Note: Firstly, forgive me , I'm in the process of moving and I'm by myself , so I totally forgot to post this and I need to type up week 3 (which I am very excited about) , so that will be up sometime this week.
This past week has been full of ups and (somewhat ) downs, that have been affecting my time and energy to workout and study. My goals will have to be slightly shifted for a bit, but I’m happy that I am still pushing myself to learn in my down time.
Inspiration Grew From A Missed Opportunity
A coworker of mine suggested that I apply for a position on her team which focuses on the company AI. She mentioned that she builds modules with JSON and YAML but she’d come from an IT Analyst position like I did and she knew nothing about JSON before transition to the AI Team. Immediately, I started doubting myself;
*What if I can’t learn JSON quickly enough?
What if I embarrass her ?
If I have to speak to shareholders what if I freeze?*
She sent me a resource for the company AI and how it works, but I never got around to it ( I was procrastinating because I didn’t believe in myself). I don’t remember what triggered it, but a couple of weeks later, I decided to ask CoPilot: “ If I wanted to learn JSON, could you teach me?” CoPilot spewed out a paragraph, a learning plan and an offer to start.
Within the first 30 minutes, I recognized the similarities between JSON and Python : Arrays in JSON are lists in Python, Key-value pairs in JSON are dictionaries in Python.
For some odd reason, when I took a college class in Python, I could not grasp dictionaries. I understood what they were in theory, but it just didn’t register in my brain. It could have been the way it was taught to me, but I remember releasing a sigh of relief when that section was over. The simplistic nature of JSON helped understand how key-values worked, what information can be pulled and manipulated with Python, and it pushed me to read more Python documentation in to test ideas I had from my first JSON schema.
Over the next 3 days, I had grown in so much confidence, I talked to my coworker about how much I love JSON and that I wanted to apply to the position if it was still open. Sadly, she informed me that they already started interviewing people and she had assumed that I applied. I can tell you I wasn’t sad or surprised as this isn’t the first time a lack of confidence caused me to lose lucrative opportunities, when I had the ability all along.
Fortunately for me, the missed opportunity sparked something in me, and I made a list of pain points at my current job that could use a consistent workflow, the biggest one being Inventory Management. When I first transitioned to this department, I created an Excel sheet that listed every computer model we had, what company it was for, if it needed to be built, and shared it with my lead. I thought it would be a time-saver since we wouldn’t have to walk down to another floor to check our PC inventory. For some reason, my lead refused to use the excel sheet, he would just ask me what we had , he never updated it, and if I was out on PTO , he would wait until I came back and say “we” ( that means me) have to update the sheet because while I was away, assigned a few computers. I found myself checking the inventory at the end of the day and updating the sheet, which made more work for me. At the time, that experience made me resentful as it seemed like I was being punished for efficiency and treated like a secretary, so I stopped. Eventually, when we needed to reorder computers or supply users with replacement computers, since the sheet was inaccurate and no one was counting inventory in a timely manner, it caused delays and frustration for everybody involved.
This time, I am going to create an Inventory Management system for myself just to see what I can build and if it makes sense, I can pitch it my managers as something that will help us keep on top of inventory as well as spot trends on what models are more likely to need a replacement.
Now on to our usual programming …
What did I learn?
Google Cloud Digital Leader
I’m currently trying to find a way to memorize what programs like BigQuery , BigTable, CloudRun, Functions etc , do so that I can at the very least deduce the correct answers on the exam. I find that with some questions , I am able to get it right away if it’s obvious, but I need to have a stronger understanding of what each offering is capable of to feel more confident.
PowerShell Mastery
This week’s focus was on Modifying Object Properties! Although I knew the aliases for quite a few of them, it was way more satisfying to type it in dot notation. It was a short section, but I spent plenty of time experimenting with what I learned on various types of files.
I’ve also created an Obsidian Vault for my PowerShell notes so that I can see how everything relates in graph view.
What went wrong this week?
Nothing learning wise, however, I found out my rent is once again increasing , so I am moving in with my best friend of 10 years. My expenses will reduce, my apartment will be bigger, less commute and the neighborhood is beautiful. But moving is a time suck , and since most of this transition will be done by my lonesome, I am budgeting 3 days a week to pack and then the other days for studying. The goal is to be moved out by Mid-May, so I can continue studying aggressively.
Unfortunately, that means I am going to have to move back my Google Cloud Digital Leader Exam until June. I could take it in May, but I’ve considered that moving may be more taxing on my energy than I think , so I gave myself some buffer time.
I spent way more time on my phone than I wanted to , but anything I could do on Desktop I did. My phone time was mostly me trying to figure out logistics for moving while on the go.
What went right
I decided to finally learn how to use Notion properly! I have a “second brain” that has a section for course planning with a timeline, calendar and task list for me to check off as I complete each lesson. After that, I write a summary of what I’ve learned and how I can apply it in my work life. I’ve also been using Notion as a station for my project/portfolio ideas, resources on how to use JSON and Python and breaking down my ideas into smaller bites so I can quickly grab wins.
Goals for this week:
- Finish at least one section for PowerShell and practice what I’ve learned
- Continue to work with Flashcards and The Cloud Girl to help me understand what I what my strengths and weaknesses are.
- Work on the schema for my Inventory Management System
- Outline the Read Me file for when I upload to GitHub
Thanks for reading!!
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