Jenue's Blog

Not feeling very well today. But I still have to pack my suitcase. Important appointment Monday. I get dizzy when I stand up. Negative Covid test. 😷 I have to push through somehow.

Every Good Boy Deserves Fun

If you have ever studied music, you know where that sentence comes from. During my childhood years my mom thought she could make me musical.

Haha! I remember being completely frustrated trying to make my side flute make some sort of noise. Holy crap! If you don’t place it on your lips just right, it makes absolutely no sound. And then once I did manage to make sound, the long notes killed me. It seemed that I could never hold my breath long enough.

Then I took piano lessons and was bored out of my mind. I just didn’t want to.

As an adult, I figured out that I really like the ukulele. I own a tenor ukulele and it makes the most beautiful sound, even when I hit the wrong notes. I tell myself that if I get really good at playing, I might try playing the guitar. But that’s a big if!

Make Every Day Fun!

Studying today feels like a déjà vu. I’ve done this before! The first time I went to university I majored in Business and minored in Management Information Systems. So, I took a lot of computer science classes. I graduated in ´98.

And now 1000 years later 😵‍💫 I’m right back where I started. Standing on the threshold of a German University. I have mixed feelings about having to start over. But the circumstances are different. Different country. Different language. Different time period. New adventure! And I welcome the 2nd chance.

When life throws you lemons just add some sugar and water and enjoy the lemonade.

Today I’m feeling overwhelmed by the massive size of information that I have to somehow upload into my head. I know that in situations like this I should step closer to the project instead of stepping back, but right now I’m at a standstill.

Deep Breath. The library inside my head reminds me of this:

During a stay at hotel Marriott Courtyard, in Oberpfaffenhofen, I met a lady from Bangladesh. Chance placed us next to each other at breakfast. Our initial hellos and good morning turned into a mini conversation. I discovered that she was in Germany to take a course. That piqued my interest, so I probed for more information and found out that she was working for the British Navy.

Wow! Just wow. She was so nice and charming and humble. I’m going to take a hint from whatever higher power that placed us next to each other and keep pressing on. My road might involve a series of failure. But that’s Okay!

I shot this picture a few days ago. And it leads me to my tip of the day.

Don’t let anyone rock your boat!

Today I’m blogging directly from IntelliJ. Look at me, I'm learning stuff! 🤣

I’m spending this weekend decluttering, re-organizing, and cleaning, so I can focus on studying and coding next week.

Not very exciting, but necessary. And at the end of the day I’m always thankful for making progress.

I decided to update my profile picture because the old profile picture doesn’t represent me anymore.

Other than lip gloss, I’m not wearing makeup. I’m not a fan of makeup. And yes, that is my real hair! I don’t know why people keep asking me that.

I’ve just started wearing prescription glasses! 🤓

I met these beautiful horses while taking a walk.

Spent today high in the mountains with the groundhogs. While I was busy trying to take a picture of these little guys, a bigger groundhog snuck up on me from behind and frightened me. 😂 All part of the adventure. I love it up here!

Say cheese, groundhog. 😁

Today´s hike left me winded, but look at the view!

I'm somewhere close to heaven, but it's hot as hell 🫠

I’m back from the Twilight Zone. I don’t understand anything that just happened. Anyway, I’m done trying to make sense of nonsense.

Back to being a happy little elf. 🧝🏼‍♀️ ✨

I understand.

I’m spending the next few days trying to get used to my new glasses. I didn’t know that they would make me feel seasick. 🤢

I have bifocals so I have to be conscious of where I’m looking. Going up and down stairs is especially weird. I feel like I’m going to fall.

I hope that I can adjust quickly because I have so much to do this week.

Throughout my lifetime I’ve always been able to find someone to hold onto. A kindred spirit to comfort me when everything is cloudy. But right now all I’m holding onto is me.

I fill my heart with flowers. And enjoy the feel of the sun on my skin. The breeze whispers in my ear, “You’re okay.”

And that's enough for me. 🌻

Today someone broke something, blamed me for it, and ridiculed me as I tried my best to fix it. We resolved the situation, but I didn’t like how I was treated. Then when I confronted him about it, all he had to say was, "I was stressed."

So I have to take your verbal abuse because you were stressed?

I get a lot of spam emails and sometimes they get into my inbox. This one is funny! So apparently my name is Peter. And Peter is getting a shipping confirmation from Amazon. The way this is written is hilarious. I literally laughed out loud!

Peter bought a Magnetic Locator. What the 🤐 is that?

He spent $569,00.

And the last few sentences were really funny: “Thanks a lot for your order. You made a nice choice!”

And in fine print is written, “Your order will be with you shortly. Go ahead and clear off some shelf space.”

Thank you for sending me this silly email. I needed the laugh.

I don't know what a Magnetic Locator is, but now I want one. 🤣 😂

I haven’t written any poetry in a long time, but yesterday I found myself writing again. When I write poetry, the pen moves my hand. The emotions write themselves.

And my goodness, this one needed to be written. I don’t know if it has all the elements needed to be published, but I submitted it to a well-known publisher. Chances are slim that it’ll get accepted, but trying is free.

Who knows, maybe this time they’ll say yes.

The poem is called Hero. I unfortunately can’t post it yet because I’ve submitted it. But I’ll post it in the near future once the reviewing process is over.

It’s amazing how much better I feel now that I’ve gotten all that emotion out of me and onto paper.

How do you deal with heavy emotions?

