3 month check in and new ideas/projects

Sun, 24 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

3 Month Check in

So, it’s been 3 months since I started working, roughly. I started back part time on July 4th (what are the odds), and I went to full time 3 weeks after that. Since then… it’s been pretty good getting back into the grove… Then comes the learning curve that has been set upon me. With the amount of time I was gone, just about every aspect of the job has changed. Then put on top of that, having a new position and new scope, yea, it’s been a lot of learning.

To give an overview of the difference….. When I left, I was the sole developer of a process, and the manager was riding my ass about every little thing. He was making deadlines for me without any knowledge of what was needed by the requirements asked. Now….. I’m able to pick and choose what I’m getting involved in, within reason. There have been a few things that has come across my ‘desk’ that I have been excited to get involved in. In turn, I have injected myself into those processes/discussions to help.

New Ideas/Projects

With me getting into several areas as a hobby, it’s hard to just chose a few ideas and projects.

#1 - COH Log parser

I have been learning more about using Django - so I figured, why not use this as a project to learn more about Django/Python/Graphing. I have the basic layout in my mind, and I have started learning more about Django for web sites in python. Since it has been YEARS since I have used PHP, I wanted to keep with a language that I’m moving for. It’s been an interesting process working through this, but it’s coming along nicely. One of the things I found annoying so far, just getting the website ’template’ together and learning how to do CSS/HTML. I took the easy way out, I found a nice HTML/CSS/JS template, and I have started taking apart to make it my own. YES, I will be including credits to make sure people that want to know where the template is from, they can see. That’s the ethical thing to do, and I try to live my life within the ethics that I set as a kid. I will be blogging about this as well, maybe even making some tutorials about it. That brings me to idea #2.

#2 - Tutorials (blog and/or YouTube)

A friend of mine… that I have known a LONG time has decided to take up learning Linux, networking, docker, etc….. I’ve been helping him some and he has suggested for me to start making tutorials about these topics. I think this is a good idea due to the fact, I LOVE knowledge sharing. When I was in college, they wanted me to teach some classes, I turned down the opportunity. There were several reasons for this, which I will not go into. Back to the topic at hand. I will be creating some content for tutorials on a several topics. I’m hoping to start creating some content soon. Who knows, maybe I will make some videos/tutorials of me working on the COH log parse. I’m sure this will be humorous to some as I work through my thoughts/problems.

#3 - Learning the Guitar

I have been wanting to learn how to play a guitar for a long time now. I’m finally going to start dedicating sometime to learning this instrument. In the past, I have played the piano and an upright bass. I really enjoy playing music, and why not learn something new, that gets me away from technology. I’m planning on trying to get my uncle to help me learn, after all he is a very talented.

Back in the Saddle Again....

Sun, 15 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

At this point, I have been back to work for about 6 weeks. It’s been a difficult 6 weeks to get my stamina back up to what it needs to be.

Why is it hard?

Well, I went from basically being bed ridden when I was on THC. Now, I’m doing 8+ hours a day working, and a lot of times, I’m doing more stuff after work. Even though I wasn’t down for an extended amount of time. 18 months was long enough for the body to lose a lot of it’s stamina. This doesn’t factor in the mind that was kicked around the ball fields with THC. With both of those factors involved; it’s almost like learning how to walk again.

How is the work?

The work is awesome! I have missed having conversations with like minded individuals. The first few weeks I was doing 1/2 days due to doctor orders, but those days were filled with activity. Don’t get me wrong, I still don’t like having meetings 8 hours a day, but I would rather be doing that than where I was. There has been so much change since my time away, it’s mind boggling. Not to mention, I went from writing code all the time to literally doing one of the things I never thought I would like. I do more of the planning how to take down the ‘forest’ to actually ‘cutting the trees’. I have a lot of privilege’s to look at the whole aspect of our work, and then try to find a way to make changes that will make it more secure, run smoother, and run more efficiently.

Blessings..

I am blessed to have the boss, friends, and family I have. My boss, has been there with me through this whole ordeal. That says loads to his character and how much our friendship means to him. With working for a friend/boss, it does make things a bit awkward at times. For example, when he has to be a boss instead of a friend. I understand that he has to do that, and I fully accept it. It doesn’t make it any easier to manage those emotions, but having someone that is emotionally aware as well, helps talk through things with me. Friends and family, I can’t say enough about them. They are usually there to help me in the times I fall short.

On to the emotions…..

There have been a lot of emotions that I haven’t dealt with since I had a mental break down. This has been a struggle for me, and probably will be for months/years to come. I didn’t realize how ‘ingrained’ working is in my being. The important thing that I have done for myself, giving my mind and body time to accept the new emotions. This includes working through them, thinking through them, and finally, dealing with them. There have been several occasions that I have leaned on co-workers and friends to help me process these emotions. That’s one thing I encourage everyone that is reading this to do….. find some people that you count on that will help you work through some of these emotions and difficulties. I have found it very helpful to have a third party perspective when I’m dealing with the emotions. Often times, I was to wrapped up in the emotion to really see what was happening.

What do I do?

Due to security of myself, company, and my profession, I will not give specifics. What I will share is that I’m in the Linux landscape of a financial institution. Other than that, nothing else. I’m sure that will lead to more questions about this post, but any professional will tell you, no matter what you do, your emotions will be in it.