Ask for encouragement: complete code project this week.

[oak]

Thank you so much, BB, for your encouragement.

Day 4/5: Refreshed after a good night's sleep and a proper breakfast, I handled starting the new project in a calm, resolved manner. It went fine, I spent two effective hours time on task, and then stopped when I felt frustration and the beginnings of HALT.

Day 5/5: I was exhausted, but surely achieved the total of ten hours for the week. I then spiraled into anxiety and loneliness, which I have to admit, unironically, is standard for my Friday nights.

Summary Good news bad news

Bad: I did not accomplish my goal of completing an ASP site.

Good: I can look myself in the mirror, knowing that I came up with plan, and implemented it. I slept more and ate enough, preventing HALT. I spent ten hours (or more) time on task. I know more about the code now than when I started. I talked to my friend, sending him what code I completed. He said that I am on the right track, and need to be ready to discuss any part of it with recruiters. (This will take a minute!)

Going forward, I think I'll do something like this week again and again until I get a project done. This may take two or three weeks. But I'll definitely put less pressure on myself.

I'll post here when:

1. I complete a project

2. I first get a call from a recruiter

3. I first meet face to face with a recuiter

4. Interview for a coding position

5. Politely but firmly slap a job offer on the desk of my current employer, to see if a counteroffer can "suddenly" appear.

Thanks for listening. Lots of love <3.

[bigeekgirl]

(((high five))) Stopping when you hit HALT is a big accomplishment in my book. How many times have I kept at something long past usefulness? So many.

[Antiqua]

You can do it. Keep trying.

[Antiqua]

Oak! How are you? Sending good thoughts your way.

[Antiqua]

Oak - You're doing good. You got this!

[oak]

Thank you all!

I am getting close to sending the file or URL to my friend (who will then send it to the recruiters).

If I get ambitious I can take a crack at the JavaScript this weekend, and need to comment out some optional settings that cause it to crash. And do I really understand everything in the project? No.

That being said, the substantive part of the project is solid, works, and is something I can be proud of.

My annual review is coming up, and my boss knows (since I told her before she hired me) that the coding recruiters would be in touch someday. I have been egregiously underpaid (I should be earning nearly twice what I am), and I know that job offers are the only thing that will (sometimes) bring my employer to a real discussion.

Thanks so much for all your support! It has been a nightmare experience, and your encouragement has made it bearable. Now I get to enjoy the fruits of my labor. The fun begins!

[oak]

I completed the project!

[brownblob]

great job following through

[oak]

I completed the C# interview a few months ago, and it indeed got me my first ever in-person coding interview.

I went in with realistic (read: low) expectations: to show my project with pride, and to find out what skills they are looking for, so I can study those exact skills.

I can say, unsarcastically, that I achieved those goals, and have effected what I learned. That's the good news.

My interviewers weren't rude...well, they weren't super rude. They clearly did not want to talk to me, and the one person humored me, while the other interviewer stared at me, totally stony.

Other than achieving my goals, everything went wrong: I was late (couldn't find building), was at once both chilled and sweaty, and it was pure awkwardness throughout.

I was grateful for the opportunity to interview, of course, and decided that I would walk out of there with my shoulders back, eyes forward, and smiling. I wasn't going to cringe or creep or avoid eye contact. I am proud that I carried myself as best I could, despite the disappointment.

[manuel_moe_g]

You deserve to feel proud!