Day 48: Angular and Black Belt Preparation

It was a long and painful week but I think I'm finally understanding how Angular works. Last night I spent a couple of hours trying to understand the logic of the second Angular assignment and left defeated once more. I got in a little early this morning and the instructor was one of the first people I saw on the way in so I immediately asked him for help. It took him five minutes and he explained that I forgot to pluralize one of the variables, thereby messing the entire code. I couldn't help but laugh. This was one of those moments where something clicked in my head and things made a little more sense. Strength through struggle.

I survived another morning of algorithms and after that VT and RS asked me if I wanted to get coffee with them. We drove to a Safeway where Starbucks was served; I figured we could kill two birds with one stone here by picking up lunch and dinner to eat at the dojo. 

I never drank so much caffeine as I have in the bootcamp. I figured out years ago that caffeine makes me feel fantastic for about ten minutes before I crash and feel terrible for the remainder of the day. I told myself at the beggining of the bootcamp that I wouldn't resort to such tactics to stay awake and alert. However desperation kicked in and I found myself drinking coffee or coffee-related drinks a couple times each week. It turns out that caffeiene can be effective if I remain focused on a topic. Drinking then doing nothing can cause me to crash early but staying busy can cause a gradual decline. I got a grande cup but felt focused for the entire afternoon and neglected lunch until the second assignment was completed. 

After completing it VT, RS, and AD decided to do another coffee trip once more and asked me to come along. Individually they'd go to Starbucks but in a group they head out to a certain cafe with hot waitresses. I tag along most of the time in my attempt to remain socially active. When I'm there I sit and drink in silence while the guys try to hit on the waitresses. Occasionally I speak up but I don't know what to say. Today I walked in and one of them remembered who I was and called me out. I didn't think too much about that but the guys surrounded me and wondered what did I did to get their attention. This isn't the first time I've gotten some hot girl's attention without even trying and when my friends would ask me for details my usual response would be to say that I must have been drunk cause I don't remember what I did. The aftermath was hilarious though. 

The torments of the second assignment paved way for an easier time on the third assignment. I got started immediately and felt the same energy I felt with CodeIgniter. At 6:30PM VT asked me to drive him to a salon to get his hair done. I got to admire his metrosexuality. I got back and finished the third assignment in no time.

Tomorrow is the Black Belt exam. The instructor has made it optional cause he felt that most of us aren't ready for it. I still need to cover one more chapter and the two chapters I had to skip before I could say that I am ready for it but I'm still going to take it anyway to know what to expect.

I've finished a couple of hours earlier than usual so as a reward I get to go home earlier and sleep an extra hour tonight.