From Needles and Thread to... Syntactic Sugar?
This is why a long hiatus from blogging is ill-advised... where do I even begin trying to transition you to my next interest? Anyway, here goes... A majority of my last posts documented my trials and small successes in sewing. Since then, I have added to my arsenal an interest in computers and technology. I realize this may appear to be a radical twist in the trajectory of my interests, but perhaps by the end of this entry you'll see how this is a perfectly logical result.
Over the past few years, I've experienced a growing sense of dissatisfaction and restlessness. Despite being well compensated for my work and having a job that seems important and beneficial to the public, my sense of belonging in the office and rate of learning have dropped off steeply. I've also pursued a variety of creative interests in spurts but without much direction or to no particular end. I've thought about the options and, long story short, have decided to attack the problem in two ways -- find ways to work into my current job activities that increase my satisfaction while also engaging in other activities to satisfy me in ways that my job does not.
A convergence of various experiences, including binge watching The Big Bang Theory over the past couple of months, watching NOVA, learning about a coding bootcamp here in Hawaii, learning I have some pretty bad spinal issues that have kept me from tri training, following the Apple-FBI case, discovering the pleasure I derive from creating things, and reading lots of interesting articles online have led me to shake up my life in small but hopefully significant ways.
I realized that I lack good teachers and mentors. Although I may not find a good teacher or mentor at work, I've found a plethora of online resources and authors from which to learn just about anything. Part of seeking job satisfaction is finding ways to incorporate things I want to learn into my job functions; after all, I'm bound to get good at something if I spend every working day doing it. Plus, rather than completely discard the skills and experience I've acquired thus far, I'd like to see how I can carry over skills or enhance my job performance and satisfaction with other skills and experiences.
Over the years, I've dabbled in the arts and generally tried to create things -- written things, sewn things, living things, etc. Enter computer coding -- a curious mix of editing and writing in English, math, and other languages, albeit languages spoken to computers and understood by only some humans, and a bunch of artsy fartsy design options. To be honest, some of the appeal is that there is a lack of women in science and technology and that most people I work with or associate with don't seem to know that much about coding or programming. It feels like joining a secret society that might be more welcoming of me than this world of politicians and attorneys I've existed in the past several years (Not to mention the fact that The Big Bang Theory boys seem so idiosyncratic and nerdy that they're cool and seem to have more friends and fun than me). What's even more intriguing is that computers and the Internet can be the perfect media for any potential interest I may ever have.
Over the past few years, I've experienced a growing sense of dissatisfaction and restlessness. Despite being well compensated for my work and having a job that seems important and beneficial to the public, my sense of belonging in the office and rate of learning have dropped off steeply. I've also pursued a variety of creative interests in spurts but without much direction or to no particular end. I've thought about the options and, long story short, have decided to attack the problem in two ways -- find ways to work into my current job activities that increase my satisfaction while also engaging in other activities to satisfy me in ways that my job does not.
A convergence of various experiences, including binge watching The Big Bang Theory over the past couple of months, watching NOVA, learning about a coding bootcamp here in Hawaii, learning I have some pretty bad spinal issues that have kept me from tri training, following the Apple-FBI case, discovering the pleasure I derive from creating things, and reading lots of interesting articles online have led me to shake up my life in small but hopefully significant ways.
I realized that I lack good teachers and mentors. Although I may not find a good teacher or mentor at work, I've found a plethora of online resources and authors from which to learn just about anything. Part of seeking job satisfaction is finding ways to incorporate things I want to learn into my job functions; after all, I'm bound to get good at something if I spend every working day doing it. Plus, rather than completely discard the skills and experience I've acquired thus far, I'd like to see how I can carry over skills or enhance my job performance and satisfaction with other skills and experiences.
Over the years, I've dabbled in the arts and generally tried to create things -- written things, sewn things, living things, etc. Enter computer coding -- a curious mix of editing and writing in English, math, and other languages, albeit languages spoken to computers and understood by only some humans, and a bunch of artsy fartsy design options. To be honest, some of the appeal is that there is a lack of women in science and technology and that most people I work with or associate with don't seem to know that much about coding or programming. It feels like joining a secret society that might be more welcoming of me than this world of politicians and attorneys I've existed in the past several years (Not to mention the fact that The Big Bang Theory boys seem so idiosyncratic and nerdy that they're cool and seem to have more friends and fun than me). What's even more intriguing is that computers and the Internet can be the perfect media for any potential interest I may ever have.
So far, I've looked into a web development prep session by DevLeague, taken some courses online through codeacademy (which I LOVE!), and slowly tried to build contacts in coding, web development, etc. I realize that this industry I've been referring to as computers and technology is so vast and foreign to me that I'm not even sure yet how to express the parts of that industry in which I am particularly interested. It is completely overwhelming. Nevertheless, I'm excited about the potential for learning and application to my life and the resultant changes, wherever they take me. At the same time, I'm returning to my other creative endeavors and persisting in those activities to see if any magic happens. I think the immediate returns will be greater satisfaction for my soul; everything else will be syntactic sugar on the cake.
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| I even came across a really cool phrase -- syntactic sugar! Image by Yours Truly |
