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.

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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.