This is a rant. I usually don't rant, but this is an exception.
Since I was about 12 years old, I've been involved in computer programming of some sort. At first it was HTML and CSS. I was able to put together static websites, once even using it for a math class project revolving around the Pythagorean Theorem. When I tried getting into JavaScript, the very simplistic nature of it was hard for me to grasp in terms of their usefulness. I couldn't even get the if-else statement wrapped around my brain so I gave up on it for a couple years.
About freshman or sophomore year of high school one of my friends introduced me to the programming language called Python. When I read a tutorial that led to me making my first Python program, I was amazed on how I could use it as a calculator, and more. I think in a way, Python was really the first programming language I learned. It took me back to JavaScript, which is what I've come to specialize in.
I think it was junior year of high school that we took a programming language class. For the first half it was HTML. The second half, the teacher gave the option of more HTML or JavaScript. I chose the JavaScript route and although I was hardly pleased with my final project, it nonetheless showed I knew how to use the language. My initial plans for it were too lofty which costed me a lot of time.
Then in senior year of high school, my calculus teacher also happened to be a C++ programmer. He let me borrow a textbook and get the compiler they used and I taught myself C++. In my second year of college I was taught Java, and excelled over most of the people in my class.
This semester I'm learning C# and Scratch. In my free time over the past year or so, I've been self-educating in PHP and SQL.
If you need someone who has an understanding of several languages, I'm the person you want to go to. My skills are mostly in Web development, but my Java skills aren't that shabby.
Yet for some reason, it just doesn't seem like I can get myself a job using these skills. I'm a member of oDesk and Freelancer, two sites where a person can get a short or long term job in whatever fields they are good at. In addition, companies in my area are hiring programmers. But no matter what job may be there, it seems like I'm just a little too unexperienced in one little spot. Often there is a need for someone who can use Wordpress or Joomla or whatever else is out there. I have next to no experience with those.
This is frustrating. I really want to get a job with my programming skills. I spent three years in the fast food industry and I have exactly zero desire to do anything even remotely similar to that. Sure I'm able to do other fields of work, but I'm going to school for programming. The government is essentially paying me to become a programmer.
A place on the campus had a job opening for students who wish to do programming, and I applied for that. Hopefully I'll be able to do what they require of me. I have the brain to handle the jobs they'll give me, it's simply a matter of knowing the programming languages they have us use well enough to accomplish the tasks.
Programmers make a pretty good amount of money, especially if they're full time. I've been told on numerous occasions that the entry-level pay for someone in the programming field is double what my father makes in a year, and he's been in the car part manufacturing industry for over a decade. That money is most certainly a plus and doubtlessly a small reason of why I pursue programming. But more than that, it's a passion of mine. Been one since I was 12. Something I've been brought up to believe by our otherwise faulty public education system is that we should try to get jobs doing what we love. I believe that, and it's part of my modus operandi. I want to live life doing what I love.
Another bother to me is how programming languages keep changing. Once, a dude much younger than me showed me a program he had written in Python. My computer couldn't run it, because I had an outdated version of Python installed! I mean, really? Am I that out of touch with the times? Or consider one of the more recent changes in the language PHP. It's trying to phase out mysql_* functions, something that has been relied on for years. One of the alternatives being favored is PDO, but it repeatedly gives me trouble. (Yes, I understand there's also the mysqli library. Perhaps I should look at that.) Or HTML, my old stomping grounds of a language. It's already in its fifth release, now coming out with strange new features that seem utterly unfitting for what's supposed to be a markup language, not an interactive one. That's the role of JavaScript. Oh and by the way, I'm outdated on that too! I learned it using W3 Schools, which appears to have tutorials which are outdated and in some cases incorrect. JavaScript is in version 1.8 now apparently, and my knowledge of the language is 1.6ish.
So what am I to do? I need to get in touch with the news concerning these programming languages. I'm fairly sure that each one has a website or group that maintains it and releases news about them. Hopefully they have some sort of RSS feed, blog, or Facebook page that developers could look at.
I also need to get my skills a bit more refined. I'm a multi-faceted person. I have several interests, but it's likely the only one I'll be making money from, for the time being, is programming. And working is a vital thing in a capitalistic society. Oh sure, I could possibly find bottom-of-the-line housing, depend on the government, and do some part-time hobby work for income. But that wouldn't be much of a life. In today's world, having a job is basically mandatory to get yourself in a better position. For me, this means programming. If I'm going to get better with coding, I'm going to have to put more time into learning and practicing coding, even if it's at the expense of other interests.
