Potentially Nonsense

Postcards from places I've never been.

Category: Career Change

Plugging along at StraighterLine

June 15, 2020 / / 1 Comment

I’m halfway through Introduction to IT through StraighterLine, which transfers as Fundamentals of IT at WGU. It’s been a bit uphill both ways, but not in a snowstorm. My hours were cut at work, which you’d think would like life easier, but the amount of work we were expected to do didn’t change. We just had to do it in four days instead of five. Which. Huh.

Anyway, I’ve made it this far with fits and starts. It’s easy to see that I was tired for the network portion. I got frustrated and tried to speed through it.

Image showing current grade of 94% on StraighterLine class

Halfway there.

Hours go back to full time on the first of August, which is a mixed blessing just like everything this year. BUT on the upside, my schedule will be 9 hours Mon-Thurs, and a half day on Friday, which, SCORE, and we’ll still be doing a mix of work-from-home and going to the office. It’s all good.

Working from home has really taken my stress down. Turns out it’s easier to work with the public if I don’t actually have to physically be around the public.

Related posts:

  1. Well, I’m not dead, yet.
  2. Repeat: The quick, quick version
  3. NaNoCertMo: Navigating the System
  4. Bats at the umbrella factory

Well, I’m not dead, yet.

June 8, 2020 / / 1 Comment

Well, I’m not dead, yet, but I did get impressively sick and have to get the nasal swab test for the COVID-19 plague. It was less fun than a pony, but more fun than being bit by a pony. I lost a friend in early March to cancer, and another in early April to heart disease. Hoping 2021 is slightly less exciting than 2020.

On the upside, I’ve been at my job two-and-a-half years, and I make the same wage as someone less experienced, who was newly hired. No, really, that’s an upside, because it’s really lit a fire under my unmentionables to get more serious about a career change.

Et voila.

Image showing progress of StraighterLine course Intro to Technology.

I’m going through StraighterLine to get my feet wet, since my brain is full of cold molasses and hasn’t been warmed up to flow new information through in a while. Poor brain. StraighterLine seemed relatively low stakes, while still being useful and providing transferable credit. I was a PC tech from 2000 to 2008, and would like to get back into the industry in one form or another. Ideally, I’ll make this change in about a year or so. Hopefully the world will be merely smoldering by that time, rather than merrily burning.

Related posts:

  1. NaNoCertMo 2018
  2. Repeat: The quick, quick version
  3. NaNoCertMo: Navigating the System
  4. Bats at the umbrella factory

Missing the Write 31 Days Challenge

September 20, 2019 / / 2 Comments

This week’s FMF writing prompt is: CHALLENGE

I’ve been missing the Write 31 Days challenge, and the time I might have spent prepping for it this month. Honestly, I’ve been feeling a little sorry for myself over it. What the heck, self? I played in 2012 and 2018, and wish I’d done it more frequently. I mean, there’s always next year, right?

Until there isn’t.

I periodically go through these times when I start thinking things like, “How many people have I already seen for the last time? How many places have I already visited for the last time, and didn’t even know it?” That there will always be more time is so taken for granted. Part of that is because I still have to function in the day-to-day. If I worry too much about how many Halloweens are left in my life (40? 30? 1?), I’ll stop planning for the future and just go eat pumpkin pie and fried chicken and walk along the river marveling at birds until I run out of money or my pancreas gasps its last. I don’t have the kind of job that I would go to even if I didn’t need to work, you know?

I know the kind of job I would like to have, but don’t know how to get there. And I get hung up on the idea that, even if I start today, will there be enough time left to me to be able to master the job? What about enough to just get really good at it? Maybe that’s not the way to look at the situation.

Is there enough time left for me to enjoy the kind of job I’d like? Yep. I think so. I signed up for a class (just the one) to at least get my brain moving again. I don’t know if it will lead where I want, but maybe it will lead where I need. Any way I look at it, it will be a challenge. It will be a challenge to get to, to participate in, and to learn the material. Maybe accepting the challenge of it is what I really need to learn. That discomfort.

