I don't think I did this last year. Though I don't think I had any goals laid out for last year. It is getting close to the end of 2019 and I want to give myself a review and throw in some fun things toward the end. So this isn't entirely web development but more like a general end of year review.

Lets look at the goals I set for this year 2019 Web Development goals. Also lets looks at the report I wrote out in July Report: Midway Through 2019.

  1. Being patient and kinder to myself. I feel like I did better the second half of the year. I do find I still get frustrated with myself and have had some "down" days. There is one thing I started doing in August. I started keeping a log of my accomplishments. I have kept up on this and it has made me realize that I accomplish a lot on a daily basis at work but also on my own. So if I do start to feel down I can think about that or look at the logs and have hard evidence that contradicts what I feel. The reality is I do a lot and I'm learning a lot. I'm happy with the progress on this.

  2. Continuing my JavaScript path. I continue to get better and more confident with my skills here. I solve more problems with it now and do more personal projects that are more javascript centric. I still watch a lot of videos and get an email everyday from the Go Make Things Blog written by Chris Ferdinandi that just gives me little bites of knowledge everyday.

  3. Being more consistent with my projects. I'm doing good with this. I have several little projets going and I decided to "project manage" them by using Trello. I use it to plan out updates and other things I need to do. This helps to not forget about the tings I want to do and it keeps me on task. Another thing I have done is use an iOS application that helps build routines. It's called Strides. I set goals and try to meet them each week. The idea is to keep an unbroken streak as long as possible. One of my goals was to work on a side project at least three times a week. It's just a way to be accountable. The main thing is to just do something. I sometime just don't want to work on something or feel anxiety about it. I'll tell myself just take 15 minutes and do something small. Usually what happens is two hours later I'll take on something else and get more work done than I anticipated. Three times a week isn't too heavy. It gives me time for other things and I think will help prevent burnout. Many times I work on my side projects 4 or even 5 times a week but I'm not going to feel bad if I take days off.

  4. Get rid of my old website that is at rebeccaeilering.com. I havent done that. I think midway through the year I removed some content and stripped some features from it. I think I still need to just download the data and close it.

  5. Do a project in a new language. I haven't started a project but I did get ASP.NET installed and I did some simple exercises using C#. So I guess there's that.

Other Web Development Things

  • A lot more work with ES6

  • Did work with more CSS animations, transforms

  • Did some work with Canvas API, Locations API, and used JavaScript to access my web cam

  • Used Express.js to create a dev server

  • Deployed a projet to Heroku

  • Getting better understanding accessibility

  • Been more consistent with my blog, updating my own website

Assessment

I've been more kind to myself, been making more progress with JavaScript, keeping up on my side projects, and I did start to take steps to learn a new language. I'd say I did good. I sometimes don't feel like I'm good enough but I have taken concrete steps to improve my thinking and habits. This has helped give me more confidence and stabilize the emotional "rollercoaster" I've been on when it comes to web development.

Other End-Of-Year Thoughts/Highlights

Speaking of that Strides app. I have made other goals too. I try to go on a walk every day. I try to read (books) everyday (currently on an 80 day streak). I work on art at least three times a week. I also try to have one day where I don't drink soda. I'm mostly meeting or exceeding my goals.

I've been going to a gym a few times a week for boxing/kickboxing aerobics. I liked my old gym where we did a more true boxing/kickboxing workout. I'm thinking of just getting a Y membership for Ben and I so we can both go and I can get more variety. Plus I'm not locked into going to a class at a specfic time. I can only go to my current gym three times a week cause the classes don't always align with my work schedule. Also the classes I do go to are so close to the time I get off work I have to rush to get there.

Speaking of Reading more, since I started the Strides app I've read at least 6 books. It's been a mixture of fiction and non-fiction. I've read stuff like Frankenstein, a book about Riot Grrrl, haunted places, Illinois history. I'm reading a H. P. Lovecraft book. I'm not too into it right now - I'm finding it boring.

Ben and I took a trip to Detroit and jumped over into Canada for a day. I find it fun to go to new cities. We visited the Detroit Institute of Arts. I was excited to see the Detroit Industry murals by Diego Rivera. I even bought a book about them. We enjoyed touring the Henry Ford Museum and collecting the Mold-A-Ramas from there. We walked around Greenfield Village too. We visited Third Man Records, saw the old Packard plant and Michigan Central Station. We visited the Heidelberg Project (an art project) and various other art things. We went over to Belle Island and explored an abandoned zoo. Over in Canada we went to a museum about Windsor and their art gallery. We found a sculpture park that was along the river and took a walk. We ate lunch and visited a mall and shopped at stores we don't have in the US.

In the fall (around my birthday) we took a trip up to Milwaukee and to the Volo Auto Museum outside of Chicago. In Milwaukee we just went to the Milwaukee County Zoo to get more Mold-A-Ramas (Halloween themed ones). The Volo Auto Museum was where we got a Disney themed Mold-A-Rama (we got 1 of 2 since the Mickey one was out of order). The Volo has a ton of movie cars and 5 antique malls. It was a nice weekend trip.

Got a new MacBook Air laptop. It's a step down in screen size but a step up in everything else. So far I love it. No keyboard issues.

Deleted my Facebook account

Year End Faves

  • Book: Hidden Figures - About the African-American women mathematicians that worked for NASA in the 1950s and 1960s.

  • Movie: I guess the Lego Movie: The Second Part by default because that was the only new movie I saw this year in a movie theater. I don't watch a whole lot of movies anymore. Other than that I only remember watching old Indiana Jones movies and Sound City (documentary).

  • TV/Sreaming: Mindhunter on Netflix - About FBI agents that studied serial killers in the late 1970s into the early 1980s.

  • Music: The Center Won't Hold by Sleater-Kinney, I guess? I don't know. I haven't listened to a lot new music this year. I love the band. I'm only naming this album because it was the only one I could think of. It's not bad. It's different. It's a departure from their other albums. It's ceertainly not my favorite. Other than that I'm mostly looking backwards and discovering albums and artists I've missed. I really like the album All At Once by Screaming Females but that came out in 2018.

  • Concert: Shonen Knife at the Rock-n-Roll Hardees in Springfield. It's my fave cause it was unique. They are from Japan. The concert was at a Hardees which is a bit absurd. It waxs free. It was just unique and fun.

  • Dev Podcast: Syntax

  • General Podcast: Disgraceland