders, developers, designers, and basically most humans. I have made procrastination an art. Someone should pay me to teach a university level class on this. With that being said, I am slowly plugging away at Free Code Camp. I am currently on the Tribute Page assignment. I said I would blog about my experiences with my self-teaching of full stack development, so I am. This is going to be a pretty basic post. Edit: Not such a basic post. Got into sexism in tech a bit.

I have tinkered with different programs for free “classes” for full stack development. Bento, Codecademy, FreeCodeCamp, w3schools (they don’t advertise as full stack course so maybe it is unfair to lump them in this, but I am). As I am trying to seriously invest in  Free Code Camp. I am finding that I need extra references and information than what is provided. At one point in the course it did state that you may need to Google things or hit up people in the chat rooms for help. I really like the Gitter (similar to Slack) aspect of Free Code Camp. The people on-line are usually very helpful. You just have to get over your ego (maybe that is just me) and ask for help. It’s nice to interact with people who are willing to help. This may be old school of me, but I am still in awe that someone across the globe is in this room with me, walking me through a best approach to code/the problem at hand.

As a woman doing this program and asking for help, the Free Code Camp community that I have experienced is really non-predator. I have had experiences in past with men hitting on me, asking me for nudes in exchange for help in coding/non-coding situations, etc. This is really straight-forward help/assistance. It’s such a relief and because of that I am not as apprehensive to ask questions. Sometimes as a woman, you have to mentally put on armor and ready your mindset to deal with sexism, misogyny, violent threats, etc on-line. Free Code Camp has created a space where that is one less thing I have to worry about. Now, I am not saying it doesn’t ever happen in Free Code Camp Gitter chat. I am saying I have not experienced it. I am saying I hope I get to continue to not experience it. I hope that the more I use it, the user experience stays predator-free.

Okay, now that I have blogged and procrastinated I better get back to Bootstrapping this Tribute Page assignment.

[codecorsetcat-blog]

Cat lady coder

Adulting crisis! As my twenties have all but whizzed by me, I am at a point in my life where I am having, what I call, an “adulting” crisis. I never really felt grown up or responsible in my twenties. I was waiting to wake up and feel like an adult one day. It never came. I have a professional job, bills, a place I rent, an IRA/401k, a failed marriage, and most things adults have. I have house plants and cats I take care of successfully. Yet I still feel like I did when I was 18 embarking on the adventure of college. I’m still waiting to feel like an adult. 

As I contemplate taking on more responsibility, maybe buying a random dude’s sperm and letting science impregnate me, I think about how hectic it would be to juggle everything as it is now, alone. Balancing motherhood with a not very flexible schedule, too much adult babysitting (management), and the utter lack of passion I have for my jobs, hashtag workaholic. I have always been a coding hobbyist. I love it. Therefore, I have never wanted to do it as a profession in fear of sabotaging the utter awe and wonderment I still have for it, for all technology. Maybe I have romanticized it too much, reading things like Steven Levy’s Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution too many times. Maybe, I don’t want to be a female in the industry that is still so unwelcoming of my sex. Maybe, I am trying to talk myself out of it as I write this blog post only my twin will read. But maybe I should. 

I am trying to teach myself full stack development on my own. I have found a few free programs, and I will try them and write about them. I am doing this to help keep myself accountable, but also to write some witty (or not so witty) rantings that maybe one day I can cash in on. 

I am starting off with Free Code Camp. Let’s see how this goes.