Chronicles of an Android Developer
I was going through twitter one day and I saw that ALC 2.0 application had started. The joy that grew in me ‘no be for here’. Ideas came rushing in and I was happy that I had finally seen something to do. However, I knew fully well that it was not going to be an easy task. Thinking that applying was an easy process, I applied a couple of days later. The application process was going on well until I got to the part where I had to choose the track I wanted to apply for: Beginner with no programming experience at all or Intermediate. I felt far too experienced to apply as a Beginner so I checked the radio button for the intermediate track and submitted even though at this point, I had never created an Android app. Almost immediately, I got a mail confirming my application but to my surprise, the mail stated that I would have to wait for a test and that it would be sent in a few days’ time. The test came and I had to create an app and blah blah.
The road to Google was an easy one for me because I saw a lot of scary terms like API, cards, etc. I was challenged by my ignorance and it seemed quite difficult to do but I love challenges. Doing what other people dismiss as impossible always gives me some kind of inner satisfaction. I spoke to some of my bosses in the development world and they encouraged me to start it. The prospect of completing it made me happy and also clouded my vision of seeing the immediate challenge which towered above all the zeal I had. This challenge is what I call being Android-less. No Android phone. There were two ways out of this:
1. To use the inbuilt emulator in Android studio but unfortunately, Marvey is doing too many stuff presently, slow enough to annoy me and fast enough to get the job done. I don’t want to add to its trouble….somebody should pity the poor thing.
2. To code blindly and whenever I have access to a close person’s phone, I’ll beg them to spare their phones for some time. This option looked pretty good to me but I know a right thinking developer couldn’t have said otherwise. Maybe that’s why I kept this option to myself, ignoring the fact that omitting a ‘;’ can crash a 200 line of code written with tears and blood.
The tedious journey started and it really was exciting and annoying at the same time. Could I have bitten more than I could chew? Time was eagerly waiting to tell. The aftermath sweetness of chewing bitter leaf was the expectation, (getting to at least boast that I built an app, the increased confidence of calling myself an Android developer) I thought. Days trickled into weeks and being Android-less is one of the experiences I hope to get out of very soon but never to forget. Nights of coding in a mosquito den got me malaria and sleepless nights. Trying to figure out unconventional solutions made me a soliloquist. I was able to build the app to about 80% before the deadline, all thanks to the guys that helped me in one way or the other: Mountain, O.J, 7-pointer, Lazy fellow, Pastor, Pluto pen, Elect etc. I see you.
The Android-less experience continues but it’s not going to stop me from developing. I’ll keep doing what I do, who knows I might just leave this Android-less stage soon, but accepting the fact that I’m here, I believe, is the first step to getting out. Challenges are meant to push us up and not to pull us down. I should start working on a new app very soon though. Everything is always impossible until is done.
