Are the any Beatles fan's out there???????  Well if there are......The above picture is one of my all time favorite songs.  "Here comes the Sun" written by George Harrison.

Eric Clapton tells story's of how George would just show up sometimes early in the morning and walk with him.  They would bring a guitar and just play and create.  "He was just magical" was Eric's exact words.  One such day George forced Clapton up to walk out into the gardens of his then sprawling estate just before sun rise.  George was known to meditate of a morning while the sun came up.(he was very big into transcendental meditation)  This particular time they both had the guitars with them, strumming out random melodies and George started singing......"Duuuuuu mmmmm dooooo dooo Here comes the sun".

So cool.  love that story.  Although it's actually quite cold outside......I've just had this song in my head for the last week.

So as the Holiday approaches things are getting busy.  As I stated in my prior blog, we are staying in Kansas City.  Funny, my children are so happy to be staying in their particular school as well.  So I've been pretty focused on doing some freelance work.  I also have a couple good prospects for jobs as well.

I took a small contract with the KC school district doing some IT Admin stuff till the end of December.  It's not exactly creating applications but its just good to work around people.  It's lonely out there working for yourself.  I miss working with a talented team, having a group collectively building something.

All in do time.......I have a feeling the perfect spot will be coming across my path.  I'll keep ya posted.  till then.

What you can always count on.

It seems that change is inevitable. My wife had an opportunity with a job out of state and we began making the adjustments to take the entire family that direction.  This is not a small thing either.

Then "Life" stepped in and swiftly changed our direction again.  It was a very good thing that her job sputtered out and didn't work before we had fully committed.  I will be honest.....I wasn't excited to move to a small town in Iowa anyway.  We are city folk.

I love this town.  My family and I are happy to be staying in Kansas City.....my home town.  Love this city.

I've built two projects for business friends of mine.  It feels really good to code and build.  I will continue to pursue free lance projects and start up kansas city.

Change doesn't always mean that you loose something.  It is the opportunity to find other things that are new and interesting.  You never know, it might mean that you gain something much greater in the end.

The Kansas City Royals

I must admit.  I have been swept up in the Royals this year.  Funny because I started watching them again around August.  It was kinda fun to see the royals playing well.

I really haven't watched baseball since the strike back in the day.  I do however remember watching the world series with my grandmother in Carrollton.  I was young......

The math here is 29 years ago the Royals were in the world series.  If I'm 37 years old now, how old was I when I watched those games.  8 Years old.   Yep, one year younger than my twins now.

Ha! That's crazy.  29 years.  That is the longest streak in professional sports.  UUUUUUHHH  Maybe that is why I stopped watching all those years ago.  Although, over the last couple months, I've just absolutely been taken by this team.  All of them are just scrappy little suckers.  I Love it!  Its awakened the fun in Baseball for me.  The playoffs and now the World Series.  I'm telling ya, "I believe!"

Game 7 tonight........If we win, the kids and I are heading down town to go to the parade.  Calling out, kids too..........

This team has been So exciting to watch.  I can not wait to watch this game tonight.

GO ROYALS!!

The Job Search

. 

I have been out in the job market looking for work.  It's interesting.  I've really been focused for about three months.  Looking through all of the job boards and actively.  seeking a position to to start with.What I've learned is that there is a HIGH demand for these skill sets yet.......as a novice.  There is a distinct level of experience that the employers are looking for.  3-5 years experience.  So when working with the recruiting network it is an eminent question.  

They want verifiable experience.  So once you drill down to the junior level development positions even those require at least 1 year.The Centriq folks tell you to tout the experience you gained through the track is at least 1-2 years worth of working practice.

So......the interviews that I've been on will have the dreaded "technical interview".  This is by the strangest combination of technical knowledge, and company culture.   I've had only one interview in which the person giving the interview had any idea what the answers were.

I have to admit that I am at this strange point in my life as well.  I'm almost 40 and most of my classmates are in their early twenties.   I've noticed that I was different when I went through the class.  I'm older and traveled in different industries.  Not the Technical.  

I don't think that I look and speak like a technical junior developer.  Long story short.  I've just struck out for the majority of the jobs that I've gone for.  

