Susanna Codes

I'm Just Trying To Keep My Love Alive... (Problem Solving, Part 2) I always meant to do 2 blog posts on this. I'm glad this was the plan.  Because I missed out some of the basic notes on the first one. But there was a LOT too take in. Too much for my little brain. Oh, omg, omg. Am I committed? Do I seem committed to you? Sometimes I wonder if I'm not committed enough. Then I realise I wrote 200 blog posts since June - and that's just the blog post (many or most of which are highly detailed and highly technical posts). I realise how many CodeWars problems I've solved; how much of my Python course I've done; how much feedback I've taken on. How much more I've done. How many PR's I've done. Yes I am committed. I am SO committed omg. I am EXTREMELY COMMITTED omg. Problem Solving, Part 2 So here are the notes that I missed out the first time round from my Senior in my first post. We need to think about the feel of what the overall problem should be, a

As they don't yet know what care I drive... (Problem Solving, Part 1) Okay so technically I am off today but I have spent the whole morning off resting and relaxing and I have been watching some Sherlock Holmes and my brain has been spiked... so here are some ideas. I've been meaning to do this for ages... I've been wanting to write this post. This post is about problem solving. Problem Solving Okay so apparently I have been too junior with my problem solving. I need to think more like a Senior... or like an Engineer II... or like a higher-level Engineer I (an Engineer I is a high-junior/low-mid, btw). My main colleague gave me a really amazing clear technical lesson on how to solve problems better. It was so good I decided to write a blog post on it. In fact, two.  I decided one wouldn't be enough.  So here we go. How doe a Senior solve a problem? Well, what I was told is this: How a Senior solves problems "When I change code now I think about what I want the outc

It's Safe to Dance And safe to be myself, and safe to be my neurodivergent self - and safe to express my neurodivergent self freely and not to be who other people want me to be or to conform to who other people think that I have to be or think that I am  Also, I've decided that my favourite things in the world are mountain lakes, and that I want to make all of my infographics with them from now on... or at least the next  While I haven't been very well, unfortunately, it's gonna take a lot more than that to take my brain out. I haven't been able to stop thinking about stuff but that's okay - it's been good to have a few days without coding - the amount of upskilling I have done this year and in the last since months since my last holiday has been unfathomable. I have to trust and believe that every single thing that I do is all part of the mission and takes me a little bit closer to the goal. I have to believe that every single one of these blog posts is for

What 500 blog posts means to me, and how much I hope that it will show you how much I care "I wanna live, I wanna give, I've been a miner for a heart of gold..." Neil Young searched for a heart of gold. I searched for a way to express my love and my care into this world. But most of all I searched for a way to show how much I care about Software Engineering. From the moment I started doing this, I knew that I was born to be doing this. Well okay then, that's not true. It took about two months. But: It's all about the mission.  The passion. The story. It's all about this journey that I'm on. I don't know where this journey ends.  I can say things like: I don't want to go into management I never wanna be a manager; I wanna be an IC forever I am going to be a hands on coder forever for sure And while I hope that might be true. And it might be true. I don't know where this story ends. I only know: How much I care How passionate I am  How much I car

When the ray of light shrinks, shall cold winter nights, begin If you get the reference to the song in the title without looking it up then I might marry you (maybe). The most beautiful song ever written of all time. I have spent the whole of this weekend writing to do lists and no I am not even sorry If you want to judge me I'm afraid you have to have AuDHD, as badly as I do, and be dealing with all the other stuff I have dealt with recently.  Python to-dos 🐍🐍 I love courses but they stress me out. I can't stand the pressure. But I enjoy them. And in hindsight I will miss them. I probably need to take a deep breath and to relax. And to try and be enjoying it more. It will be over soon enough. Here are my remaining to-dos: In Intermediate Python (Finish the rest of the course): Generators Only the project Sets Lesson Quiz Collections Lesson Quiz Sets and Collections Combined project Resource management Lesson Quiz Project And then I will be done with the intermediate Python c

