I See Cue Elles

Still no word on Bandido's DNA results. It should be this week. Any guesses on what she "is?" Time will most definitely tell.

And, now for a word about my little friend, Bitty Bichon. Neighbor dog Bitty was attacked by a coyote two nights ago. Most dogs would never have survived the attack, but the coyote picked the wrong dog to mess with. By some true miracle and lots of bravery, Bitty escaped. The story is horrific. I don't even like to think about it, because I can envision the entire thing. Thankfully, Bitty was smart enough to run to the front door of her house and cower in the corner. It's still touch and go, as Bitty remains in the hospital and her injuries are very severe. So, if you have a moment, please put out a good thought for Bitty. She needs all the positive vibes she can get.

In the work department, I will be going back to Baltimore sooner than later for additional training about our new electronic health record software. I find this whole thing amusing, seeing as I'm an art major and a counselor by trade. I grew up in the land of manual typewriters and carbon copy paper. I taught myself about using computers. I have never taken an official computer technology class. I basically fake it. Yet, here I am teaching myself computer language and creating health record tables for my place of employment.

This weekend's adventure has been reading a book on SQL, ess-cue-el, or sequel to non-geeks. I need to have some understanding about SQL before going to Baltimore, as that is part of the gig. Friday night, I read the first ten pages of my SQL for Beginners book, stopped, then read the first ten pages again. I decided it would be best to go to bed and try it again in the morning. I admit that it was a bit easier to digest once I had enjoyed a good night's sleep but after about 25 pages, I felt a little dizzy and weak. I decided watching YouTube videos might be of more help.

In moments of doubt, I cheer myself on by saying, "if you can teach yourself how to use a little HTML code to make headers a bit more fancy, you can learn SQL.

Right?

The problem has been that resources for beginners aren't really for beginners. Every resource I've used assumes some form of knowledge on the subject. I have none. I don't even know what SQL is used for yet. No clue. I know it's about data bases, whatever those technically might be. (I know what a data base is but I don't KNOW what a data base is. I don't understand it. I'm working on it.) Someone on my FB page suggested that SQL is fun. I don't know what kind of drugs he's taking, because I don't foresee any fun. Maybe once I get past page 25, I'll see all the fun to be had.

The videos have been a bit more helpful than the books, but that might be because I can multi-task while watching videos. No kidding. Last night, I watched a TV show with the wife while videos on SQL were running on my computer.

Okay, so maybe I wasn't actually watching the SQL videos.... I was hoping for osmosis. Let the words dribble into my ears and onward toward my brain... kind of like sleeping with your textbook under your pillow.

I don't think that worked, either.

Today--the Sabbath--I'm going to watch some more videos and then I'll go back and re-read the 25 pages. I believe the third time will be a charm. I'm a visual kind of gal, so if I can create a picture of what this is all about in my head, I'll be good to go.

Actually, what I really need to find is another art-major-gone-rogue to help me with my endeavors. I need someone with a giant right brain and a peanut for a left brain who specializes in computer-related things. It's almost an oxymoron. But, I know they are out there. They're the people who understood and liked geometry but failed miserably at and hated algebra.

How do I know this? Because I am one of those people. The wife, queen of the left brain, is all about algebra and I'm all about geometry. Geometry makes sense to me... give me a good theorem any day.

Actually, my visualization of all things geometric is what helps me visual data bases and SQL-esque stuff. I feel like I'm on the verge of understanding the information in front of me. I know that if I can paint the picture, I'll be fine. It might actually end up being fun....

....but, I'm skeptical. Fun is probably not the word I'm going to use and fun is probably not what I'm going to feel.

Fun is going to be learning what breeds make up our Tex Mex street dog. She does not need computer code or rules or applications to be fun....

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