New Website (Again...)

Even though – or maybe because, this blog is still just a baby project, I’m moving to a new website. Many of you know I’m very concerned about what is connected with my name on the web. The obvious next step was to own my name in the most basic way possible, and so you can now find this blog at cassieirwin.com.

Right now, the site will be home to just this blog. Over the next few months, I will work to develop it into something a bit… more than that. I anticipate that will be a long process, with a lot of little bumps and tons of new information. (Exciting!)

As I am fairly certain all of you readers are people I have gone to brunch with at least once in my life (or would – hello Tumblrs!), I know you’ll be patient with updating your Google Reader or favorites bookmarks for me. And I appreciate it. A lot. Thank you all so much for reading and commenting on my little mini-adventures this summer.

I’ll be back with a post on urban kayaking later this afternoon!

WordPress 101

On Tuesday, Sabine and I took an introduction to WordPress class with Nicole Crimaldi of Ms. Career Girl through Dabble. (Whew - lots of moving parts there.) This class was $25 but Sabine and I signed up during a "bring a friend" special so it was really just half that for both of us. I had literally never looked at WordPress before, but assumed that there was something above and beyond about it that would require a two-hour introduction class. Turns out, WordPress is not hard. WordPress is actually really easy to use. WordPress seems kind of fun to use. However, this class was still a great experience and I do not regret going at all. If I did it all over again, I'd do it the same.

Nicole gave us a great overview with signing up for WordPress, yes, but so much of this session was discussion about how to use blogging for whatever your purpose. There were participants who were starting small businesses, some just looking for more information for the mental knowledge bank (me), and others unsure of the next step but ready to move on to something else. And it was amazing to hear Nicole's story of fighting back against a job that made her unhappy by working really hard and really smart. It was motivating.

Additionally, she had great tips on how to grow your blog's readership and how to think strategically about SEO and keywords. I would say most of the participants were interested in how to monetize their blogs, which makes sense if this is for your business or part of your side hustle. For me, my blog is just part of my web persona, if you will, but I am very interested in creating a healthy and interesting presence on the web. While I am really not concerned with monetizing my web presence, I would say it still falls into a "side hustle" category, and these tips were great.

I was thrilled with the class and thought it a great night. The space was comfortable and inviting. Nicole was engaging and interesting - and inspiring. I'm happy to add her to a list of entrepreneurs I admire. I feel ready to really make this blog something to be reckoned with (haha - that sounds intense). It'll be a little bit, here and there, but by the end of the year, there will be some big changes here. That's the best thing about these Dabble classes - they truly do give you a taste of something new, and empower you to take off from there. Money and time well spent.

Recommendation: If you're new to blogging or social media or just less comfortable with tech, take WordPress 101. If you're all set with figuring out how to set up your blog, do that, and take Nicole's Start Your Side Hustle class on Tuesday (8/14).

Cassie Learns to Code: The First Three Months

I've alluded to my limited pool of patience and when it comes to doing something, I have practically no skill at making myself wait. So, though I said I would not take on another project until I wrapped up Summer of Austen, there just was no stopping me on my new project: Cassie Learns to Code. This is one project that will certainly take more than three months, so we'll just call this installment The First Three Months.

Last week, I signed onto Codecademy after a five month break and have now spent probably twenty hours over the last five days learning JavaScript. I spent most of my Friday night (fun night!) making flash cards so I could study vocabulary while on the bus, watching tv, whenever. My notebook is slowly filling up with scribbles as I process more conceptual information, e.g., figuring out why a semi-colon is used, not just when.

What, you didn't spend your Friday night studying?

This weekend has been full of mini-triumphs and some anecdotal evidence that this is something I can learn. I am a huge fan of the way Codecademy is structured - a combination of teaching, learning by doing, and poking around to find the answer. It's a community and everyone is excited about coding!

I took this screenshot on Saturday after finishing an exercise successfully: fairly quickly and without having to look elsewhere for definitions or hints. Several things started to come together in my brain here - the whole if/elseif/else concept, the aforementioned eureka moment on semi-colons, and a more thorough understanding of functions.

This morning, Sunday, I flipped through my flash cards while procrastinating on the whole get up and get going thing. Within ten minutes, I had to abandon that plan and pull out a notebook to start jotting down questions and musings. Tiny bits of information are starting to form complete pictures in my brain AND I'm able to use my current professional position to put things in context.

After running errands (and finally getting in to a Ballerina Bum class at MaZi), I came home to work out a problem. I didn't want to launch into another lesson; I'm afraid of moving through concepts too quickly and not letting them percolate in my brain long enough. And though it took a little bit of trial and error, I did this today without use of note cards or Codecademy's (very helpful) glossary.

I'm not delusional. This is all very basic, I know, but there is nowhere else for me to start than getting down the basics. You may be concerned (er, mildly interested) that this will take time away from Summer of Austen and Project Ukulele and that might be true. I find the busier I am, the better I am at managing my time, though, and I made significant progress with Pride and Prejudice this weekend. (And tomorrow I will write about how happy I am I stuck with the book.)

This is certainly a multi-year, maybe a lifelong, project but three-month chunks seem like a great way to document and measure my progress.

Up next: WordPress 101 with Nicole Crimaldi and Dabble, Tuesday evening.