I have published work before! Here is my publishing history:

• “The Lucky Card,” Short Story in Bardic Tales and Sage Advice, July 2006
• “Dweller,” Short Story in Diodati Magazine – Issue 2, January 2016
• “Touched,” Poem in Straylight Magazine, Print Issue May 2016
• “Unintentional,” Poem in Literary Juice Magazine, Online Issue October 2017
• “Breathe Into Me,” Poem in Voice of Eve, Online & Print November 2018
• “Road Trip to Schladming,” Travel Article in Dave’s Travel Corner, Online, June 2019

Too much of anything is never a good thing, including money. It’ s my observation that wealthy people are often miserable.

Don’t waste your life chasing money. It will only make you unhappy. You will guard it and hoard it and push good people away because you think all they want is your money.

Who wants to live like that? I don’t!

I think a lot of people would describe me as exotic. People have trouble placing me on the map. And when I look in the mirror I can understand why. I’m multi-cultural and that can be confusing.

Because I’m “exotic” people make all kinds of assumptions about me. And I think the number one assumption is that I’m hyper-sexual. Hmm… what do I say about that?

The truth is, I’m no more sexual than any other woman. I value friendship and kindheartedness the most. I’m attracted to a brilliant mind. I like to learn about people. I like risk takers and people who travel the road not taken. I admire those who are softspoken but fiercely bold. And if you're none of these things, or just one of these things, you will NOT get an invitation to my bed!

I laugh at any man, brilliant or otherwise, who assumes that he can have sex with me because I’m exotic. Or because I said, “hello.”

I’d be careful with what I say around Alexa. I mean, she’s already programmed to recognize and respond to her name. I think it would be quite easy to program her to start recording conversations when she hears other target words.

Am I the only one who thinks that she’s kind of spooky?

I finally went to the optician today. Yes, I’m blind. 🤓 I ordered two pairs of glasses before I left. This was on the top of my summer to do list and I’m happy that I can finally check it off. I can’t wait to pick up my glasses in the next few weeks! It's going to be so nice to finally see properly again.

Oh my gosh, what an awesome week! And I have lots of crazy cool things planned this summer. Travel, concerts, and just lots of FUN.

I love summer!!! 🏖

I'm confused. Payback for what? Why are you so angry? None of this makes sense.

If you have something to say to me, please just email me and I promise I will get back to you. Good or bad we can Doctor it. It’ll Be Pleasant. 🌻

Thanks for answering. So, it really is you who’s sending these messages! I didn’t know. I was guessing.

Your opinion of me is none of my business. But I hope you feel better now that you’ve said what you needed to say.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when I reach out to a friend and they say, “I thought of you the other day.”

If you thought of me the other day then why didn’t you call, text, or visit? So, you thought of me and chose to do nothing… Because that’s how much I mean to you! 🙄

I hear many people say that learning Java takes a lot of practice and you have to wait for something in your head to click before you really understand it.

Well, I’m still waiting for my click. Oh my gosh, where’s my click? I’m not really panicking yet, but I would, at least, like to write basic code without struggling so much.

I really need my click to happen by the end of this year. Maybe I need to change the way I’m learning? I’m not sure what it is, but I’m going to find the problem, fix it, and get my click.

I was playing animal crossing with friends and Kapp'n sang,

“Don’t cry about dreams that don’t come true. Sometimes you just need another way.”

And Oh my gosh, that line really resonates with me right now. This might sound silly, because it’s just a game, but I'm inspired by it. ✨

My Island's name is maoland

DA-3535-0060-0852

I share this island with my family. I'm BlueBird. The house with the red roof is mine.

Watch out for the pitfall field! 😂

The new road map for the next few years of my life requires that I spend a lot of time buried in tech books. Working on social skills. Building bridges and making new friends. I’m so grateful for the opportunity and excited to start my new adventure. 🤩

My tip of the day:

Don’t let the fear of rejection stop you from trying. The feeling of “what if” or “I should have” is a lot worse than rejection.

At least with rejection comes the comfort of knowing that you tried. And now that you’ve tried there’s nothing holding you back from moving forward.

Rejection might hurt for a few days but missed opportunity will gnaw at your soul for a lifetime!

This morning a bird flew against my living room window. Poor bird! 🥺

Part of being an adult is accepting that not everyone is meant to stay in my life. But it’s really heartbreaking watching someone I respect and admire walk away. Every part of me wants to scream, “Don’t go! Stay here with me. Hold my hand.”

But I can’t. 😔

Another funny thing about me:

When I’m annoyed I can and will “unlearn German” very quickly.

I seriously can go from understanding everything you say, to I don’t speak German in less than 60 seconds.

It’s just one of my defense responses. I can either fight, flee, or not understand you. And “Entschuldigung, ich spreche kein Deutsch,” usually works! ¯_(ツ)_/¯

My tip of the day:

Don’t judge what you don’t understand. Especially if you’re not willing or not in a position to ask questions. People have their reasons for doing what they do.

Be compassionate. Be tolerant. And do no harm.

Social media is a big fat lie. Because even the sincerest people will subconsciously represent themselves online as the person they want and aspire to be, instead of who they really are.

And yes, that applied to me as well. Once I realized what I was doing I was devastated with an appropriate amount of imposter syndrome.

I’m not saying that you should leave social media. I know that’s not an option for everyone. And I also know that social media can be used for good things. But in most situations the bad side of social media outweighs the good. Just be mindful of the half truths that live on social networks.