Oh, and I think I’ll try out Inktober this year. It’s meant to be for artists, but I think it’s an opportunity to combine fountain pen ink doodling and writing. I don’t feel like the 31 Days of 5 Minute Free Writes is a good fit for me, though it does look interesting. And I truly don’t have the money to spend for registering, though I’m sure it’s worth every penny.

Are you writing/drawing/crafting/photographing this October as part of a challenge? My writing challenge last year, 31 Posts of Nope, was some of the most fun I’ve had writing.

PS. Speaking of challenges. I’m totally going to be able to pay all my bills this month, with three whole dollars left over!! I won’t be scrambling to scrape something together. My divorce was final one year ago yesterday, and this is the first month I can say that.

Related posts:

  1. Come closer.
  2. Insane courage, lodgepole pine, and having a voice
  3. You’ve got this.
  4. Taking a moment

Bats at the umbrella factory

January 20, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Meanwhile, back at the umbrella factory.

Last May, my landlord raised the renty by $50. On the first of this year, they raised it $85. In September, they’re going to raise it another $50.

I’m deeply tired of renting.

It’s not like it’s a fancy apartment. The only real amenities are that we can hang out in the apartment office and use the WiFi, and an alleged gym with a few weights and an elliptical.1

I need to discontinue my certification goal for bit, as finances are too tight. I’ll hopefully be able to come back it after September, as I’m not going to be able to afford to stay here once they raise rent again. With some luck, I’ll find a place cheap enough to have some financial wiggle room to get back into things.

In the meantime, NaNoCertMo will need to be on hiatus. See you soon, Bats.

Related posts:

  1. NaNoCertMo 2018
  2. Repeat: The quick, quick version
  3. Section 3: Package and Software Management
  4. NaNoCertMo: Users and Permissions

NaNoCertMo: Navigating the System

November 5, 2018 / / 1 Comment

I finished the first section, which is meant to take seven days, in five days. This will eventually catch me up in the class, so that I finish on time at the end of November.

One down. Five sections to go. Twenty-five days left.

I don’t think it’s a surprise that I did this by the skin of my teeth. I learned something useful apart from the course, too. I almost let myself be derailed from finishing. Something is happening at work that I find upsetting, and I almost let that take over my brain and distract me from concentrating on the course. So I need to:
1. Pay attention to when that happens, and figure out how to let it go. No excuses. No letting other people derail me.
2. Tonight, after I’m done, I need to sit down and think my way through why said Work Thing is upsetting me. Because my reaction is all out of proportion. SO out of proportion.

It just dawned on me that this first section is “Navigating the System.” That strikes me as funny, as I’m learning how to learn, and learning how to navigate my new life while I’m at it. Speaking of Navigating the System, I wrote a thank you note to my prior therapist, this morning. We’ve not been able to get schedules to match up to do an exit session, and so a note of thanks will have to do, since I can’t do it in person.

Here’s what I finished between November 1st and 5th (today).

Week 1: Navigating the System – Finished November 5th
32 videos, 10 readings, 3 discussion prompts, 2 quizzes, 3 assignments
1. Video: Course Introduction – Nov 1
2. Reading: Navigating Coursera
3. Reading: Program Surveys
4. Reading: Discussion Forums
5. Reading: Get to Know Your Classmates
6. Discussion Prompt: Meet and Greet
7. Video: Lesson Overview and Practice Tips
8. Reading: Windows CLI and Unix Bash
9. Video: List Directories in a GUI
10. Reading: Size vs Size of Disk in Windows
11. Video: Windows: List Directories in CLI – Nov 2
12. Video: Linux: List Directories
13. Video: Windows: Changing Directories in the GUI
14. Video: Windows: Changing Directories in the CLI
15. Video: Linux: Changing Directories in Bash
16. Video: Windows: Make Directories in the GUI and CLI
17. Video: Linux: Make Directories in Bash
18. Video: Windows: Command History
19. Video: Linux: Command History
20. Video: Windows: Copying Files and Directories
21. Video: Linux: Copying Files and Directories – Nov 3
22. Video: Windows: Moving and Renaming Files, Directories
23. Video: Linux: Moving and Renaming Files, Directories
24. Video: Windows: Removing Files and Directories
25. Video: Linux: Removing Files and Directories
26. Discussion Prompt: Your Favorite OS
27. Video: Cindy Why OS is Important
28. Practice Quiz: Basic Commands
29. Video: Windows: Display File Contents
30. Video: Linux: Display File Contents
31. Video: Windows: Modifying Text Files
32. Reading: Notepad++ – Nov 4
33. Video: Linux: Modifying Text Files
34. Reading: GNU Documentation for text editors
35. Video: Windows Powershell commands and aliases
36. Video: Windows: Searching within Files
37. Video: Windows: Searching within Directories
38. Video: Linux: Searching within Files
39. Video: Windows: Input, Output, and the Pipeline
40. Video: Linux: Input, Output and Pipeline
41. Video: Windows and Linux Advanced Navigation
42. Reading: Windows PowerShell – Nov 5
43. Video: Ben First Tech Job
44. Discussion Prompt: What did you learn about OS?
45. Quiz: File and Text Manipulation
46. Video: Instructions for Accessing Linux Qwiklabs
47. Reading: Instructions for Accessing Windows Qwiklabs
Graded: Accessing Qwiklabs
Graded: Create, Modify, and Remove Files and Folders in Windows
Graded: Create, Modify, and Remove Files and Folders in Linux

