Destination Dev IV
“How shall we fuck off, oh lord?” — One of Brian’s followers, Life of Brian, 1979 (or indeed, A.D. 33).
Zoom, Slack huddles. Every day, and not for a couple of minutes here and there to sort out something that’s running away on an email thread. The minimum is the morning half an hour with our mini peer groups, and most of the afternoon is spent pair programming. On top of that, most days there is a late morning workshop that I like to call a lecture or perhaps a tutorial, and the previously described retro session on a Friday afternoon. More about that here: Retros.
I dearly wished to use the above ‘Brian quote, and I hope that in my previous work life, this is what people felt like saying to me when I expressed rage and disdain about Teams calls and all that terribly distracting, anxiety inducing, (have you noticed that I like to utilise the Oxford Comma?) directionless drivel. A schedule, a reason, some time to prepare were occasions when these calls were fine. My department calls were hilarious and productive, the emphasis being on hilarious. In fact, occasionally too hilarious but I can go into that another time. The team bond has well outlasted our time together, and we still support and mock each other. I bet they haven’t read this far 😜
Back to the point I am making here: Being on video all day has its time and place, and it’s essential here. It’s a touch tiring, but not half as tiring as commuting, and the excitement and energy I’m feeling at the moment gives me the ability to bounce through. My mind is wide awake because I’ve not been this mentally stimulated for years, not even with my OU studies. Makers is bringing my brain out of hibernation. Huzzah!
So, in retrospect, this week has stepped up the enlightenment. Pair programming is becoming less and less onerous and I’m settling in to the Makers routine. I’m sure it will change all over again next week, but bring it on, I can take it.
“Eee he he he he hee…” — Jailer, Life of Brian, 1979 ( or indeed, A.D. 33).
This week, I submitted two challenges that were recorded via Zoom. The first one was a travesty. I kept my audio on so that I could commentate, since I feel that this helps me explain why I’m doing things and what my thinking is. I spent about an hour trying things and explaining things, apologising because I was probably over complicating things, launched into a monologue about how I am staying at my Mum’s at the moment because we’re getting our bathroom done at home and I needed the peace, but now I couldn’t concentrate because Mum was chasing one of the cats around the house because she’d brought in a mouse, the landline kept ringing and the doorbell was going, then Mum was at the door waving at me and gesticulating at a lightbulb she was holding over her head, and then the other cat was sick. On top of that, don’t forget the stage fright. About an eternity into this recording, one of the coaches messaged me on Slack to check that I was OK submitting my video. I carried on recording my screen and audio whilst replying to them saying “Oh look, this will appear in the video, how meta.” Poor person had a strange double dose of me excusing my dreadful coding attempt with aforementioned narration. I submitted it as is, so that I could get some feedback. Feedback duly arrived, I took it on board, started a completely new attempt and it went solidly.
Video challenge number two was the confidence booster that I’ve been missing this last couple of weeks. I decided to learn from the previous ramble and work methodically. Absorb the demo, do the exercise, watch the example solution, take notes, watch again. Huzzah! It was done in less than half an hour, submitted, and feedback came back all “green” with a couple of helpful notes. I can now go into the weekend feeling like I’m in the right place and haven’t conned my way in here.
Nighty night, I’m knackered! 😵💫