One of the funny things about me is that I’m really bad at small talk. How do I practice that? Anyway, I usually say inappropriate things to people. Like once an acquaintance proudly showed me a newborn baby. I asked who’s baby it was and she was a little offended. Oops! I never noticed she was pregnant. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Once at a family gathering, I kindly offered to help an older lady find her missing earring. Only to find out that she only wore one earring! Oh boy!!! I was so embarrassed. 😩

Then there was this time I tried to make small talk with this lady and commented that her hair was different only to find out that she was being treated for breast cancer. My heart broke! 💔

I always try to be nice but end up saying the wrong thing!

Every child in kindergarten should know this, but my tip of the day is:

Do NOT click on shady links! Don’t even think about it. 🚫

I haven’t driven a car in a few years. And my eyes are bad. I would need a lot of practice and new glasses before I start driving again.

And you’re going to laugh at me, but I never learned how to drive stick shift. I got my driver’s license in the U.S. and they make you learn with an automatic. So, a lot of Americans can only drive automatic.

In Europe though it’s the weirdest thing! And people laugh at me. But do you know what’s even more funny? Me trying to park! 😅

This morning I woke up to the song Chocolate by Kylie Minogue.

What did I have for breakfast?

Chocolate! 😋

Because I’m an adult and I can do what I want.

This morning my doorbell rang at about 7 a.m. I’m still asleep because it’s Saturday, but I’m expecting packages, so I quickly roll out of bed and open the door. When the delivery guy said, “I have a package for your neighbor,” I almost cursed him out. Oh, my goodness, why!

And when my neighbor picked up his package, he said that the delivery person never rang his doorbell. 🙄

Today is National I Love My Dentist Day! 😍

Today my alarm went off at six a.m. I’m out the door at around 7:30. And as soon as I’m outside it starts raining. Nope, not going back for my umbrella. There’s nothing like a brisk morning walk through the rain to wake you up. I love it! 🌧 💖

Sometimes my temporomandibular joints hurt. And there’s really not much I can do about it. My dentist gave me this stupid mouth guard but when I forget to wear it at night my face hurts in the morning. 😭

And when that’s not bothering me, my wisdom teeth hurt. I don’t even have wisdom teeth anymore!!! 🤯 So why do I feel like my wisdom teeth hurt? I’m not telling my dentist because she’ll just think I’m crazy.

I have the weirdest dental problems. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Thanks for the Facebook post! 👀

Ich und du oder du und ich?

Der Esel nennt sich immer zuletzt.

Also, es ist du und ich.

Aber warum bin ich der Esel? 😂

With time, practice and will power you can learn just about anything. But, unfortunately, time is a valuable resource that most people don’t have.

And literally everything requires time! I dare you to say a verb that does not require time.

Did you think of a verb that doesn’t require time?

Well, if you didn’t then please learn some of the basic keyboard shortcuts. This really has very little to do with programming. But it’s still noteworthy knowledge.

I won’t list them here because I only know the ones that are useful to me. But do yourself a favor and google keyboard shortcuts. It will save you so much time.

What an amazing day! I hope you had one too. 😘

Today I just enjoyed the moment. The weather is gorgeous and I’m surrounded by beautiful, kindhearted people.

I’m brimming with happiness!

I don’t know how to delete a course on Duolingo once it’s added. I have German, Portuguese, French, and Romanian.

I don’t speak French at all. I added the course because I was curious and then decided it wasn’t for me. I don’t like that in French the words aren’t written like they sound.

I don’t speak Romanian either. I do, however, love this language. The structure is quite unique, and the sound of the language is so welcoming that it’s fun to learn. I unfortunately don’t have the time right now to invest in a new language.

I speak German. My grammar is not the best, but I can understand 95% of Hochdeutsch and I can speak fluently enough to be understood.

I understand simple Portuguese. I think that I can speak enough to get by, and I can read Portuguese very well.

I spent years in High School and College learning Spanish, but I don’t remember any of it. If I have time someday, maybe I’ll revisit this language.

So in all transparency, that's what's up on my Duolingo! 😉

I must also say that if you’re really adamant on becoming fluent in a language Duolingo will not be enough. You will need a few other resources to achieve fluency.

I don’t usually notice a lot of spam mail because most of it gets trapped in the spam folder and the few that manage to get into my inbox gets marked and ignored. So, spam mail doesn’t bother me.

What does bother me is getting scam phone calls. Two members of my family have gotten the Europol scam phone call. And it was upsetting because when they hung up, the scammers called back from a different number.

Anyway, if you get a call from people claiming to be from Europol please just hang up and don’t answer phone numbers that you don’t know, at least for the remainder of that day. Unless you’re a hardcore criminal, the chances of Europol calling you is null. It was also a big red flag that they immediately started the conversation in English.

Our internet provider has left us (and the entire apartment building) without internet for 2.5 full days now. And it’s still not fixed. I’m a very meek and understanding person, but this is really unacceptable. I feel like I want to fight somebody. 😡

The only way I can get internet at home is by creating a hotspot with my cell phone. Thank God for backdoors!

I hurt my arm and shoulder playing Nintendo Switch Sports. In fact, my entire body hurts, but especially my arm. I could barely comb my hair this morning. Not my smartest moment!

But it was really fun. 😅

Today I’m practicing arrays and references. Pretty basic stuff! But you have to learn how to crawl before you can run.

Also, this is important so pay attention: Don't even think about trying to learn coding without an IDE! You can install a free version of IntelliJ. You can not learn how to code by just reading a book.

Sometimes it’s really difficult to schedule coding practice into my day. I was so busy this week that I didn’t do any coding at all. But that’s okay. Right now, programming isn’t my 1st priority so I can afford the practice delay.

