Out of the Rut

Four ways my project plans have changed so far:

1) I originally planned to learn a few different programming languages, but instead I've pretty much focused on Python.
2) In my proposal, I set deadlines, but rather than following those I've been using more of a "reward" system. (Finish the book, the. I can start coding)
3) I imagined that I would be almost done with research by the time I started writing the code for the game, but I think the two will be really entwined.
4) I'm going to need a lot more community help/support than I realized.

Quick Lists

Frustrated

All these nice plans I had are starting to fall through. I really need to go talk to my sister over break, but I never have any days off in a row, so my only option would be to go down Sunday night, and then take the 6 AM bus home on Tuesday. Not only would this be really exhausting, it doesn't leave much time to work on my project. It would be nice to have a few days to do this, but I'd have to get as much done in just one day as I could. Unfortunately, even this plan might not work. The Sunday night bus is totally full, so I'm on the wait list. I can only hope someone else cancels. Plans not working is super frustrating.

On Asking For Help

Thinking ahead to what I'll have to do to create a game, I've started to feel overwhelmed. There's so much that I don't know how to do. I don't know how to make something multiplayer, or how to put written code onto a website, or anything like that. Luckily, I before I got too panicked, I sent my sister an email asking for help. This was probably the best idea I've had throughout my project. Even though I didn't understand half of what she was advising me to do, she told me that she would do some research, and invited me to come down to NYC to work with her on it over spring break. Even though I'm not sure I'll be able to do that, because I haven't gotten my work schedule yet, it's nice to know that there are people behind me who will support me throughout the project, and who I can always turn to for help.

Nine Days

The facts:

9 days, 3 hours, 58 minutes, and 10 seconds until Spring Break.
19 CodingBat exercises left.
268 pages left in Dawson's Python Programming for the Absolute Beginner.

The plan:
Finish all the CodingBat exercises and the book before the start of spring break.
Use the free time during break to start a solid foundation for the final card game. I have a feeling that the beginning will be the hardest because I'll have no clue where to go, so it'll be good to start when I actually have time, and can draw on community resources for help that I'm sure will be needed.

Gleaning From The Past - 2

Gems of the project:
1) there was lots of personality, from emotions to anecdotes.
2) journal entries had humor throughout them

Oops, could have been better:
1) entries didn't appear proofread - lots of errors
2) no pictures or lists, just texttexttext.

What I'm going to borrow:
1) more description about my interactions with other people
2) metaphors made reading more fun!

Gleaning From the Past

I'll admit, I was pretty reluctant to start going through the project documentation of a former WISE student, because it seemed like a huge task and I didn't think I would get much out of it. Obviously, I was totally wrong. Seeing a finished project and journal through the eyes of a reader is completely different than doing journals myself.


What I've learned:
1) Vary entries - walls of text get old really quickly. Adding pictures and lists is a big YES PLEASE.
2) No one wants to know the technical everythings about what you're doing. It's just confusing.
3) Pay attention to what you're writing. Error after error not only makes you look bad, but also makes your entries painful to read.
4) Don't feel bad about short entries - they're much more manageable to the reader than pages and pages.
5) Humor is good. Very good.