Still, it'd be nice to get a job where I can actually program for once.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Intro to K-State
I am now writing this blog from my laptop in Kansas State University. I arrived here yesterday, August 18th.
Not much happened in the days leading up to my arrival. I quit work on my birthday (August 3rd) and besides packing up the belongings I would take with me, there was barely anything to do. I was intensely bored. My roommate was in Yellowstone for school stuff.
The morning of the 17th, I woke up around 5:15 AM. Due to nerves I could not fall asleep and somehow stayed awake the rest of the day. It seemed as though my two cats were more insistent than usual of being around me - perhaps they could sense that I would soon be leaving? By nightfall almost all of my belongings that were to come had been put in my father's car. I failed to realize that was also a day I had to put more minutes on my StraightTalk cell phone. My mother and I went out to the car and pulled out my bookbag, which is where I believe to have put the time cards. They weren't in there. So with an hour left before the phone would be deactivated, I performed the umpteenth online transaction in recent memory to get more time on the phone. I don't like how much I've been using my debit card recently, and will be quite happy to have some physical money back in my possession.
I was asleep at my usual time that night, about 12:30 AM. The alarm clock woke me up at 6 AM. I did some last minute things, and we loaded up into the vehicle and set out. The three hour ride felt shorter this time. Partially it was because we had done this before. The latter two hours of the drive were spent reading an online copy of H.G. Wells's book "The Time Machine." I had read it before but was in need of something to keep my attention. Ah, the inner nerd in me had found an outlet. I imagined the scenes in my mind, using the Tenth Doctor as the Time Traveler. I even read the appropriate words in his voice. The cell phone's battery went low but with this model, I could continue to use the app (Opera Mini) until the battery completely died, which it eventually did.
As we entered the city, I became a little more anxious. The traffic was thick but we got to the dorm building quickly. We were lucky enough to find a parking spot near the building, called Marlatt Hall. My mother and I walked in, carrying a couple bags. At the front desk they asked for my college ID card. I didn't even remember being given one. I went through my wallet and did find it. I showed it to the guy who advised me that card was very important and I shouldn't lose it. We went into the elevator and to the sixth floor.
There I filled out another paper, and was given some introductory documents. My mother went outside to hopefully find some students who had dollies. They were helping people lug their stuff into the rooms. When I finished I stood up and my roommate was already there, waiting to greet me. We shook hands and proceeded to our room. He would proceed to spend most of the day instructing me on directions, rules, and just about anything else. He offered to help bring stuff up and followed me back to the car.
There, I found my mother had successfully found a work pair with a dolly. They were loading things up, while my father assembled the blue bicycle which we had put in the trunk. He made sure to look over the tires, brakes, and so on, to ensure it was in good working condition. The workers took the stuff to the room while my parents and I went to where all the bikes were. I found a good spot for my bike, near the doors to the building. They wrote down the bike's serial number so I could later register it with the university, in case it got stolen.
Not too much later, my mother hugged me and the parents were off. I went into the room and started organizing the things I had brought with me. The two biggest pains were deciding how to wire my electronics and where to put clothes and other accessories. But I managed. I still have a microwave and coffee maker that need to be plugged into something, somehow.
My roommate gave me a brief tour of the building, and also showed me where to walk for campus meals. It's a smaller building right next to our dorm building. The serving sizes and sheer amount of stuff we can choose from is awesome. In terms of food variety and quantity, I have eaten better in the past two days than I have in the last few weeks. I was going to sit in a relatively secluded area but he saw a friend of his and we went to sit with them. I didn't say much - obviously.
After that, things calmed down for a while. At one point I needed to order textbooks and, with assistance, ordered them online. Then I tried registering my bike via the Internet but got a funky response page, so I attempted to go to the parking office to get it handled. Unfortunately I had no idea where exactly to go so my roommate had to walk to where I was and show me. Then we walked off campus to the main branch of the bookstore to pick up books. As it turned out, they wouldn't have all my books until possibly late that night or the next day (today). We headed back to the dorm, I repeatedly failing to cross the street until we were basically at the dorms.
I relaxed at my laptop for some time while he went off to dinner. By the time I went for dinner, about 6 PM, there was nobody there I knew. I think I just sat quietly at my table, enjoying the food provided.
Checking on the campus calendar, I noticed they would be playing the film "The Hunger Games" at the student union. It was an outside event so we were encouraged to bring blankets to sit on or cover ourselves with. The books sound interesting and I would still like to read them. But the movie was the next best thing. Shortly before 8:30 PM I headed out and found a few female college students that were also going. I tagged along with them to the place where the film would be aired, chatting a little bit when questioned. Somehow I did not come off as creepy.