Mean while, many of my classmates are landing the positions and starting work.  I know that it is possible.  It just hasn't happened for me yet.  I haven't lost heart but I'm quite frustrated.

If I were completley honest with myself.  I do want to freelance.  I'm just a touch trigger shy after my last business struggles.  

I will say that My wife has a wonderful opportunity that has come up that we may have to look at.  If this executive position with the hospital works out.  I may be moving to another state.  More to come.................

The job search begins.....I'm still on a Beatles High from Paul McCartney last week

Random Post.



The Job search begins....My obsession with the beatles continues.

Course Completed!!!!!!!!!! Final Projects live.....check it out!

Tech Support Tracker Project

Screen Shot of the Full Resolution Home Page

Student Admin Tool

Screen shot of the Original Home Page.

Wooooo.  I made it.  Project weeks were a true test.  I was stressed, frustrated, and worried that I wouldn't be able to do the projects.  Up until the moment we presented I was having technical issues.  

I was so excited to present these projects.....I think I presented well.  

I'm off to have cake with my family.......we've missed each other these last few months.  This weekend soak up my kiddos.  Monday....MTA....JOB.

Wrapping Up-----MVC---Lightbulbs

Long time no blog.

Back in the thick of the .Net Developer track.  Last Week I got into MVC with Neil Horton.

Head Instructor
Centriq

I think that the true power of the Centriq business model is it's Instruction. I'm impressed with the quality and care of the entire staff.  Centriq has a great "Synergy" of corporate & raw talent going through the school.  Granted, it 's  positioned perfectly in the Kansas City Market during one of the biggest technology booms of any Metropolitan City in America.

http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/blog/bizventures-kc/2014/05/10-high-tech-cities-you-want-to-call-home.html

I'm glad I've gotten to be a part of the program.

As I post this blog I'm down to three weeks before the July 18th project presentation.  Tick Tock..... I'm feeling pretty good.  I've begun to have those lightbulbs go off.  FINALLY!

                     I was really getting tired of getting punched in the head by some of the concepts.

My instructor Chuck Wieners teaching me Details View in Webforms.
"Fresh Schema, Fresh Schema, Fresh Schema"  :)

Strangley, it really was the MVC class that really started making things clear.  When you compare the two

technologies (Web Forms vs MVC) it's much clearer how and why you do some of the processes.  I think I've been looking way too close at some of the code.  If you step back and look at it from a higher plain it starts making more logical sense.

In the market Webforms are still 70-80% of all Asp.net sites.   I personally like the Designer and the toolbox.  Drag and Drop never bothered me but I'm a visual person....that makes sense.  MVC is super cool and a simpler answer but the market demand isn't there yet.  MVC is just very "clean" in how you build it. It also doesn't have all the bloat of PageLifeCycle.  Speed and Simplicity...... It'll catch on.

I've built out two Projects...(Widgets and Gadgets for Webforms and Widgets and Gadgets for MVC) both were built out from my old Mo Wine Tours Menu.  Pretty cool.

So I'm gonna get back to working on my personal site.  I would like to relaunch it again.  Stay posted.....

Memorial Day Weekend.

Great three day weekend.  I wrapped up the ASP 3 with our instructor (The man, the myth the Legend) Chuck. The content was pretty intense.  We were tying SQL into our ASP.Net Websites.  We had a bunch of sample databases and actually built our own for practice.  The material wasn't necessarily too heavy but it is easy to get turned around when you are are doing data Binding and adding the multiple view types.

You have your grid view for the majority larger glimpse at the database.  Then we tied in a details view or a form view for the specific detailed view of each product and or category.  Now the cool part was when we added the functionality to the "admin" to change and modify the database from the client level.


Below is a screen shot of Widgets and Gadgets.  A website we built in ASP3 and added onto in ASP4

I have so much content from Mo Wine Tours that I built a database as a class project

For our widgets and gadgets class project.  Chuck told us to build our own database for something that we

care or are interested in.  I have so much content from UDA and Mo Wine Tours that It was very easy

for me to build it out using some of my own stuff.  

It really brought the material to life.  The power of this is incredible.  It is very dry to learn (for me at least) UNTIL you put in your own products or something that is relevant to business and real world. 