Related posts:

  1. Repeat: The quick, quick version
  2. NaNoCertMo 2018
  3. NaNoCertMo: Users and Permissions
  4. Well, I’m not dead, yet.

Repeat: The quick, quick version

November 2, 2018 / / 6 Comments

This week’s Five Minute Friday writing prompt is: REPEAT.

Hi. My name’s Jae, and this is my brother Pete, and my other brother Repeat.1

You guys. Holy cow. I’ve taken three run-ups for this OS class, and failed every time.

But this time I’m screaming through the class like a Bentley on fire, while “Bohemian Rhapsody” plays loudly in the background.2 I just thought my brain had broken. Too old, too dumb, too much a failure.

It literally never crossed my mind that having my home life constantly filled with conflict and confusion was taking up most of my brainpower, with nothing left over for anything else.

I’m kind of stunned by this thought this morning. I really just thought my brain was broken. And, I mean, I’m not 20 anymore, and to be honest, I was more than a little worried about the dementia that runs so strongly in my family, although I was trying not to be. Huh.

All those money fights, and the fights were partly responsible for my struggle to make a better wage. Life is hilarious.

Life is also more hopeful, now. I like that. Maybe my brain didn’t break in my 30s, causing me to have to leave a job I loved. Maybe things will be OK.

Related posts:

  1. Section 3: Package and Software Management
  2. Bats at the umbrella factory
  3. NaNoCertMo 2018
  4. Window and Freeway

NaNoCertMo 2018

November 1, 2018 / / 5 Comments

Well, October was beautifully writealicious, and now it’s time to buckle down and also to sack up.

I’ve been having an on-again off-again relationship with getting myself up on my financial feet. I started a class, then divorce happened. Pain happened. Loss of insurance happened. Everything happened except me finishing the damn certificate. I got through two of the classes required: Technical Support Fundamentals, and Bits and Bytes of Computer Networking. There are three classes to go: Operating Systems, System Administration, and IT Security. I want to be done with the certificate by the end of January.

So I’m using November to finish one of the classes. It’s supposed to take six weeks. That six weeks can bite me. Ima do it in four. I literally cannot afford to keep dawdling on a career change.

While everyone else goes batty for NaNoWriMo, I’m going bats to the wall1 with NaNoCertMo2.3456

Now that the Write 31 Days challenge is over, I’ll only be posting once a week or so.

Here is my basic outline for what I’ll need to do, when.