"The Hunger Games" was a pretty good movie. A lot of people tend to deeply analyze movies; I just watch them and enjoy. The premise was interesting, and overall it was a decent movie. Maybe three or four cuss words, no sex scenes that I could recall, and there was only a single instance when I noted what appeared to be innuendo. Toward the end the plot used a few cliches which should have been avoided. Rating: four mockinjays out of five.
I walked back to the dorm, still wrapped in the blanket I brought, walking a bit too close for comfort to the highway. I must have looked like a drunk, but I have just enough lack of self-conscienceness to be concerned about it.
Returning to the room, it was time to shower, and this is where things got uncomfortable for me. Our wing has four shower stalls and the curtains don't seem thick enough to provide sufficient privacy. I also could not figure out how to get from the bone chilling water to the comfortably warm water, so the first few minutes of the shower were cold. A student on crutches came into the bathroom and I asked him if the showers were simply a matter of "hop in, do what you need to do, hop out." His reply was "Yeah, as far as I know." That's when it had hit me that I asked a guy on crutches, who can't use the shower stalls, how they work. I was "that" guy.
After that insanity was over I returned to my room. It was approaching 11:30 PM. The roommate returned and about a half hour later I was in bed. The bed was comfortable, although in this kind of setting and specific set of stuff, getting comfortable enough to sleep took some effort. Sleep anxiety didn't help either.
The next day (today)...
Alright, it's just after 5 PM when I'm writing this. More interesting stuff may happen in the next few hours that won't get recorded here.
Briefly woke up this morning at about 6:45 AM. Roommate got dressed and left to wherever. I fell asleep and woke up just before 8 AM. I went to brush my teeth, only to discover I had no toothbrush! Oh well.
Last night I felt like I wanted to watch "Doctor Who." I couldn't find any of the episodes online then, but this morning another search revealed them. I watch the first half hour of the 2005 series's first episode, then went to breakfast. A few random dudes sat and chatted with me. I intended on going to church shortly and they were also. (My roommate is Catholic and he attends a church around here.) Back at the dorm I finished up the episode. At about 10 AM I left and, after going the wrong direction for a little bit, made it to the first of possibly several churches I will be investigating in the coming weeks: College Heights Baptist Church.
The building itself is one floor high and in a square U shape. It was colored with earth tones, and sported a nice stained glass picture over the altar. After briefly speaking with the pastor I sat down near the back of the sanctuary and met a couple people who also attend this university. The service itself was a bit different from what I'm used to, with the music part broken into two parts. It had a more laid back feel which appealed to me, different from the Assembly of God churches I've attended for the past four years.
When it came time to take the offerings, the college student who initially greeted me asked if I wanted to manage an offering plate instead of him. Without thinking very much I agreed. Things went pretty smoothly, even if I did things slightly out of order.
The message itself was based upon verses from Ecclesiastes, my favorite book in the Bible. That fact, as well as the pastor's simple preaching style, caused me to pay attention for the most part. It seemed like the sermon was a bit short, but then again the same building is used by a Korean church, whose service is scheduled for Sunday at noon. A fair trade, in my opinion.
Back on campus I finished up the last 15 minutes of the Doctor Who episode then went to lunch. Until this day, I was never really sure how one eats biscuits smothered in gravy. Then we were served it for lunch. I sat at a solitary table again, and then another group of people I didn't know joined me. They were also church hopping, looking for a good place to attend. I'm really surprised how many people here attend church, considering the fact this place is a university, the sort of place not known to be kind on faith.
Getting on to my computer, there were a few things that needed to be done. First, I printed out my schedule and looked at a campus map to see where my classes were located. It's not a difficult walk from place to place, luckily. With the schedule I have, I'm done with classes by 2:20 PM every day. Thursdays are an especially light day. Then I set up the account needed to find work at the campus. Since my desired career is with computers, it's about time I start getting my personal website in order, since it's intended to be a portfolio site of the various projects I've done. I also did a couple other menial things.
I got on my bike and headed to the bookstore. I received my books and was surprised to find they're relatively small! This will make things easier when classes start, tomorrow. As soon as I got back to my room I remembered I needed a toothbrush. Where the campus cafeteria is located, there is also a small convenience store. I went in there, doubting they would have toothbrushes. Yet they did! I hoped to have some physical cash on hand but only had some coins, certainly not enough to pay for a toothbrush. So I had to use my debit card. Been using that thing far too often for my preference lately.