Hopefully, I can catch up over Easter break. Have a great Easter! And if you don’t celebrate Easter, then Happy Spring! 🌷

Tip of today: Before you start coding, sometimes it helps to write down your algorithm in words.

So with a lot of tears and sweat and HELP I've finally completed the Abecedarian exercise. I have a long way to go, but onto the next chapter.

package com.jenue;

import java.util.Scanner;

public class Abecedarian {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String word;
        do {
            System.out.print("Enter word: ");

            Scanner in = new Scanner(System. in);
            word = in.nextLine();
            System.out.println(word.length());

        } while (word.length()<1);

        boolean result=isAbecedarian(word.toLowerCase());

        System.out.println(result);
    }

    public static boolean isAbecedarian(String word) {
        boolean result = true;
        char previousChar =  ' ';
        for(int i = 0; i < word.length() && result; i++) {
            char currentChar = word.charAt(i);
            result = currentChar>previousChar;
            previousChar = currentChar;
        }

        return result;
    }
}

Java and JavaScript are two very different languages. Java is a Backend programming language whereas JavaScript is used for Frontend.

I’m really struggling with this assignment. Which brings me to my tip of the day:

Ask for help!

A lot of people are afraid to ask for help. Don’t be!

Ask the right questions.

Ask for directions to help you solve your project. Don’t expect another developer to do your job for you. There’s a big difference.

Also, if one person can’t or won’t help you, ask someone else. And don’t be afraid to be just a little bit annoying. Someone will help you. CS is about team work!

Working on a Java loop exercise from the book, “Think Java”. Yes, I know. I’m really behind. I should already be done with this book, but I’m not. 😯

I’m writing a method that takes a String and returns a Boolean indicating whether the word is abecedarian. An abecedarian is a word that has letters in alphabetical order. For example: biopsy, behint, dehort...

For me this is very complicated, so I hope I won’t take too long to get it done. Wish me luck!

When I'm done I'll post my working code.

I woke up this morning and it’s snowing! What happened to Spring? It looks like a winter wonderland outside.

Anywho, my tip of the day is: Don’t waste a minute of your existence trying to make someone like you.

First of all, this lesson is easier said than done. But when someone’s heart is set to cold, it’s best to just leave it alone! If your boss doesn’t like you then you have to stay out of his way. Do your job well and let your work speak for itself. The same thing applies to a teacher, object of affection, hero, or the cool kid who you admire so much.

I know it hurts. And if I’m being honest, I still make this mistake. It’s a really difficult lesson because you think maybe if you stay later at work, or do extra credit, or give this girl flowers… No! It never works. They will still find some reason not to like you. Save yourself some pain.

Find people who appreciate you for you! And feel no animosity towards those who don’t like you. That takes too much energy. Give your energy, instead, to people who know your value.

Let’s start with Will Smith. Oh boy! There were children watching their “hero” being less than heroic. And for what? Because he didn’t like what someone else said. Since when are we so soft? Now the children think that it’s Ok to slap someone.

I once heard a girl being offended because someone complimented her. I was among her entourage, so I asked why she was so unnerved by it. She said that a compliment from someone undesirable is no compliment; it’s the opposite. Her answer was really confusing to me, because it didn’t make sense. And it still doesn’t make sense to me.

But I realize that this is how some people feel. If you’re not pretty, young, smart, cool, etc. then they will be offended, even if you worship the ground they walk on. Because they don’t like you and how dare you have the audacity to “like” them. They’re basically offended by your existence.

I think this line of thinking is utter bullshit! But I’ve experienced this very thing. I offended someone just because I was a little bit too appreciative. At first, I couldn’t really figure out why I was being shunned and then it hit me. Heartbroken!

But what can you do? Chris Rock was just telling a joke. And he meant no ill will at all. Yet, he was slapped. I was literally just saying thank you because someone helped me out in a way that one else could. And I was shunned.

People will take offence to any, and everything. I’m done being bothered by it. If you’re offended by my good intentions and my good will, then that’s your problem!

Today is so beautiful that my daily coding practice almost eluded me. So, as I was reading along, I didn’t fully understand what was happening with the code in question. But, as soon as I typed it into my IDE (IntelliJ) and ran the code, I could SEE what was happening.

So that is my tip for you today. Don’t immediately panic if something goes over your head. Wait at least until you run the code before you get anxious. And if you still don’t understand, then contact your nearest computer scientist. 😉 And if s/he can’t help you, then you can start panicking. 😭

Let’s talk about something you won’t learn in your computer science class. The goal of this article is to answer the question, what does a computer scientist do? What can I expect at my first internship? How are tasks distributed?

Let’s start with the fact that a programmer, who is hired at an IT company or works in the IT department, seldom works alone. In your computer science class you almost always code by yourself. But in the real working world you will be part of a team. Work will be divided among you.

You will be delegated a ticket. A ticket is a description of a task that needs to be done. Tickets can come from within the IT department. For example, one of your team members may notice a bug. Or, a ticket can be a request from outside the IT department. For example, from another department within your company or even a customer request.

Tickets are written and then put in backlog to be delegated and discussed at planning meetings. In this meeting tickets are picked for a two-week period. A two-week cycle of a project or work is called a sprint.

When a programmer is complete with a ticket. S/he will write code to automate a test for his own work. So completely a ticket is usually a two-step process. You complete the task of the ticket and then you will test it (automated).

A green test is a working test.

A red test is a failed test.

After a successful green test, the developer will ask for a PR or Pull Request. A pull request is a request for another developer to review and approve your code.

Once approved your pull request will be merged into the Main branch.