Operating Systems: Becoming a Power User

Week 1: Navigating the System – Finished: November 5
32 videos, 10 readings, 3 discussion prompts, 2 quizzes, 3 assignments

1. Video: Course Introduction – Nov 1
2. Reading: Navigating Coursera
3. Reading: Program Surveys
4. Reading: Discussion Forums
5. Reading: Get to Know Your Classmates
6. Discussion Prompt: Meet and Greet
7. Video: Lesson Overview and Practice Tips
8. Reading: Windows CLI and Unix Bash
9. Video: List Directories in a GUI
10. Reading: Size vs Size of Disk in Windows
11. Video: Windows: List Directories in CLI – Nov 2
12. Video: Linux: List Directories
13. Video: Windows: Changing Directories in the GUI
14. Video: Windows: Changing Directories in the CLI
15. Video: Linux: Changing Directories in Bash
16. Video: Windows: Make Directories in the GUI and CLI
17. Video: Linux: Make Directories in Bash
18. Video: Windows: Command History
19. Video: Linux: Command History
20. Video: Windows: Copying Files and Directories
21. Video: Linux: Copying Files and Directories – Nov 3
22. Video: Windows: Moving and Renaming Files, Directories
23. Video: Linux: Moving and Renaming Files, Directories
24. Video: Windows: Removing Files and Directories
25. Video: Linux: Removing Files and Directories
26. Discussion Prompt: Your Favorite OS
27. Video: Cindy Why OS is Important
28. Practice Quiz: Basic Commands
29. Video: Windows: Display File Contents
30. Video: Linux: Display File Contents
31. Video: Windows: Modifying Text Files
32. Reading: Notepad++ – Nov 4
33. Video: Linux: Modifying Text Files
34. Reading: GNU Documentation for text editors
35. Video: Windows Powershell commands and aliases
36. Video: Windows: Searching within Files
37. Video: Windows: Searching within Directories
38. Video: Linux: Searching within Files
39. Video: Windows: Input, Output, and the Pipeline
40. Video: Linux: Input, Output and Pipeline
41. Video: Windows and Linux Advanced Navigation
42. Reading: Windows PowerShell – Nov 5
43. Video: Ben First Tech Job
44. Discussion Prompt: What did you learn about OS?
45. Quiz: File and Text Manipulation
46. Video: Instructions for Accessing Linux Qwiklabs
47. Reading: Instructions for Accessing Windows Qwiklabs
Graded: Accessing Qwiklabs
Graded: Create, Modify, and Remove Files and Folders in Windows
Graded: Create, Modify, and Remove Files and Folders in Linux

Week 2: Users and Permissions – Finished: November 10
15 videos, 3 readings, 1 quiz, 2 assignments.

1. Video: Users, Administrators, and Groups, Oh My!
2. Video: Windows: View User and Group Information – Nov 6
3. Video: Windows: View User and Group Information using CLI
4. Video: Linux: Users, Superuser and Beyond
5. Video: Windows: Passwords
6. Reading: Supplemental Reading for Windows Passwords
7. Video: Linux: Passwords
8. Video: Windows: Adding and Removing Users
9. Video: Linux: Adding and Removing Users
10. Video: Ben Life as a CIO
11. Video: Windows: File Permissions
12. Reading: Supplemental Reading for Windows ACL
13. Video: Linux: File Permissions – Nov 8
14. Video: Windows: Modifying Permissions
15. Video: Linux: Modifying Permissions
16. Video: Windows: Special Permissions
17. Reading: Supplemental Reading for Special Permissions in Windows
18. Video: Linux: SetUID, SetGID, Sticky Bit – Nov 9
19. Discussion Prompt: Your File & Folder Permissions
20. Practice Quiz: Permissions
Graded: Create, Modify, and Remove File and Folder Permissions in Windows
Graded: Create, Modify, and Remove File and Folder Permissions in Linux

Week 3: Package and Software Management – Finished: November 24
15 videos, 13 readings, 4 quizzes, 2 assignments.