And here we arrive at present moment. The events of the day are passed. Time to relax until tomorrow, when classes begin.
Not much happened in the days leading up to my arrival. I quit work on my birthday (August 3rd) and besides packing up the belongings I would take with me, there was barely anything to do. I was intensely bored. My roommate was in Yellowstone for school stuff.
The morning of the 17th, I woke up around 5:15 AM. Due to nerves I could not fall asleep and somehow stayed awake the rest of the day. It seemed as though my two cats were more insistent than usual of being around me - perhaps they could sense that I would soon be leaving? By nightfall almost all of my belongings that were to come had been put in my father's car. I failed to realize that was also a day I had to put more minutes on my StraightTalk cell phone. My mother and I went out to the car and pulled out my bookbag, which is where I believe to have put the time cards. They weren't in there. So with an hour left before the phone would be deactivated, I performed the umpteenth online transaction in recent memory to get more time on the phone. I don't like how much I've been using my debit card recently, and will be quite happy to have some physical money back in my possession.
I was asleep at my usual time that night, about 12:30 AM. The alarm clock woke me up at 6 AM. I did some last minute things, and we loaded up into the vehicle and set out. The three hour ride felt shorter this time. Partially it was because we had done this before. The latter two hours of the drive were spent reading an online copy of H.G. Wells's book "The Time Machine." I had read it before but was in need of something to keep my attention. Ah, the inner nerd in me had found an outlet. I imagined the scenes in my mind, using the Tenth Doctor as the Time Traveler. I even read the appropriate words in his voice. The cell phone's battery went low but with this model, I could continue to use the app (Opera Mini) until the battery completely died, which it eventually did.
As we entered the city, I became a little more anxious. The traffic was thick but we got to the dorm building quickly. We were lucky enough to find a parking spot near the building, called Marlatt Hall. My mother and I walked in, carrying a couple bags. At the front desk they asked for my college ID card. I didn't even remember being given one. I went through my wallet and did find it. I showed it to the guy who advised me that card was very important and I shouldn't lose it. We went into the elevator and to the sixth floor.
There I filled out another paper, and was given some introductory documents. My mother went outside to hopefully find some students who had dollies. They were helping people lug their stuff into the rooms. When I finished I stood up and my roommate was already there, waiting to greet me. We shook hands and proceeded to our room. He would proceed to spend most of the day instructing me on directions, rules, and just about anything else. He offered to help bring stuff up and followed me back to the car.
There, I found my mother had successfully found a work pair with a dolly. They were loading things up, while my father assembled the blue bicycle which we had put in the trunk. He made sure to look over the tires, brakes, and so on, to ensure it was in good working condition. The workers took the stuff to the room while my parents and I went to where all the bikes were. I found a good spot for my bike, near the doors to the building. They wrote down the bike's serial number so I could later register it with the university, in case it got stolen.
Not too much later, my mother hugged me and the parents were off. I went into the room and started organizing the things I had brought with me. The two biggest pains were deciding how to wire my electronics and where to put clothes and other accessories. But I managed. I still have a microwave and coffee maker that need to be plugged into something, somehow.
My roommate gave me a brief tour of the building, and also showed me where to walk for campus meals. It's a smaller building right next to our dorm building. The serving sizes and sheer amount of stuff we can choose from is awesome. In terms of food variety and quantity, I have eaten better in the past two days than I have in the last few weeks. I was going to sit in a relatively secluded area but he saw a friend of his and we went to sit with them. I didn't say much - obviously.
After that, things calmed down for a while. At one point I needed to order textbooks and, with assistance, ordered them online. Then I tried registering my bike via the Internet but got a funky response page, so I attempted to go to the parking office to get it handled. Unfortunately I had no idea where exactly to go so my roommate had to walk to where I was and show me. Then we walked off campus to the main branch of the bookstore to pick up books. As it turned out, they wouldn't have all my books until possibly late that night or the next day (today). We headed back to the dorm, I repeatedly failing to cross the street until we were basically at the dorms.
I relaxed at my laptop for some time while he went off to dinner. By the time I went for dinner, about 6 PM, there was nobody there I knew. I think I just sat quietly at my table, enjoying the food provided.
Checking on the campus calendar, I noticed they would be playing the film "The Hunger Games" at the student union. It was an outside event so we were encouraged to bring blankets to sit on or cover ourselves with. The books sound interesting and I would still like to read them. But the movie was the next best thing. Shortly before 8:30 PM I headed out and found a few female college students that were also going. I tagged along with them to the place where the film would be aired, chatting a little bit when questioned. Somehow I did not come off as creepy.
