#adda birnir

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BUT, looks like I’m going to have to force myself online quite a bit more in the near future, after my discovery of a sweet little website called Skillcrush.

For those of you not yet in the know — and trust me, you want to be in the know — Skillcrush is an online school of sorts that offers classes in Web Design and Web Development. It’s focus is aimed primarily at women interested in Computer Science, professionally or for fun.

I know my last post was chock-full of me ranting about my disdain for technology and the internet. But what can I say, miracles do happen. The techie gods found me, shined their light down on me, opened their arms and said, “Welcome, child.”Have I truly been born again and seen the digital light? Only time will tell.

ANYWHO. Ever since I started dating a computer coder and CTO of a successful start-up company over the past several months, my fascination with computer technology and the vast career opportunities involved has stirred and grown. I also finally accepted that that’s where the big bucks are right now. Or at least enough bucks to keep a recent graduate off the streets.

Then about a week ago, I heard an interview with Skillcrush founder Adda Birnir, on the podcast Stuff Mom Never Told You. After listening to her discuss all the benefits from knowing even just the basics of Computer Science, I thought, what the hell, let’s check this out. And I enrolled in the free 10-Day Bootcamp.

And now I’m hooked.

The bootcamp covers the foundational terms and definitions of web development, as well as a simple, fun tutorial on HTML and CSS.

From my brief experience, the class presentations are simple, fast-paced, consistently interactive, and even creatively invigorating.

Because, what was one of my project assignments? “Write some HTML poetry, a novel, or haiku.” Little ol’ artsy-fartsy me read “poetry” and was like, “YUSSS! I am going to write the shit out of this HTML!!!”

And I did!

Donuts

I love Donuts. No. I absolutely adore donuts

Cream-filled

Sprinkled

Glazed

Berries or other confections on top

Dripping with chocolate or sweet bright icing

I’ll eat them all. And I’ll love it

With all my heart and stomach

Let’s be honest, lovely blog, you’re not the only one I’ve been neglecting as a writer. I’ve barely managed to sputter out some journal entries over the past several months, and I’m sorry for it but I’m also so totally not! Being too busy to write isn’t necessarily a bad thing, ya know?

Obviously I still have the inspiration in me, even if it is just for silly stuff like my cute little donut poem. In the words of the wonderful Richard Hell,  “All the most serious art is not only sad but hilarious. What other intelligent way to live is there but to laugh about it?”

Well said, sir. Well said.

By Adda Birnir (Co-Founder, Balance Media & Skillcrush)

The frontend is the part of a web site that you can see and interact with, while the backend is all the rest.

You know how the tip of an iceberg pokes out above the water, but they’re really hundreds of feet deep? That’s a lot like a web site. The parts you see and interact with on a web site – the buttons, the dropdown menus and big bold fonts – make up the frontend.

The frontend of a web site has specific technologies attached to it. HTML makes up the text on the page, CSS makes it pretty, and JavaScript makes it interactive. All of these things happen in the browser.

By Adda Birnir (Co-Founder, Balance Media & Skillcrush)

My dad defies every stereotype of an absent minded math professor – except for the absent minded part, he is that. Otherwise he bears little resemblance to the stereotype: he is good-looking, funny, an avid surfer, and best of all, an amateur poet.

When I graduated from high school my dad gave a toast at my graduation party.

“I look forward to the day Adda sees how useful calculus is and finds that she can use science to help solve the world’s problems,” he said.

Was he serious? I was totally mortified! Bringing up math at my graduation party? “Hello!” I eyerolled, “Dad! You know I want to be a lawyer!”

Fast forward nine years and one fine art degree later (go figure), and here I sit, up to my elbows in code, and you can guess who is getting the last laugh.