Busy Bee

 

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

I can't actually believe it! I've officially been a Software Developer for just over a year now and I can feel myself improving and gaining confidence. I was quite worried that I would invest all this time and energy shifting into a new career and maybe find that I didn't enjoy it. Thank my lucky stars that I love it as much as I do. 

In the jobs I'd had previously, I felt like I've been able to see the sort of 'logical conclusion' of the job (or the 'ceiling') and I've grown restless. The great thing about being a programmer is that there is so much to learn, and so much potential, that it's almost impossible for me to get bored. Maybe that's daunting to some people, but I find it extremely comforting to know that I could spend my entire life studying and still not feel like I had mastered the subject. And, as if it wasn't a big enough subject in itself, it plugs into so many other subjects that I enjoy or want to learn about: electronics, music, art, games, etc.

So, apart from being a Junior Developer, what have I been up to? 

Programming and Computer Science: Fundamentals

I've always wanted to teach people, or deliver talks of some kind, but I've never felt like I really had anything worth talking about, so it remained a pipe dream. After reading an article about how you only need to be 10% better than the people you're teaching, I decided to take the leap and write some training sessions about all the stuff I've learned over the past 2 years.

Once I've delivered the sessions at work, and refined them a little, I hope to upload them to YouTube. They're designed to get you from being someone who knows little to no code, to someone who can do 'the basics'.

When I was learning to program, I will admit, it felt like a real slog. The text books and videos are heavy going and filled with jargon. I want to make something that would explain all the things that I wanted to know when I was learning, the little details that made such a difference to my understanding, and say them in a "human" way.

(Pre-)Adventure Game

Ok, here we go, now we're getting to the really fun stuff! 

In the beginning, I made comics strips... then I made a comic book... now I'm making a computer game! I real life, interactive comic/game! OMG! I'm so excited! It's like a fusion dish of all my favourite flavours; comics, games, music, story, adventure, comedy... ok, ok, I have a lot to learn before it gets quite that wild, so that's why I'm working on a 'pre-' adventure game, but it's all on the horizon! 

I've started a notebook especially for my game notes so that I don't lose any, I thought I'd share some of it here.

Herb Garden

Our garden is a magical place. I spend a lot of time staring at it out of the window, watching the birds and the bees, excitedly anticipating the buds that are about to open, etc. 

When we first moved in, I was a little overwhelmed at the scale of the garden, she's a heffer! I was a little worried about changing things, because whoever had lived here before had clearly spent years shaping and adoring it. I felt anxious about invading, so I maybe let it get a little unruly and overgrown... so I could feel good about "wading in there" and "sorting it out".

My first main project is to create a herb garden. I've cleared away a lot of plants (which did break my heart but I will be replacing them). There's a lovely big patch by the back door that I will be filling with so many herbs, and stepping stones. I'll add some pictures soon.