                                

I'm pretty burnt out right now.  I'm looking forward to next week.  It's a break week.  I'm gonna focus on the job hunt.  I'm gonna start throwing hooks out to see if  "Daddy" can get a job.  Sacrificing five and  half months of income to do this is risky business especially when you have three children and a wife at home.  I will continue to put in the hard work and keep the faith. I resolve to get through this school and find a new career.  It is easier for me to put it into perspective when I realize that this isn't for me.  It's for them.  

Today

Are you the type of person that lives of today

Loving and laughing in every way

For every moment our lives shorten and decay

When it's all over what'll you have to say

Were you happy with the person you became

Does the world around you fell the same

Don't you wish you were happier rather that meaner

Yet, the grass is always greener

As we look back to the other side of the fence

Today is when the change should commence

Tomorrow is just an excuse away

Live now, for this might be your last today.

JTP

ASP2

My Instructor this week is Chuck Weiners.  His dry sense of humor is a riot.  He was also really patient with me.  I (might have, accidentally) asked him to fix my code at least 5-10 times a day.

Well I'm officially into uncharted territory.  Last week was all about Master Pages and controls.  The ease and ability to use the same format and elements across pages is amazing.  This week is all about membership and how to authenticate.  We defined roles and access  to our sites and our SQL data bases.  We are building to the final project.  It's starting to become clear the path to graduation.  I've now seen two classes present final projects and there will be my original class in June.

I thnk membership was  cool, but as a student it was heavy.  As always, I felt like I didn't get the content as well as I should have.  I'm coming to the conclusion that maybe it is my own standard that I hold for myself.  I am consciously trying to stop beating up on myself.  This track is not a competition.  I have to stop judging myself on the progress of others.

Each person comes with unique gifts and weaknesses.  I understand my strengths.....more over, I am familiar with my weaknesses as well.  I will continue to use two of my main strengths:

1. Work ethic
2.  Passion.

Petetllc.com second edition is almost ready for launch.  I want to add two more pieces to it.  I hope to have it launched.  Although I'm not going to drive myself into the ground getting it perfect.  I already know that I want to change three things on it before I even launch.  (Is this the way all developers are?)

I'm off to study SQL with Chris Byram.  Should be an entertaining week.

Long time no blog.....

The break week was great.    I forced my self to study but I made sure to step away.  My website is not really working correctly. RRRRRRR .  No worries, a master page through the ASP.net help me fix most of it's quirks.  I hope to have it  up by next week.

Last week was ASP 1.  Introduction to the ASP.NET server.  This is really cool stuff.  I love how you can dynamically make a site responsive.

(Quick shout out to my friend and instructor Keith Smith.  ..enjoy your classes)

The drop and drag controls are versatile and so easy to put in.  I still get a little twisted on the code behind (aspx.cs),  I will say that the syntax is similar but it gets a little confusing when talking about stateless protocol, post back and control, CrossPagePost back etc.

This is me an my tater-tot at the library.  She's so funny.  She tells me that I spend more time with my classmates than I do with them.  True. Can't really deny that.  

I find it ironic. I've spent almost three years at home with my children.  Everyday we did homework and I'd harp on them.....

"It's important to do your homework first...."

"If you set your mind to something......"

"Hard work pays off......"

"Just Show up.....the rest is details......"

"Have FUN but be responsible."  

Wooooooo  I talk a mean game don't I.  If any of you reading this know me at all.....you'll recognize my sarcasm.  If you don't know me......than don't believe anybody that say I'm a smarty pants.  It's a vicious rumor.

  

 So I'm trying to walk the path that I've been on a soap box about.  They see me struggling through this.  Children are very smart and aware.  Much more than we give them credit for.

Now when my children ask me why I'm doing homework.....why are you always studying?

"It's important to do your homework first....you have to put the time in"

Now when they ask me if this computer stuff is it hard?  

" YES,.....but if you set your mind to something....and you just show up everyday and work hard..it will pay off.."

When they ask me......"Daddy, why are you screaming at your computer?"

"Ya Know what's fun kids.. I.D.10 T errors. My code blowing up with errors that APPARENTLY are Illogical....that's really fun........Having a semi colon or typo steal hours of my life.........it's a blast!"

