Memory Lane

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “The Transporter.”

I couldn’t choose between
Who’s the Boss and Three’s Company,
Family Ties or Charles in Charge
So found them all
(Throw in some banana yoghurt and
Milk in glass bottles)

And for a real trip down memory lane
Guess who is in town?
My Year 4 teacher (when I was ten)
Am seeing her tomorrow-
Thirty years later!

Just a Girl

I can climb mountains
I can swim seas
I can work and I can
Earn, I can be
Independent, and need
No-one at all, but when
The day is done
I am just a girl
Needing to be loved
By a boy like you

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/silver-screen/

Letter from my Mother

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When I was eighteen
My mother wrote a letter
Telling me how we don’t always
Say the things we want to say
But how everyday I made her feel
So very proud to be called my mother

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/proud/

Learning Java Through Poetry

After reading so many informative posts this morning (strokes, Sudoku, knitting, computer animation, shorthand, and many more), I thought I’d write my own. I’ll start with a poem:

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Java is awesome
And so are you!

I learnt Java through Kathy Sierra’s Head First Java:

The reason why I loved it so much was because of the poetry scattered throughout:

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And another one:

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Of course, I never realized this at the time. They were mere snippets of the book that really resonated with me (Wow, look at all this poetry, it is so cool, awesomeness). I would write all my own verses to match the ones I’d read.

So here’s a quick tutorial on a first Java program.

The following steps are how to get started with coding.

Install Java on any computer. And then follow the steps:

1. Create and save MyFirstApp.java (included below). For beginner purposes this can be done in a notepad and not an IDE. In fact, we never had the luxury of IDEs when I studied “so long ago”. In the days before Google.

2. Compile to create a class file (MyFirstApp.class) (google it if you need details)
javac MyFirstApp.java

3. Run the app from the console

And here is how a sample .java file looks like:

public class MyFirstApp {

public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println(“I Rule!”);
System.out.println(“The World”);
}
}

It’s been suggested I never go into teaching, so I’ll write poetry instead:

Roses are red
Violets are blue
I love coding
How about you?

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/daily-prompt-2/

My Career

At my graduation May 1996, a month after I lost my mother.

At my graduation May 1996, a month after I lost my mother.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/daily-prompt-2/

I studied a Bachelor of Science degree with a specialization in Computer Science and Applied Math. I loved the Applied Math and could have continued with financial math and quantitative management after my initial degree. But decided not to do so.

A few years later I unearthed a document at home. I had been granted a bursary to study my honors degree in computer science (all expenses paid with spending money), but decided at the time not to accept. I had been offered a graduate position at IBM and decided to work instead.

My roles have all been in software development. The first few years I specialized in IVR (interactive voice response) technology and speech recognition. Also integration services around these applications. With the advent of mobile apps the speech and IVR applications are becoming less relevant. I started writing in C and then progressed to Java.

And now I write in poetry!

No, Thanks

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I like the earth
I like it just fine
Please don’t fly me
To the moon so high

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/no-thanks/

Apple in my Bag

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I broke the law of another land
A fresh apple was in my bag
Apple was green, it belonged to me
And no customs had been signed

I had no cash, I could not pay
The fine that was handed to me
I promised to pay, they said okay
Allowed me on my way

Time to leave, I paid the fine
But not within the week
The plane was there, I caught a glimpse
But my passport had been blocked

Do not allow, she must not leave
We will not let her go
I had to wait, I could not pass
Fresh apple had tied me down

Seconds passed and minutes too
My heart near skipped it’s beat
I had to sit, I had to wait
Until told that I could leave

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/breaking-the-law/

Broken Rule

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I broke a rule when I was ten
The world – it stopped it’s spin
Dad flew into such a rage for
His child doing such a sin

And ever since in every way
I try my best to live within
The rules that have been set-
I clench my teeth and grin

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/breaking-the-law/

An Offer I Couldn’t Refuse (not a poem)

Where I work (on the fifth floor)

Where I work (on the fifth floor)

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/race-the-clock/

In the beginning of February 2007 I went on a training course in Sydney, Australia. I met up with a business acquaintance who introduced me to a business partner of his. When I returned home I sent the business partner my resume, and that of my husband. The company I worked for in Johannesburg had an office on Sydney, and I really wanted to work for them.

The first company contacted me a few weeks later with an offer of a contract position for either my husband or I, with a permanent role to possibly follow. My husband accepted the position. My Johannesburg manager had previously worked with the manager in the Sydney office of my current company and offered to act as a reference for me. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse.

My husband and I packed up our home. He left first and I followed six weeks later with our two young children, my son only having turned four in that same week. We arrived in Sydney with both of us having work.

And from that we gained permanent residence and citizenship. We have been back to South Africa three times in seven years for a total of six weeks.

I’ve Got Mail

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If I had to choose
Between your words or writing
I would choose reading

To receive letters
Or to write is no hard choice –
Because I love mail!

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/mortons-fork/