Developers work in branches. A branch is a copy of the code that the team is working on.

Sometimes when two developers change the same line of code you get a merge conflict. In this case a reviewer will look at the changes and decide which one is best.

This is what a developer does in a nutshell. Your computer science class will only teach you how to code, but there is so much more to being a computer scientist than just coding. It involves a lot of teamwork, a lot of communication, more meetings than you think is necessary, and twice as much problem-solving skills. And let’s not even talk about deadlines and being on call.

But at the end of day, if you love what you do, it’s all worth it!

Today we changed the clocks forward 1 hour. I think we can all agree that the world has had enough of the daylight savings nonsense. Can we please just abolish this useless concept of time? So annoying! 🙄

I’m actually a lot disappointed with myself that my coding skills has not improved to any significant degree in the last months.

But I have a plan to change that. You see, I would often get stuck on a concept for weeks and wouldn’t dare to move on until I think that I’m at an expert level of understanding.

That was, of course, wrong! Some concepts I will understand immediately, and other concepts will need practice. But that doesn’t mean that I should stand still and not move forward. Initially, learning to code will be memorizing a series of steps that include instructions on how to perform certain tasks. You will need to memorize the basics! But you can’t possibly memorize everything.

In time and with practice you will automatically remember the code you need. It’s more important for you to know how to look up information. It’s kind of like not knowing how to spell a certain word. What do you do? Well, you just look the word up in a dictionary. It’s the same with coding. If there is something you don’t know how to do or have forgotten, you need to know how to look those things up. That’s what stack overflow is for.

Also, don’t beat yourself up if your code doesn’t work the first time you run it. No one’s code works the first time they run it. Fixing bugs is a big part of programming. Get used to it.

Also, spend some time learning the work jargon. It’s impossible to know everything, but you still need to sound literate and knowledgeable when discussing issues with other programmers.

Spend more of your spare time tinkering with code! There is a lot of trial and error when it comes to coding. And the best programmers like to tinker and play around with code in their spare time.

Sometimes I think that I live in an age where being nice is considered creepy. If you’re too nice people think you want something from them. But why? Why is it weird to be nice? I really don’t understand it.

I smile at people to make myself approachable.

I’m helpful because I like to make people happy.

And I like making people happy because it makes me feel good.

I say thank you and please because manners matter. Politeness is underrated!

It feels good to be nice. If you don’t believe me, do a random act of kindness and see how it makes you feel.

I wonder if nice people live longer? I think the physical effects of being nice has real medicinal properties. Someone should do a study on this. Nice people vs. Mean people, who lives longer. What do you think? 🤔

Someone asked me what’s wrong and I said, “Nothing, I’m just busy in my head,” and their reaction was laughter. That puzzled me. But I get that a lot.

When I’m thinking I stare out into the distance, stare at the wall or stare out the window. I don’t know what that looks like to other people. I think I might look a bit stressed or worried. I really don’t know, but it seems to cause concern.

But I’m fine. I’m just thinking. Most of the time I’m just thinking about my day. Or, I’m planning for something. I like to go inside the attic of my head and plan and find archived information. Sometimes I just like to go there and relax. It’s my own personal library of memories. I can remember the smallest details of years past, like the names of the people from my kindergarten class.

I think I must look really weird sometimes. As if I’m there, but not there at the same time. I’m just busy in my head. And no, you may not ask me what I’m thinking. I hate that question. My thoughts are private, just like your thoughts are private. And unless you’re very close to me, access to my head will be politely denied.

I’m usually a very decisive person, but like all people I have my indecisive moments. On these occasions I just ask myself, “if I’m going to die tomorrow…”

If I’m going to die tomorrow, what would I like for lunch?

If I’m going to die tomorrow, should finish reading this book?

If I’m going to die tomorrow, should I clean my apartment?

If I’m going to die tomorrow, should I cut my hair?

It’s amazing how “if I’m going to die tomorrow” will show you what you really want and need. So if you’re having a moment of indecisiveness just use this little prompt. 😉

I literally woke up this morning with the sun on my face. I was happy to be awake, but slightly sad to have left a beautiful dream. What is the opposite of a nightmare? Is there a word for that? My subconscious gave me exactly what I wanted, what I craved, what I’ve been fantasizing about, in the form of a dream. And I remember every detail of it.

I am very thankful and happy for this gift. I hope the dream visits me again soon, but until then I’ll enjoy the sunshine. It’s such a beautiful day today. And I know that this is also a gift. 🌞

A year ago today, I was in the hospital getting a very difficult wisdom tooth removed. There were complications and I ended up in the heart station. But my wisdom tooth was gone! AND the surgeon managed not to break my jaw during the procedure. AND he also miraculously didn’t touch any of the surrounding nerves. AND the cardiologists couldn’t find anything wrong with my heart!

I dodged several bullets that day. I never considered myself a beautiful woman, so I didn’t realize how precious my face is until my doctor said that I could lose feeling in my lips, tongue, and have a huge scar from the screws that he would use to wire a broken jaw shut.

It was an excruciating experience, but I’m still here. So, today I’m celebrating life. I’m so happy to live a normal, simple, life completely undamaged and completely healed.

Yesterday I clicked on a youtube video and after I watched the video, I went to the about page to find out more about the channel. I was really surprised that the owner of the channel wrote a description in 3rd person. It just seemed really odd and out of place to me.

I know from experience, with publishing, that authors are often required to write their own biographies, written in the 3rd person. I’ve done it several times and it always felt dishonest to me. It felt like I was trying to trick people into believing that I was so important that someone else was writing about me. But that’s a big lie, isn’t it? I wrote the short biography myself. And I think that most people know that I wrote it myself. So why do I need to lie?