Spoken like a true Griswold.......:)

Welcome to the Blog

Class has been going great. I must admit I was really burnt out by late last Thursday. The weather has been slowly getting warmer and nice. Thursday, Friday and Saturday's conditions were perfect.   Last Friday I was jumping out of my skin (spring fever).

 I'm feeling pretty confident about C#.  It definitely took me a little time to get my brain around it.  I see now that I was looking for a deeper understanding of the syntax. I needed to understand the "why". (Maybe that's just how my mind works.....I ask "Why" alot.)  

Friday's class was all about the object oriented programing, inheritance and polymorphism.Chris Byram (our instructor) does a great job of teaching the subject matter.  I've come to truly enjoy him as an instructor and a person. I didn't get as much out of the class as I wanted.  I needed to stare at some trees....... When I left Friday I shut the computer off and stepped out of code. My brain officially was turning into spaghetti. 

Besides.......I've been missing out on spending time with my babies. The twins and I had a camp fire, smores.  Movie night.  Catherine and I saw each other but she's a teenager.....too busy to have smores. I actually got out on the golf course hit the golf ball on Saturday as well.  WOW!!!

TNT--(Tim and Tatem)

Catherine Petet

Tatem Petet

Jude Petet

Man I needed it.  The kids have been patient....but they really aren't  fans of my new schedule.  I keep telling them its four months.  In the bigger scheme of things that's nothing.  Oh then there's my little man.........mini-me.  He and I had so much fun at the campfire.  That boy does make me laugh. (it's a good thing cause I'd have killed by now if he weren't)

Came to school this Monday morning energized and fresh.  Like the Sun is to Superman....they are the source of my power.   This weekend  was a great reminder of  "WHY"  I'm doing this.  

Hello World......

I'm pleased with my decision to re-take C#.  I've stayed dedicated to studying and working through all the material.  I'm much more secure in the code this time around.  Visual Studios doesn't overwhelm me as much either.  Like any tool, you must get familiar with it.  Over the last 6 weeks I've crashed, broken, lost and been through Visual Studios and back again.

Dealing with Branching,(switches and if trees) and Loops.  I'm really working as hard as I can on these concepts.  I understand why they work. That doesn't mean I can get them to work for me yet.


Although the code becomes clearer as I continue to re-do the homework and actually use it.  I need my hands in it to learn it. My new classmates are good.  There is definitely some personality in this group.  We're just now starting to get know one another.

Chris Byram is my instructor for this track and he's really energetic and passionate.  I enjoy his personality and tempo in the class room.  I do find one thing interesting.  We are covering the same material yet it's from a slightly different perspective.

All my instructors have been great. Yet I'm noticing how they all look at the same problems and have a different perspective.This is the silver lining in being a computer programmer. There isn't one right answer.  There could be multiple ways to come to the same solution.

Love that.

As of this post it'll be 101 days till the end of classes.  Then I'll take the Microsoft Certification test.  With a little luck and some hard work I'll get through it.  I think Old Thomas Jefferson has the right idea.

The Re-boot

Hello world.......

I haven't blogged in a week or so. Nicole Trendel (Office Manager) Came to me on Monday and said that there was a spot open in the new .Net Developers Track.  It would set me back 6 weeks.   It would allow me to go through C# a second time.

The truth is that I don't want to just get through this program........I want to get it and be good at this.  After all, this is a professional re-boot.  Although I was feeling confident with HTML and CSS, When we started going in to the ASP we went back to C# and I was not comprehending.

I jumped on it.   My new graduation date is July 20th.  That's alright.  I just don't want to be that character in the "kid snippet" video.  There's nothing wrong with that.......I just want more.

ASP 1

If I were to rate class on a scale of 1-10.

I guess you could say......8.  Web forms are cool.  The drop and click functionality and the ability to just add buttons is cool.  I still really enjoy HTML and CSS.  I can't quite get to JQUERY yet.  I'll use some of it when I can.  That is an area that I want to explore in depth though.

I am being visited by my old friend C# though.  Hmmm  Ya know I'm not as blown away by the code......Yet there is much work to be done on that end for me.  I have begun to understand it's repetition......that doesn't mean I can effectively write it alone.  