1. Video: Module Introduction – Nov 11
2. Video: Windows: Software Packages
3. Reading: Supplemental Reading for Windows Software Packages – Nov 16
4. Video: Linux: Software Packages – Nov 17
5. Video: Windows: Archives
6. Reading: Supplemental Reading for 7-Zip and PowerShell Zips
7. Video: Linux: Archives
8. Reading: Supplemental Reading for the Linux Tar Command
9. Video: Windows: Package Dependencies
10. Reading: Supplemental reading for Windows Package Dependencies
11. Video: Linux: Package Dependencies
12. Reading: Supplemental Reading for Linux Package Dependencies
13. Practice Quiz: Software Distribution
14. Video: Windows: Package Manager – Nov 19
15. Reading: Supplemental Reading for Windows Package Managers
16. Video: Linux: Package Manager Apt
17. Reading: Supplemental Reading for Linux PPAs
18. Reading: Supplemental Reading on GIMP
19. Practice Quiz: Package Managers
20. Video: Windows: Underneath the Hood
21. Reading: Supplemental Reading for Windows Installers and Process Monitors
22. Video: Linux: Underneath the Hood
23. Practice Quiz: What’s happening in the background?
24. Video: Windows: Devices and Drivers – Nov 24
25. Reading: Supplemental Reading Windows Devices and Drivers
26. Video: Linux: Devices and Drivers
27. Reading: Supplemental reading for Linux Devices and Drivers
28. Video: Window: Operating System Updates
29. Reading: Supplemental Reading for Windows Update
30. Video: Linux: Operating System Updates
31. Reading: Supplemental Reading for Linux Update
32. Discussion Prompt: What would you do?
33. Practice Quiz: Device Software Management
Graded: Create, Update and Remove Software in Windows
Graded: Create, Update and Remove Software in Linux

Week 4: Filesystems | Proposed Dates: November 16-20 | Finished:
16 videos, 9 readings, 1 quiz, 2 assignments.

1. Video: Module Introduction
2. Video: Review of Filesystems
3. Reading: Supplemental Reading for FAT32 File System
4. Video: Disk Anatomy
5. Video: Windows: Disk Partitioning and Formatting a Filesystem
6. Reading: Supplemental Reading for Disk Partitioning and Formatting in Windows
7. Video: Windows: Mounting and Unmounting a Filesystem
8. Video: Linux: Disk Partitioning and Formatting a Filesystem
9. Video: Linux: Mounting and Unmounting a Filesystem
10. Reading: Supplemental reading Mounting and Unmounting a Filesystem in Linux
11. Video: Windows: Swap
12. Reading: Supplemental Reading for Windows Paging
13. Video: Linux: Swap
14. Reading: Supplemental Reading for Linux Swap
15. Video: Windows: Files
16. Reading: Supplemental Reading on NTFS File System
17. Video: Linux: Files –
18. Video: Windows: Disk Usage
19. Reading: Supplemental Reading for Windows Disk Usage
20. Video: Linux: Disk Usage
21. Reading: Supplemental reading for Linux Disk Usage
22. Video: Windows: Filesystem Repair
23. Video: Linux: Filesystem Repair
24. Reading: Supplemental Reading for Linux Filesystem Repair
25. Video: Ben Passion
26. Discussion Prompt: Disk Partitioning
27. Practice Quiz: Filesystem Types
Graded: Partition and Format a Disk Drive in Windows
Graded: Partition and Format a Disk Drive in Linux

Week 5: Process Management | Proposed Dates: November 21-25 | Finished:
12 videos, 7 readings, 3 quizzes, 2 assignments

1. Video: Module Introduction
2. Video: Programs vs Processes Revisited
3. Video: Windows: Process Creation and Termination
4. Reading: Supplemental Reading for Process Creation and Termination in Windows
5. Video: Linux: Process Creation and Termination
6. Video: Jess Passions
7. Practice Quiz: Life of a Process
8. Video: Windows: Reading Process Information
9. Reading: Supplemental Reading for Reading Process Information in Windows
10. Video: Linux: Reading Process Information
11. Reading: Supplemental Reading for Reading Process Information in Linux
12. Video: Linux: Signals
13. Reading: Supplemental Reading for Windows Signal
14. Video: Windows: Managing Processes
15. Reading: Supplemental Reading for Managing Processes in Windows
16. Video: Linux: Managing Processes
17. Practice Quiz: Managing Processes
18. Video: Windows: Resource Monitoring
19. Reading: Supplemental Reading Resource Monitoring in Windows
20. Video: Linux: Resource Monitoring
21. Reading: Supplemental reading for Resource Monitoring in Linux
22. Discussion Prompt: Your CPU
23. Practice Quiz: Process Utilization
Graded: Maintaining Efficient Process Utilization on Your Computer in Windows
Graded: Maintaining Efficient Process Utilization on Your Computer in Linux

Week 6: Operating Systems in Practice | Proposed Dates: November 26-30. | Finished: | The hard deadline is 12/2.
16 videos, 5 readings, 2 quizzes, 2 assignments.

