Who wrote this?

I'm still working through the behemoth of a section that adds Redux to our application. I was feeling fairly confident with it yesterday, as there are a lot of similarities to Context with Hooks, but the setup and configuration on Redux is kind of ridiculous; I can see why people are moving towards Context. Context is much simpler and easier to understand. It may be that this app is just getting so complex that it makes Redux seem more exasperating than it is, but I'm not so sure. The instructor has ended almost every individual lesson in this section by trying to reassure the students that it's ok to feel a little lost at this point. I'm using my usual strategy of pushing forward here; I don't want to waste too much time going down this rabbit hole, as I know I'll be back to it soon with a fresh project.

I've been talking back and forth with a guy about doing some pair programming. He lives in the Czech Republic, so our hours are kind of opposite. We are starting to formulate a plan to create some sort of project that pulls information from an API and uses it in some way, shape, or form. At this point, it could be anything. I would love to do something with maps again; one of my favorite projects so far was the one using LeafletJS, building a list of breweries with markers on the map. The possibilities seem endless when manipulating data with geographical information. It will be interesting to see where we end up going with this; hopefully it pans out into a great portfolio piece. Pair programming is a great sign to employers that you understand Git workflow and that you can work with other people, especially remotely. I think it's important that I stay on top of this.

I listened to a podcast the other day with someone who started an app that connects mentors that are willing to donate their time to mentees in web development called Coding Coach. Today, I decided to reach out to a couple of people to see if they would be willing to take me on as a mentee. I really feel pretty self-sufficient as far as learning web development; I could definitely use some guidance in finding a job. It would be nice just to have someone look at my github and be able to tell me if I'm ready for a junior position or not. The first guy I contacted already has 3 mentees, unfortunately. He seemed like a great guy, so I asked if I could at least stay in touch as a friend in the business, noting that it would be nice to have someone to talk to about web stuff. The second guy I contacted was available, so we started moving forward with the mentorship. He seems like a good guy, and I expressed what my challenge was; he pointed me towards the Y-combinator site for jobs, which is a list of start up companies looking for funding as well as employees. He also urged that I should check out some local meetups, which I've had my eye on for a while, but haven't found the time to attend one yet. I looked up what was coming up, and had a hard time finding anything related to React. I found one meetup next week for a React group, but it was closed. I emailed the moderator of this group to see if there was anything I could do to get involved in the local community. I haven't heard back yet, but hopefully this pans out into some good connections. A lot is up in the air at this point; maybe I'll know more tomorrow!

Until tomorrow!