I use websites on a daily basis - work, fun, social, inspiration, etc. I've even experimented with some Wordpress templates to dabble in the blog world. But the assignment for the duration of the course, not just for this week, is to create a website to document our process throughout each of our weekly assignments. Somehow this is presented in a casual manner instilling in each of us a sense that we can accomplish great things in the coming week using HTML, CSS, JS and whatever else you may know about. At the end of the weekly webinar, I felt exactly the same way I do when I watch a Food Network cooking show - I've never tried any of the things this celebrity chef has demonstrated on TV but I end up thinking to myself "I can TOTALLY do this!". Needless to say, whenever I attempt these kinds of food-based adventures I end up cursing alot -"How is this a 3o-minute meal?!"- and discover I live a rich fantasy life. This is exactly what happened when I tried to create my website in a week. (I'm writing this entry during Week 10 - that's how long it's taken me to come up with something I was willing to show the public, fyi)
I realize I don't really know much about the internet. Or websites. And I've certainly never created a website from scratch - as in start with all the basic ingredients, whip them together and present your perfectly decorated, exquisitely delicious coconut layer cake to your smiling, clean, and beautifully dressed family to enjoy that very same evening. I had a vision on what I wanted my website to look like, how I wanted it to function and the content I wanted to include. I thought I had a reasonable concept of time in which all of this could be accomplished. And then I met my friend, Reality, and he introduced me to what has commonly come to be known as the "Pinterest Fail". For those of you who are new to this, "Pinterest Fail is a safe place where Pinterest lovers can share the projects they've tackled that didn't turn out quite how they hoped."
I have not given up. This page clearly shows that I have created a website even if it doesn't quite match the image that I have in my head. I am using Brackets which is pretty awesome. I really have nothing to compare it to but it's free and I like that. I also like its Preview capabilities so I can see the mistakes I am making in real-time. I have been using Lynda.com to watch hours and hours and hours of training videos, feel a boost of confidence at the end of each lesson and try to implement the lessons learned. **see Pinterest Fail above**
Project Management isn't just about our website. We are also using Mercurial for version control and will need to get confortable synching our work to the dedicated Fab Academy Mercurial site. There are 4 simple steps that we enter in our terminal to complete the Mercurial sync - I took a picture to help me remember the Mercurial steps. And that blue ketchup rocks.
Failures won't be limited to Week 1. That's ok. I learn quite a bit from failures, mistakes, and general life experiences that don't always turn out the way I think they might. But I hope I can laugh about it, think about why something isn't working, try again and maybe, eventually, get to a place where all of this is something I can understand.
Repeated failure will toughen your spirit and show you with absolute clarity how things must be done - Robert Greene on Mastery
Jessica Metz Fab Academy 2015