Year In Review - 2020 Part Two

Still in the middle of lockdown 😫, but working remotely and plenty of things to do online.

I learned TypeScript! My team at work decided to write our React with TypeScript. We felt it would address some issues we had. Learning it had some learning curves especially with typing some DOM elements and events - but I found that helped me understand the DOM better. Additionally, I found is that some things are hard upfront, but those things make it worth it in the long run. The developer experience is really nice.

I found a program that was training young graduates and with mentorship skills. I found the description for the program intriguing so I applied and was accepted. It was organized by xHub, Mastercard foundation, and CALS. Our trainer, Teddy, was obviously experienced and the sessions had a great environment for learning/discussing. I learned a lot. It was about 3 months long and it was fun.

Classes were finally reopened after about 7 months. My graduation date was pushed back by so much. I wanted to get it over with.

We (my team) had continued working on our final project a few weeks before class begun. However, so many of our plans had gone wrong. The specific drone we wanted, supposed to come from China, was impossible to get. We couldn’t even bring alternatives because of restrictions. We changed plans to use a grounded vehicle.

It was a tough few months haha. But I’m also glad I experienced it. Personally I was mainly working on a module that was in charge of planning the places the vehicle would go based on data from the sensors on the vehicle. I had a lot of pair programming sessions with a teammate where we were discussing, trying different approaches to make things work, and coming up with solutions. I got more comfortable using python.

The last few weeks were intense and stressful. The last few days even more so. But it ended 😁.

I graduated! Had great and memorable times! I had great classmates and friends. Interestingly, I noticed our department was the most tight-knit group out of all departments. It was surprising to see how other departments divided into super small sub-groups; there was barely noticeable interaction between them.

The end of one journey and the start of another!

Best book I read during this time: Mere Christianity by CS Lewis.