I don’t like autobiographies that are pretending to be biographies. Just be honest and write in the 1st person. Autobiographies are, in my opinion, much better. You know yourself better than anyone else, so I’d rather read what YOU write about yourself.

Just my opinion though 🤓

Love and Solidarity to the Ukraine. I can’t imagine what it’s like being invaded. I wish I could help, but all I can do is send prayers. 🙏🏼

In all fields of life details matter. People notice the little things. And it’s often the smallest details that make an otherwise mediocre work into something of excellence.

It’s really amazing how the smallest details can make a colossal difference. A hand placed on a shoulder can provide comfort. A smile can be encouraging. A thank you can change how people see you.

An extra line of code to properly document your work will be greatly appreciated, even if no one seems to care.

When accepting gifts people notice the wrapping. They will appreciate the hand stitched monogram and homemade items. And even if they don’t like the actual gift, they will love that you made the extra effort.

Paying attention to detail can make a good dinner into a special one. The examples can go on forever. But I’ll end this post here. I love a good detail! 🤓

I miss the free-range emotional freedom that children enjoy. They’re allowed to cry when a nurse pokes them with a needle. When they get angry no one’s stopping them from having a temper tantrum. They brutally speak without filter. They’re not afraid to say, I love you. They’re not afraid to say, I hate you. They’re allowed to be afraid and hold onto their teddy bear.

As an adult, you can only dream of having that much emotional freedom. I would give almost anything to show my feelings without consequences. My emotions are, however, written on my face. I never learned how to control my facial expressions. 😇

So, you will know if I like you without me saying a word. And, unfortunately, the opposite is also true. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

That moment when the light bulb over your head shines bright! And you finally understand the coding concept that you’ve been working on for days. Happy!!! 🥳

Programming concepts can really take a while to sink in. Be patient. I promise you’ll eventually understand it.

In regard to problem solving you often heard people say, think outside the box. It’s a difficult concept to imagine without taking into consideration that you will damage the box in the process. And if you succeed in finding a solution outside the box, it will never fit inside the old box.

My observation is that people are afraid to break the box. But that’s the whole idea, isn’t it? You’re supposed to break the box. Because by definition, an outside-the-box solution has to be bigger than the inside of the old box.

But that’s okay. Making bigger boxes is the easy part. So dear friends, Break the box!

Last year I had to spend 5 days in the hospital because of a very difficult wisdom tooth. And ever since I’ve had a recurring dream where I’m lost in the hospital and I can’t find my way out. When I finally find an exit, my doctor is guarding the door and won’t let me leave.

Strange dream. I don’t like hospitals and I usually hate doctors, but this doctor is different. I like him. I trust him. I’m not afraid of him, but for some reason I always wake up when he touches my hand.

Then I realize that he sent me home. And even though I'm happy to be back in my own bed, I want to know what's behind the door that he was guarding. Why did I wake up when he touched my hand? I want him to escort me through the door. But so far it's always the same dream...

Is there a word for the place that stores the souls/people that will be born? I know this is a weird question. But I hear children talk about this place all the time. They would ask, “Mommy, where was I before I was in your tummy?” And then they are really confused when their parents tell them that they were not in existence yet.

I’ve pondered this question and haven’t found an answer. Religion offers no clue as to where souls or people are kept before conception. It only talks about death. But if there’s a place for people who are no longer alive... Shouldn’t there also be a place for people or souls who are not yet born?

I think the children are right! Where is this place? What is this place? And why don’t we know about it?

It’s 44 days until the end of Winter and I’m really looking forward to Spring. Getting through Winter has always been a struggle for me due to the lack of sunlight where I live. I haven’t figured out a solid working solution yet. I take vitamin D supplements, but it really doesn’t change my mood. In the Winter I tend to feel more sad, depressed, and lonely compared to the other seasons. And I generally feel physically unwell. I know that, for me, my body and mind is directly connected with sunlight. On sunny Winter days I feel a lot better, but they are unfortunately few.

44 days is still a lot of days to go, so I try to keep my mind busy, my body fit, and self-soothe with comforting foods and happy music.

How do you survive the Winter blues?

We all need financial security and enough money for the basics and a little bit more. But, my definition of luxury includes things that can’t be bought with money. In my opinion if you can buy it with money, it’s not real luxury. Again, I’m not saying that financial security isn’t important.

I'm saying that you don’t have to envy your neighbour’s electric Porsche. If you look at the Porsche in terms practicality and need, you might notice that you don’t even want or need an electric Porsche at all. And if take it a step further and imagine yourself owning it, you might feel just a little bit ridiculous. Because it’s just an expensive status symbol!

Now count all the things that you actually have that are, in my opinion, real luxury: Family, friends, healthy children, love, peace, safety, a sense of accomplishment, a healthy mind and body, happiness, a purpose, knowing that you’re not alone, and a fulfilling occupation.

If you have two or more of the luxuries on my list, then you are indeed very rich! Don’t waste your time chasing an overabundance of money just to buy unimportant things. Spend your precious time creating happy memories instead.

Verschlimmbessert is my new favorite German word! It means, when you try to make something better but end up making it worse. Yes, one word means all of that. And it’s a perfect example of German efficiency.

I’m wondering why I’ve never heard this word before, but I will be using it very often from now on. 😉

I want to know the name of the tech guru responsible for making the iphone as slippery as possible. Because the idea is actually kind of diabolical.

