Back to school!

[lance_sibley]

I've had a headache for about two days now. I suspect it's been caused by one of three things: either schlepping my backpack around with far too much stuff in it during two of the past three days has thrown my back out of alignment, or switching to my boots on Monday has altered the way I'm walking, throwing my back out of alignment, or Sunday's unnecessarily long walk from Yonge and Lawrence to the TCON Board meeting (unnecessary because I could have taken a bus), slipping in the snow (because I was wearing my shoes and getting no traction) threw my back out of alignment. And yes, I know it's my back, because I can feel the tension under my right shoulder blade.

I had my first Visual Basic .NET class this evening. I was the second person to show up, which meant that I got dibs on the last used copy of the textbook that the instructor had from a previous student. I have no complaint about saving $50, though its previous owner kept the software that came with it.

We didn't do a whole lot - the three hour session was mostly taken up by the instructor going over the course outline in excruciating detail and talking about Visual Studio, which I'm already familiar with from last term's C# class (though I do realize that I may be the only person in the class who does know anything about the software, since the only person I recognize from last term was in my Internet Scripting Languages class). We didn't even log on to the network until about 8:30, and we didn't go over anything about the language itself. So even though there was supposed to be an in-class exercise, we didn't do too much of it.

On the job-hunting front, I got an email today from the recruiter I'd been talking to about doing a technical test - she suggested either tomorrow or Thursday. I asked for Thursday, since that would give me a little time to prepare (given that I was expecting that my brain would be full of Visual Basic stuff tonight). Not that I expect to need a lot of preparation - after all, I've spent 12 years of my life doing this stuff. I'd just hate to be asked a question about, for example, how to code a PERFORM statement and respond in PL/1 or C instead of COBOL (which I've done in the past, much to my embarrassment). I'll probably spend a couple of hours going through CICS manuals instead to refamiliarize myself with things like keyed sequential datasets. Or going through the list of SQLCODES, since despite the fact that SQL error codes include English-language descriptions of the error along with the numerical code, in every interview I've had I've been asked things like "What is an SQLCODE -904?" (it's an unavailable resource, usually caused by another program locking a table, or caused by someone having run a LOAD utility without running the checkdata utility afterwards - see, I still know my stuff).

I didn't manage to respond to her email until late this afternoon, after returning home from various errands, so she probably didn't see it before she left for the day. I expect to hear something more concrete about timing tomorrow.

Comments

[eastman23.livejournal.com]

Visual Basic rots your programming skills! :p

I'm being semi-serious here. After two workterms of VB (6 and .Net), I found myself utterly incapable of putting semi-colons at the end of my Java and C++ lines. :D

[boywhocantsayno.livejournal.com]

Fortunately, COBOL doesn't use semi-colons. :P

Seriously, it's a required course for the .NET certificate, so I don't really have much choice in the matter.

[indydark.livejournal.com]

If you need a good chiropractor, and not one that does the 'usual' cracking of your back, I go to one that's amazing and could give you his information through email.

[boywhocantsayno.livejournal.com]

I'll keep that in mind, but right now I'm trying not to spend money unnecessarily. I've had similar stress headaches before, and they usually go away after a couple of days.

Actually, thinking about it, it probably makes more sense for you to send me the info anyway and then I can go when I have the cash flow. My email is lance_sibley at yahoo dot com.

Thanks!

[anthonyarms.livejournal.com]

Are you planning to take a look at C# .NET? I find it better. Also it will be faster to pick up Java, after looking at C#

[boywhocantsayno.livejournal.com]

I took C# during the fall term that just ended. :)

[anthonyarms.livejournal.com]

opps, I just started to read your blog, after finding it from legostargateman friends page
how did you find the C# course?
I really don't like VB, however I do Like C#.

[boywhocantsayno.livejournal.com]

I found it fun and interesting, considering that I've never studied or worked in C or C++ (I've picked up bits and pieces here and there as I have a couple of textbooks, though I've never read them all the way through). Despite that lack of knowledge going in, I didn't find it too difficult - as I posted a week or two ago, I managed an A in the class.