1. Video: Introduction
2. Video: Remote Connection and SSH
3. Video: Remote Connections on Windows
4. Discussion Prompt: Performing remotely as an IT Support Specialist
5. Reading: Supplemental reading for Remote Connections in Windows
6. Video: Remote Connection File Transfer
7. Video: Remote Connection File Transfer on Windows
8. Reading: Supplemental Reading for Remote Connection File Transfer in Windows
9. Discussion Prompt: Remote Desktop
10. Practice Quiz: Remote Access
11. Video: Virtual Machines
12. Reading: Supplemental reading for Virtual Machines
13. Discussion Prompt: VMs
14. Video: System Monitoring
15. Video: The Windows Event Viewer
16. Video: Linux Logs
17. Reading: Supplemental Reading for Linux Logs
18. Video: Working with Logs
19. Practice Quiz: Logging
20. Video: Imaging Software
21. Video: Operating Systems Deployment Methods
22. Reading: Supplemental Reading for OS Deployment Methods
23. Video: Interview Role Play: Operating Systems
24. Discussion Prompt: Your Learning Journey
25. Video: Course Wrap Up
26. Video: Heather Early Career Advice
27. Video: Congratulations!
Graded: Use Logs to Help You Track Down an Issue in Windows
Graded: Use Logs to Help You Track Down an Issue in Linux

I recognize that it’s 50/50 whether I’ll make it or not, but if I keep going easy on myself, I’ll never finish. I’ll always be scraping by and money-stressed. I’m tired of constantly worrying about whether this will be the month everything tips over. I need a livable wage.

Let’s do this.

Associated Posts:

November 2: Repeats and revelations.
November 5: Navigating the System.
November 11: Users and Permissions and Dopamine.
November 24: Package and Software Management.

Related posts:

  1. Bats at the umbrella factory
  2. Repeat: The quick, quick version
  3. NaNoCertMo: Users and Permissions
  4. Section 3: Package and Software Management

Come closer.

October 30, 2018 / / 1 Comment

Tomorrow’s Five Minute Freewrite prompt is: CLOSE.

So. Close. Is anyone else eyeing tomorrow with suspicion? Did a whole month really pass, or is this some kind of trick? I haven’t kept a writing schedule since 2012 – the last time I participated in Write 31 Days. This felt so good. It felt really good to finish something, and to succeed at something, even if it was something as silly as writing about why I’m not writing.

“Close doesn’t count except in horseshoes and hand-grenades” was a phrase I grew up hearing a lot. Do or do not. Succeed, or cover up all evidence of ever having tried. I have mixed feelings about all of those, but it’s sure nice to have a win amidst feeling so much as if I’ve failed.

I’m going to try to use this for motivation for a November project. No, not NaNoWriMo. I’m not crazy. But I’m tired of living so close to the edge. I’m tired of cutting my budget so close. I’m tired of scheduling my day so closely to get it all done, and I miss being close to friends and family. It all comes down to my close, close finances. Accounting for inflation, I made more money in my 20s, with less experience and fewer skills, than I’m currently making. ARGH.

So I’m looking at what’s holding me back, and what I can do about it. Don’t worry, I’ll only be playing my cards so close to my chest for another day or two, then I’ll share what I’m up to. I know when to fold ’em. The reveal is close to hand.

Also…

Y’all have no idea how much self restraint it’s taking to not repost the lyrics to “Closer.”

I may, in fact, have put them on this post but commented them out so I’m the only one who can see them. Who knows? It’s a closely guarded secret.

I’m sticking with the five minute rule, today. See? I can keep the rules close to my heart, sometimes.

Wait. Was the prompt “close” or “close”? D’oh! Photo credit to Phil Hearing.Thanks, Phil!

This blog has been taken over by the 2018 Write 31 Days challenge. Here’s the sweet, sweet index of all my posts of nope.

Related posts:

  1. Repeat: The quick, quick version
  2. NaNoCertMo 2018
  3. Bats at the umbrella factory
  4. Insane courage, lodgepole pine, and having a voice

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