I can imagine that tech meeting going something like this:

I think Dr. Evil was also invited to this meeting, for whatever reason ¯_(ツ)_/¯ But his suggestion of encasing it with cactus needles 🌵 was narrowly out voted.🐈

Does anyone have a more subtle way of making fun of the peasants?

Then someone says,

How about we charge them lots of $$$$$ BUT let’s also make the phone as slippery as a snail’s bottom so it will fall off of every surface known to mankind and then they’ll have to spend even more $$$$$.

Then someone else adds,

AND let’s not include a phone charger any more. They can use their old chargers! OR spend even more $$$$$ replacing it.

YES! The peasants!! Let them eat phone!!!! (insert evil laugh here).

I just found out that drinking 8 glasses of water a day is not only a myth, but a straight up lie. I knew it! I always thought that was too much water and could never drink that much. It’s enough to just drink when you’re thirsty. Your body knows what it needs!

I remember when people used to carry around water bottles like they were living in the desert. Now it just seems silly, doesn't it? 😅

A new day! The sun is shining and I’m feeling a lot better. Today is Saturday and I’ll spend a good amount of time reading “Think Java, how to think like a Computer Scientist” by Allen B. Downey & Chris Mayfield. I’m already on chapter 6 and I’ve done the exercises to this point. I was really disappointed that there are no answers to the questions in the back of the book, but it really forces me to be resourceful and that’s an important part of learning Java as well. I do recommend this book. It’s written so a child can understand it. And the exercises are actually quite fun and challenging. It will take me a few weeks to work through the rest of the book and I’m really looking forward to it.

Today, I will also stop by Amigoscode on YouTube and listen to his tutorials. Check him out if you’re interested in coding. His channel has a lot of good content.

I would like to only blog about happiness and sunshine but life isn’t always like that, is it? So, today I’m going to be real with you. My soul feels like it’s on fire. I’m tired of being disappointed. I’m tired of feeling alone and invisible. 💔 But I still have hope that tomorrow will be better. Send hugs!

This year has definitely been a roller coaster ride for me. At one point, I honestly didn’t think I would see 2022, so I’m really thankful to be here. I’m curious to see what the future holds and prepared for the new adventure.

To those of you who walked with me in 2021, I love you and wish you a Happy New Year!

This is my bucket list of countries that I would like to visit, in alphabetical order. Right now, with all the covid mutations, I’m still very uncomfortable traveling. Heck, just going to the grocery store is a big deal. But maybe someday… 🛩

• Australia
• Brazil
• China
• Japan
• New Zealand

I wish you a wonderful Christmas and a very beautiful New Year filled with health, joy, happiness and success.

                                              🎄

Ich wünsche dir frohe Weihnachten und einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr mit viel Gesundheit, Freude, Glück und Erfolg.

                                              🎅

Desejo-te um ótimo Natal e um Ano Novo cheio de saúde, alegria, felicidade e sucesso.

I’m vaccinated for Covid with Biontech. They tell me that I need a booster. Okay, I’m willing to get a booster shot with Biontech because that’s what I was vaccinated with. But now they’re telling me that I can’t have Biontech because I’m over 30; they don’t have enough and Moderna is just as good.

No, I don’t want Moderna. And if Moderna was just as good as Biontech they would have no problem at all giving it to people under 30 years old.

I would even offer to pay for the Biontech booster, but I don’t think that’s an option.

So, I guess I’m taking my chances with Omicron. I refuse to get vaccinated with an inferior vaccine just because there isn’t enough of the good stuff.

This whole situation just feels wrong.

Update: 31-12-2021

Today I was vaccinated with Biontech! Apparently, the rule is not set in stone. I went to the vaccination center and the Doctor just asked people what they wanted. Easy peasy, no fuss. So, if you’re over 30 and they refuse to give you Biontech I would recommend that you just go somewhere else.

Coding is exactly like learning a language and since I speak 4 languages, I’m hoping to polish my coding skills quickly. Trial and error is key. Practice. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Sometimes you might even want to make mistakes on purpose just to see what errors you will get.

• Understand the task
• Start with what you know in Main
• Debug as you go along
• Build your code little by little
• Document your code

Coding is also like writing a story. Other programmers should be able to look at your code and know what you are trying to do. Practice the jargon so you can communicate concisely with other programmers. Towards the end of the initial learning phase, coding will become more and more a team effort and communication will be essential.

Yesterday, after dinner, I ate a tiny piece of mango and then immediately threw up. There was nothing wrong with the mongo. I shared the mango with my family and none of them got sick.

This isn’t the first time I threw up from fruit, but I don’t think it’s an allergy. You see, I’ve noticed that if I eat fruit first (and have nothing else) it stays in my tummy. I don’t get sick. But if I eat fruit after a meal, it will make me throw up.

The fruits that have made me throw up include: mangos, bananas, pears, and grapes. Apparently, I can eat these fruits individually but not together with other foods.

Isn’t that the strangest thing? Has anyone else experienced this with fruit? I didn’t think that such a small piece of mango would make me throw up, but I was wrong!

Pressing On

I find myself in the uncomfortable situation of having no plans for the future. I had a plan, at least I thought I had a plan. And then someone told me that even if I reach my goal, I would still have to do X-Y-Z to move forward.

The discouragement was devastating. I stopped and did nothing at all. The only thing that I accomplished this year was getting my bad wisdom tooth removed. It was a horrible experience. I somehow ended up in the heart station of the hospital because I had trouble waking up.

