He Met Margaret On A Rooftop - Reflecting On My Current Software Engineering Goals, Thoughts and Progress

I’m in Luxembourg City centre. Just waiting for my favourite shop to open. 

It’s a stationary shop, of course. I grew up in Luxembourg. I went to school in the modern part of the capital. I lived in two different beautiful small villages and towns. 

I might visit one of them later today. 

“Place Guillaume” in Luxembourg where I am sitting 

This blog post has been on my mind for a while. 

‘Cause Baby If Your Love Is In Trouble

I had a real gift. In the depths of feeling depressed I was reminded of how lucky I am. 

I don’t feel depressed much these days. Been there, done that. Nowadays I feel happy and inspired. Passionate. 

But I got a bit overworked just before my break and so I was feeling really low. And in the depths of that despair I went to see a movie (I describe this in my last blog post btw). I went to see “Fly Me To The Moon” which is about the moon landing and so of course it mentioned Margaret Elaine Hamilton. And although it’s not about her the song “Margaret” by Lana del Rey began to play in my mind. And as I said the line “baby if your love is in trouble” began to play somewhere in the depths of my depression. “Baby if your love is in trouble.” I realised - I love my passion SO MUCH. If I can’t love it than what hope really is there for loving anything?

But of course it’s more than that

The above thought may or may not be true but that’s not the point. Imagine even having the privilege of even entertaining the above thought. Whether or not it’s exactly true is irrelevant. Imagine being able to even think about your job in that way. 

And your work and your passion. 

Imagine being able to think - if I don’t love my job - then what hope do the rest of us even have. For loving anything. 

It made me realise how lucky I am. Very very quickly. It made me realise how lucky I am. And in the depths of my despair, it reached out deeply into my heart, deeply deeply. 

My Current Software Engineering (/Python) Goals

I am on holiday and about to embark on a silent retreat so Python goals are far from my mind. I’m sure there are many people who would be pleased about that. I have taken some time off. I went out into the woods last night. No greater medicine exists. 

But in a nutshell:

• Finish decorators video, probably in two goes, with blog posts
• Do decorators homework
• Finish OOP section of the course
• Start unit testing
• Revise the two multiple inheritance lessons although it’s self explanatory and apparently not often used how they taught it
• start polimorphism
• Write my talk for the associates if that is going ahead
• Revise my notes from my mentor on traversing multiple levels 
• But first step will be to finish Django girls ORM tutorial during work hours
• And revise those ORM methods really well, in the Python notes, make lots of detailed notes and blog posts on them please thank you
• And then get back to my current ticket
• Oh yeah I was writing a backfill migration file
• Backfilling migrations is hard
• And not miss the forest for the trees 

Although I love trees and forest and trees and offshore wind farms and I might go and see my favourite offshore wind farms today. 

The Hydroelectric Dam and the Lac de la Lande

I can’t give up on this dream. I can’t give up on it. I can never never give up on it to be honest. I’m so sorry I’m so sorry. 

I just can’t give up on it at all. When I was a teenager I did the Duke of Edinburgh award. This was round about when I got my seizures. I got them after the bronze expedition so I was okay. But the silver one I collapsed in the woods.

Luckily my friends knew it could happen and we thought it was funny (at least I think they did…). They spaceblanketed me and put me in a sleeping back or something and put my hat on me (we were deep in the mountains in France). We even took a photo to use as a joke advert for the award. You had to be there - my good friends usually know about my collapses and we can kind of make fun of it. Quite rare for it to happen around people I know but I was just so exhausted. Usually they only happen when I am on my own and there is no one to keep my brain engaged and etc. But luckily they don’t really happen at home as I can just get in to bed (hence why it really is to do with tiredness a lot). Anyway I digress. 

On the gold one I couldn’t do the hike. I nearly did but the risk was too high. It would’ve been a helicopter ride if it had been really bad and that’s expensive. I am so sad but I think I made the right decision. 

Anyway. On that first expedition especially and on the second one too. I fell in love with the five lakes in the Vosges region that are grouped together. One of them was an old hydroelectric power station. I’ve never felt so powerful in my life as I did when I stood there on its dam, at least not until well into my late twenties. 

Whenever I think of my mission I see this place. It encompasses both water and electricity what more can I say ⚡️ electricity ⚡️