
Mick
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About Me
Back in the day, I was a COBOL programmer.
I left IT to raise a family and became a
widow when my daughters were 7 and 11. Now
they are both in college. The 21 year old is
at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champagne
studying Computer Science, and the 17 year old is
studying at the Fashion Institute for Design and
Merchandising (FIDM) in San Francisco. She lives
with me.
My 4-year BS degree is from Rutgers in Natural
Resource Management, Forestry Option, and I did
work for the Forest Service in California and
Oregon, but it was mostly physical labor, and
my strength is my mind, so I moved on. That's
when I got into programming in San Francisco
and the Bay Area.
When my daughters were born and in their early
years, I was a full-time parent. One learned to
read while she was still two, and was figuring
out simple derivatives in Calculus when she was
five. I homeschooled on and off, and was always
teaching my daughters or providing instruction
from other sources.
I've learned a lot about Internet Marketing but
never did much with the knowledge. I became a high
school Math teacher, but realized it wasn't a
good match for me. I started studying to be a
pre-k Montessori teacher, but had a change of heart.
I thought about becoming a real estate wholesaler or
other entrepreneur, but I'm tired of doing things
alone. A job where I'm around others and have set
tasks and am assured a salary is what I desire now.
I've always loved logic puzzles and math, and was
addicted to Sudoku puzzles for awhile. I even figured
out a pattern that can aid in solving sometimes that
I have not seen documented anywhere.
Programming is a great match for my analytic/logical
brain. I desperately want to get back into IT, and
that is why I am studying as much as I can as fast as
I can. (I finished a 7-week Udacity course-- CS101 Intro
to Comp Science with Python-- in two days by pulling
an all-nighter.)
We've been living on Social Security Survivor Benefits,
but since my daughter graduated high school early (at
17 instead of 18-- both daughters skipped a year of
public school due to accelerated homeschooling), the
benefit will stop when she turns 18 on Dec. 22, 2012
(the day after the widely speculated upon 12/21/2012 date).
So, I need a good job asap, and that is my aim.
Back to learning!