We were using a lot of switches and for loops today.

I've noticed this week that I've settled in a bit.  I'm growing familiar with the amount of information coming at me.  That doesn't mean that I retain it all.   Yet I see the pattern in the instruction here at Centriq.  There is quite a bit of review and then we have now begun to do labs.  That is the cool part.  We gotta just build it.

I'm pretty bad. I think its super cool though.   The power and freedom you have to build and collect data is this easily is cool.  My business mind is a buzz with the possibilities for doing surveys, market research, you name it.  

I can't wait to get a little more confident.  Till then....all I can do is study and put the time in.

Week Four----- Self Study Week

Week Four

Monday March 17th........Happy St. Patrick's Day.

I find it interesting...St. Patrick's Day used to be such a busy time for me.  Being in the Bar Business for so many years.  St Patrick's Day is Big Business.  It gives the amateur drinker an Excuse to go out and get "PISSED".  lol

Bennigan's Irish Pub (whom I worked for for three years) this was like Christmas.  We had to set up Bands and Specials.  We normally spent upwards of three months planning the advertising and marketing strategy to pull off a big day. We had some great events.

To the average looker.....this looks silly.  From a business perspective

this is $$$$$.  Merchandise alone we made a killing.

Fast forward to 2014.  I am in front of a computer screen cramming C#,HTML,CSS and JQuery into  my brain. I'm not physically at Centriq this week.  I start back next week with ASP1.  This week is for studying and review over the material we've covered over the last three weeks.  

 I will admit that I am glad to be here instead of in a bar.  Life changes and I guess people change.  Before I was in love with the Bar Scene and the business side of it.  Not anymore.  I guess I've climbed that mountain or rather been there done that.  On to the next adventure.  

 I've really been relating to my son over the last few weeks.  It sounds silly but.  I am accustomed to being on my feet and moving.  (ADD....probably).  Aren't we all a little bit though.  

So anyway, my little boy Jude has been officially diagnosed with ADHD and on the Autistic scale.  He is brilliant and beautiful.  I just see myself so much in him.  I came across one of our old videos of him in Karate.  So funny..... but it's because i feel him.  I feel like this in class all the time.

The context of the video is this.  Jude is testing out of his current belt to the next belt class.  He's flown  through all the kicking and punching exercises and positions.   The last hurdle is to stand still and focus for one minute.  Perfectly still........Don't move.......lol

It is so me.  I want so badly to get the content.  I force myself to focus and absorb the material.  Then I loose focus....catch myself.... and FORCE myself to focus.   

The Good News is.  Jude ended up getting that yellow belt.  He stood up the second time, took a breath and made it.  If he can do it I can do it.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monday
1. Re-do all the homework.
a.Try doing it alone with out reference materials

2. Finish Resume HTML project.
a. work on the CSS sheet.  Project is way too plain

Week 3

So I survived the C# fundamentals week one and two.  I will say that I need to continue to work on most of the concepts.  I am struggling with looping.  Looping is a pillar of coding and computing.  I need to get a grasp on this.

Centriq has been great.  I can't say how nice it is to be around instructors and staff that cares like this.  My instructor is Keith Smith.  He has been patient with everyone.  He has a great teaching style as well.  I've scheduled a "mentoring" session with him this week.  ----looping-----  I need help with looping.

So we are now studying HTML/CSS/JQUERY.  This has been a much needed change of pace for me.
I am naturally a visual person.  So building actual websites with formatting and dressing is something that resonates with me.  The code is much simpler than C#.  It is still a huge amount of information to be covered in a week.  This particular info seems to be much easier for me to pallet.

We get to pick a website name this week as well.  I'm really pretty excited about this.  The website is ours for a year and we will be building it out for our final project.  I was going back and forth with what my web address would be.  My wife told me that I'm silly if I don't pull out all my prior work.

With her wise advise in mind; I decided upon  petetllc.com .

I have so much content from my business idea's and business plans that I've made.  I get excited thinking about building out the site to showcase some of my ideas.  So Cool!!!!  I'll add this blog in as a link, as well as my linked in, facebook, twitter etc. etc.