I'm not drinking wine, but that cherry coke you serve is fine This morning I wrote a monster to-do list from hell. I'm pleased to say that I'm doing a bit better now - and I still had time to do lots of nice things - go to my neighbour's baby's birthday party, cook some nice food, go food shopping, chat with my amazing friend in the local organic shop (I call him my mum away from home as he helps me to choose products when I am sick etc.) and do some self-care. So how am I doing now and where am I at please? Thanks. What else remains to be done please? Thanks. Really what I want to talk about is what I have left to do: I want to listen back to the 45 minute session I did with my amazing manager on problem solving  I want to look at the code we wrote concurrently I want to consolidate somehow - blog post, LinkedIn post, message to manager or journal entry I want to turn a precursor session he gave me into two blog posts I want to listen back to something he said abou

Python on the Weekend cos GENERATORS I am sorry I just want to get this course done. I love it but I am not enjoying the stress of it - of it hanging over me. I still have this module and then 2-3 more modules and then two modules from the advanced course. But it is the intermediate ones that really need to be done. Ideally they need to be done by mid-January. But before would be better too. And if I can get the advanced ones done by before then too then that would be even better too - thank you. Connecting Generators "There is are some cases where it is useful to connect multiple generators into one." ... "This allows us to delegate the operations of one generator to a sub-generator." Wait, WHAT? "Connecting generators is similar to using the itertools chain() function to combine iterators into a single iterator." Oh okay yes this is so easy   this is so easy I get it now omg. "In order to connect generators, we use the yield

"I'll be okay, okay, 'kay, okay". On the importance of rest Nobody knows better than me the importance and the need of rest. Maybe because I am so good at not doing it. "You did a courageous thing today - you rested." A beautiful trauma-informed yoga teacher I follow once shared that on her socials.  It's not that I don't like resting. I like resting. It's really awesome. It's really really cool. I love it. It's just that I REALLY. really. like software engineering. I don't actually do my work outside of hours. I just like to do personal development stuff. And normally I'm pretty good at not doing that on the weekend these days.  I have just had a lot of feedback this last week or two. So what am I supposed to do... not process it? I want to listen back to my boss's lesson on problem solving... and write it up. I don't normally need to do that much on the weekend anymore these days... I just have had so so so so much more

Mask Off My to do list is so long I can’t even. I am not talking about my work to do list. I can keep that contained in work hours. Even Python I have managed to contain to my allocated slot and my Tuesday morning commute. But I have self development stuff I wanna do. Here’s the dream list:  My boss gave me an amazing speech on problem solving  I wanna listen back and I saw at least two blog posts needed to consolidate this I want to put it in my Dragon journal (the special magical one) He also gave me an amazing talk on yields I wanted to turn that into a LinkedIn post I want to put my five main goals and the 10 related subgoals in my dragon journal  I wanted to put my 3 current biggest goals from my recent blog post in there too I wanted to put a diagram my boss drew me on problem solving in there too I also want to listen back to the whole session he did for me on problem solving today with the code side by side And that will be a write up at least in the journal too And then I want

Our love is a ghost that the others can’t see Okay so this is a strange time to be blogging but I am just feeling a bit overwhelmed so I wanted to take stock of everything. It’s almost the weekend; I have a workshop on Sunday and a neighbour’s first birthday party on Saturday. Work wise: I am working on completing the Python course both during the allocated slot every week and other bits of free time. I also need to go in today and finish addressing my PR comments; there was a range of different stuff to do and I have done 8/10 bits I think; well the 8th still needs fixing and addressing but one of the last two is only testing; and one of them I didn’t get on the first read so will readdress today. After that will be ready for some new work so omg yes that is very exciting. Also will hopefully be doing a session on problem solving today and how I problem solve And I have my amazing new journal to start at some point wow Here is me one more time as Python And I can’t wait for my worksho