The arrival of my workstation from my new lucrative full-time job signaled the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.
Taking no chances, I cleared everything off my desk, wiped it down with a disinfectant wipe, and burned sage to cleanse the bad juju from the space.
I happily set up my new workstation, then grudgingly set up the old workstation in front for one last time. I worked both part-time jobs from 8:30 to 11:45. At noon, I had one of the best virtual yoga classes. I truly felt that I’d cleansed the end of both jobs from my workspace as well as my soul.
After lunch, I packed up the old workstation and put it in the closet. The plan was to let it marinate for a while to see if I actually needed it any more.
In the meantime, life proceeded so much better now that I was no longer worried about money. I got the best sleep ever. Not only is my new job less stressful, I actually feel good that I’m directly helping people.
Adding to this new chapter, I enrolled into a Data Science class. All I can say is thank god I was a math and science teacher for over 20 years. What I lack in coding skills, I make up in catching onto the logic of the Python computer language–along with supplemental reading, thanks to my roommate lending me her book. The material that comes with the course only makes sense if the instructor’s reading to us while shining his charisma through it.
I thought the schedule itself would be grueling since I have only 30 minutes between when work ends and class begins. The instructor is very entertaining. Almost too entertaining. After class, I’m so happy to have attended, but then I think, “What did we just do?”
I was greatly relieved when the instructor told us that one of the roles of a Data Scientist was to tell a story. In this aspect, I’m ahead of the curve. The he meant “storytelling” was by interpretation of data.
However, coding is writing in a computer language. A very exacting computer language where if I don’t say things in the correct way (syntax), then I will have coded gibberish (errors). Some are so fluent in computer code, they write very elegantly, which expresses the most with the least. That’s how I write in English when given enough time to edit. That’s the level I’d like to reach with coding.
Once I’m fluent in coding, I’ll transform my workspace again. These tech skills will bring me closer to being a paid storyteller. At that point, I expect to not only sleep even better, but be more entertained by my dreams.