 Oh the possibilities........My imagination is running.  Where oh were could we go with it.

Week two.

So to say the least, C# fundamentals was a trail.  I'm still not comfortable with the concepts.  I really struggled towards the end of this week.  I didn't think this program at Centriq was going to be this intense.  I'm confronting change on a few different levels.

1.  Being back to school is culture shock.

2. Learning material that is quite different from what I am used to.

3.  Having to rely on my class mates for guidance and help.

School is tough.  It's been many years since I was a full time student.  I did not remember just how much it takes out of you learning.  Staying focused for hours on end filling up your mind with new information.  Then trying to apply that knowledge and use it in the labs and homework each night.  The accelerated program here is great......but in order to be successful you have to put the time in.

C# material is just different in the way it is done.  I grasp the fact that a computer is a very "simple" machine.  You basically have to define and explain everything to it.  In programing everything is an object.  At least in C#.  Computers are simply adding machines.  The ultimate counters.   (I find it amazing that we have been able to harness it's power this way.)

I have always been self reliant.  I don't like asking for help.  I guess that this course is forcing me to change my ideas on that.  My classmates are my best source of information and support.

It is clear that I am going to get out of this course what I put into it.  I have set up my schedule at home in a way that I see the kids after school.  Eat dinner and then I hit the books till bedtime.  I think that is the only way for me to get these concepts.

Oh.....by the way.  We are expected to type at least forty words per minute......this includes all the new symbols and slashes.  That's a tall order.  I will admit I'm stressed out a bit.

I guess that I'm putting the motto to the test..."If you believe it, You can achieve it."

C# is hurting my brain

Hello world,

I'm only writing this because I am exhausted and frustrated and need to get it out.
I have gone back to school after 17 years and am just into my first week.

I chose a school called Centriq.  It is an IT professional trade school located in Leawood, Kansas.
Now I chose this because I love the web and love to create things.  I thought, "Hey, I should be a Web Developer".  I did all the research and found that Application Developers and Web developers are in High Demand. 

Forbes says that over the next three years the demand will only continue to grow.  Cool.  Centriq's program is a "Fast Track".  Four months of intensive training and you will come out on the other side in demand. 

What I did not realize is just how hard it is.  I have never really felt "dumb".  Actually, when it comes to technology, I'm normally the one that understands it best.  This C# and Visual Studios is .............foreign.  It's just such an odd way of thinking.

Now I've read many blogs and articles about learning how to code.  I've actually spoke to many people in the career field.  They all said........you will be completely overwhelmed at first.  Then there will be an A HA moment.

I don't know if overwhelmed is the right term.  I am beaten and bruised........I think I'm about to have a panic attack.  Why can't I figure out how to do a silly Array counter. 

string [] whatTheHeck = {"I'm in deep doodoo","why did I do this","I want my momma"}

Comon Light bulb.  I will keep putting the time in but am concerned that this info isn't clicking. 

Does it get any better?  any one???????? 

Career change and back to school 37 years old.

Hello Blog,

So I am starting this blog to showcase and document my new adventure.   I am thirty seven years young and a father of three.  Married for almost 18 years now.   I took college classes when I was in my early twenties.  I stopped pursuing a degree and focused on my career in the restaraunt industry.  It is really one of the things that has really held me back over the years for many positions that I've applied for.  There is a ceiling on how far you can go in most of corporate America with out a degree.

I've been in the Food and Beverage industry for the majority of my life.  Bartending, waiting tables and managing.  For about 10 years I was a liquor and wine representative.  I sold spirits to restaurants and bars in New Jersey.  

 My focus and priority in life is to be a good Dad.  I adore my children and treasure all of life's little moments with them.  My  wife and I have three children, one of which has Cerebral Palsy.  This condition takes parenting to a whole new level.  A level that few people will ever understand. 

The reality is that being a parent to a special needs child is demanding.  It takes time and money to truly help coax them to their fullest potential.  The reality is that my wife and I have sacrificed a lot to be the parents we feel our children deserve. 

I left my job selling wine and spirits in 2010 to focus on the children.  My wife had good insurance through her job and much more stability. 

 I have come to the conclusion that I am going to make a career change.