"The Hunger Games" was a pretty good movie. A lot of people tend to deeply analyze movies; I just watch them and enjoy. The premise was interesting, and overall it was a decent movie. Maybe three or four cuss words, no sex scenes that I could recall, and there was only a single instance when I noted what appeared to be innuendo. Toward the end the plot used a few cliches which should have been avoided. Rating: four mockinjays out of five.
I walked back to the dorm, still wrapped in the blanket I brought, walking a bit too close for comfort to the highway. I must have looked like a drunk, but I have just enough lack of self-conscienceness to be concerned about it.
Returning to the room, it was time to shower, and this is where things got uncomfortable for me. Our wing has four shower stalls and the curtains don't seem thick enough to provide sufficient privacy. I also could not figure out how to get from the bone chilling water to the comfortably warm water, so the first few minutes of the shower were cold. A student on crutches came into the bathroom and I asked him if the showers were simply a matter of "hop in, do what you need to do, hop out." His reply was "Yeah, as far as I know." That's when it had hit me that I asked a guy on crutches, who can't use the shower stalls, how they work. I was "that" guy.
After that insanity was over I returned to my room. It was approaching 11:30 PM. The roommate returned and about a half hour later I was in bed. The bed was comfortable, although in this kind of setting and specific set of stuff, getting comfortable enough to sleep took some effort. Sleep anxiety didn't help either.
The next day (today)...
Alright, it's just after 5 PM when I'm writing this. More interesting stuff may happen in the next few hours that won't get recorded here.
Briefly woke up this morning at about 6:45 AM. Roommate got dressed and left to wherever. I fell asleep and woke up just before 8 AM. I went to brush my teeth, only to discover I had no toothbrush! Oh well.
Last night I felt like I wanted to watch "Doctor Who." I couldn't find any of the episodes online then, but this morning another search revealed them. I watch the first half hour of the 2005 series's first episode, then went to breakfast. A few random dudes sat and chatted with me. I intended on going to church shortly and they were also. (My roommate is Catholic and he attends a church around here.) Back at the dorm I finished up the episode. At about 10 AM I left and, after going the wrong direction for a little bit, made it to the first of possibly several churches I will be investigating in the coming weeks: College Heights Baptist Church.
The building itself is one floor high and in a square U shape. It was colored with earth tones, and sported a nice stained glass picture over the altar. After briefly speaking with the pastor I sat down near the back of the sanctuary and met a couple people who also attend this university. The service itself was a bit different from what I'm used to, with the music part broken into two parts. It had a more laid back feel which appealed to me, different from the Assembly of God churches I've attended for the past four years.
When it came time to take the offerings, the college student who initially greeted me asked if I wanted to manage an offering plate instead of him. Without thinking very much I agreed. Things went pretty smoothly, even if I did things slightly out of order.
The message itself was based upon verses from Ecclesiastes, my favorite book in the Bible. That fact, as well as the pastor's simple preaching style, caused me to pay attention for the most part. It seemed like the sermon was a bit short, but then again the same building is used by a Korean church, whose service is scheduled for Sunday at noon. A fair trade, in my opinion.
Back on campus I finished up the last 15 minutes of the Doctor Who episode then went to lunch. Until this day, I was never really sure how one eats biscuits smothered in gravy. Then we were served it for lunch. I sat at a solitary table again, and then another group of people I didn't know joined me. They were also church hopping, looking for a good place to attend. I'm really surprised how many people here attend church, considering the fact this place is a university, the sort of place not known to be kind on faith.
Getting on to my computer, there were a few things that needed to be done. First, I printed out my schedule and looked at a campus map to see where my classes were located. It's not a difficult walk from place to place, luckily. With the schedule I have, I'm done with classes by 2:20 PM every day. Thursdays are an especially light day. Then I set up the account needed to find work at the campus. Since my desired career is with computers, it's about time I start getting my personal website in order, since it's intended to be a portfolio site of the various projects I've done. I also did a couple other menial things.
I got on my bike and headed to the bookstore. I received my books and was surprised to find they're relatively small! This will make things easier when classes start, tomorrow. As soon as I got back to my room I remembered I needed a toothbrush. Where the campus cafeteria is located, there is also a small convenience store. I went in there, doubting they would have toothbrushes. Yet they did! I hoped to have some physical cash on hand but only had some coins, certainly not enough to pay for a toothbrush. So I had to use my debit card. Been using that thing far too often for my preference lately.
And here we arrive at present moment. The events of the day are passed. Time to relax until tomorrow, when classes begin.
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