Sometimes I wish that I hadn’t. Then at least I wouldn’t have to figure out what to do with my life. ~ Deep Breath ~ I have no choice but to press on. Without encouragement. Without support. Hoping that somehow, I’ll be okay.

And you know, I think I will be. I don’t break so easily. It’s time to move forward. If no one believes in you, you have to believe in yourself. And on my journey, I will be a source of encouragement and sunshine for others. 🌞🌻

I’m curious why 9 people clicked on the same story? I wrote “The Lucky Card” in 2006, so it’s kind of weird that so many people are interested in the story now.

I got the idea for that story because several people told me that I’m a good luck charm. They were convinced that good things happen to them when I’m standing nearby. Funny, right?

Anywho, if you have questions please ask. My e-mail address is on the landing page. I usually answer my messages in a timely and friendly manner.

Gift Giving

I love giving gifts! And the gift giving season is indeed upon us. If I give you a gift it’s because I love you, or I want to say thank you, or both. You will know why. 😉

But as much as I love giving gifts, I’m also very cautious about doing so. The whole gift giving process can get a little political. For example, what is an expensive gift? What is a cheap gift? I think you know where I’m going with this post. What’s expensive for one person, may not be expensive for the other. And you might not share my opinion about what’s cheap. As a rule, if you are not close friends, a gift should fall in between expensive and cheap. But that can be a little tricky.

For example, good perfume is always expensive. But I could never give an adult cheap perfume. I’d rather not give anything at all. The same concept goes for jewelry. I mean, why would I give someone that I like something that will turn their hand green? I won’t! So, what do I do? If I’m not allowed to give a person an expensive gift, then I stay away from perfume and jewelry.

Giving someone a ridiculously cheap gift is always a big NO for me. But there are many times when giving expensive gifts is inappropriate. For example, giving an expensive gift to your child’s teacher… BIG NO for obvious reasons. Also, giving expensive gifts to those who might feel obligated to give you a gift in return is a no.

With all this said, here is a list of gifts that I like to give:

• Notebooks or journals
• Scarfs and gloves
• Chocolates
• A nice pen
• Unisex beaded bracelets
• Homemade jar of cookies
• Gift baskets: Food or Cosmetics
• Bath bombs or salts
• A nice silver brooch (for women)
• Silver cufflinks or tie pins (for men)
• Blankets
• Fancy coffees and Teas
• Coffee or tea mugs

Gifts that I love getting:

• Hugs and Kisses 🥰
• Compliments (Yes, please flatter me) 😅
• Chocolates
• Socks (Because I always have holes in mine)
• Home-baked goods
• Keepsakes (like Christmas ornaments)
• Gift baskets
• Plants and flowers

I spend so much time chasing unattainable rainbows that I’ve been missing out on enjoying the stars that I’ve caught. I usually don’t make new year’s resolutions but this year I’ll make an exception. So here goes… I’m officially declaring my New Year’s resolution:

I will make my best effort to spend more time in the moment, appreciating and enjoying what I have.

Now that it is written, it shall be done! 😂

I’ll still be chasing rainbows and butterflies, because that’s who I am. But if I can spend more time in the moment and less time chasing, I’ve already won.

Do you have a New Year’s resolution?

In my family St. Nick’s Day is special. And I would like to extend my cheer to all of you. May your hearts be filled with joy and warmth during this cold winter season.

I know that the holidays can be sad, stressful, and difficult. If you’re having a hard time right now just remember:

Everything passes

Keep breathing

Someone loves you (and you might not even know it)

You’re made of stardust!

I made these ascii hugs and kisses Christmas trees and would like to share them with you. Just copy and paste. If the tree doesn’t paste completely in alignment you will have to adjust the spacing. Works really well in g-mail and looks amazing if you add color. So if you're tired of using the same old emojis give this a go. Tis the Season!

    _\/_
     /\
     /\
    /x \
   ♡/°°\o
   /o ♡ \
  /°°°°°°\
 o/x ♡ x \♡
 /°°°°°°°°\
/__x__♡__o_\
♡    ||   ♡
   \----/
    \__/

     
      § 
     <§>  
     'o'
    .♡.'.
   .'.'x'.
  o'.♡.'.♡.
 .'.x.'.x.o.
.♡.'.o.'.♡.'.
   [_____]
    \___/ 

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who celebrate it. I live in Europe so today’s just a normal workday for me. When I lived in the United States my Caribbean family celebrated with traditional Caribbean food.

My mother used to get all her ingredients from a little Asian shop on Old World 3rd Street. The shop owner, a sweet little ancient and wise man, always had everything we needed. He even had canned ackee and Cock flavored soup mix. And for those of you who don’t know, stop laughing, it’s not what you think. Just google it!

Anywho, don’t forget to be thankful and create lots of good memories. Try to enjoy the little annoyances because someday you’ll look back and realize that these were the good ole days.

Be the sunshine. 🦃 Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃

A lot of people have left social media and I’m one of them. In my opinion social media is doing more harm than good. I’ve been social media free for about 3 years and it was the best decision for my mental health and productivity. I kept Youtube for watching videos, but that’s it.

It has been quite a while since I’ve had a blog and now that I’m not on social media anymore I realize that I miss it. This will be my little corner on the internet where I journal my journey through life without oversharing, without likes, without followers and without fake friends. There will be no stalking and no nonsense here!

At this point in my life I find myself going back to coding. And this is where I will chart my progress, writing down what I’ve learned and how I’ve learned it because it might be helpful to someone else. This is also where I will post holiday greetings and spread sunshine.

More sunshine, more flowers, more power! You’re welcome to stay a while and vibe with me.