Trial and Error

At work, I’ve been working on the registration site for an event coming up. It has been quite a journey in this process to make sure the site runs smoothly. For now, it’s working great, until I encounter new problems. Of course there were great lessons learned :D!

I found that I have a lot of ideas, and most of them are not formed because the old one wasn’t good, I just think things can be done differently. I mean, if you’re going to start something, do it right, right? (This is probably why sometimes I can be a quitter when I reach the point that I’m not doing it right) For example, you can’t start a relationship with someone just for because it’s convenient or the other person is awesome in XYZ ways. jux saiyan. When I started the site, I simply copied the old one from the year before that was done by the person before me. Most of the settings were already great, but I just wanted the site to be better for users.

The event has 3 sessions with workshops and users can only select one. The original site allowed users to check mark as many sessions as they want, only to find out once they click next that they can’t continue because they chose more than one. To make this change and easier for users, I changed the setting from selection to radio. I didn’t look up what radio meant at that time; I just understood the difference. This made the site easier to use because the radio option chose the option users choose last before they continue to the payment page. This meant that each session required a 'no' option too.

The other edit I made was add a reminder in red to make sure users checked the box for their Saturday attendance to be included for the workshops, otherwise I would have to call them later and they have to go through their wallet again to make a payment. I also made that one of the first option on the registration page too. Overall, it was a great learning experience that reminded me so much of my past job experiences. My boss was very flexible and laid back through the whole process. She let me take the wheels, also because she doesn't like to micro-manage.

Once all the changes were made, the site was finally released to go live for people to register to attend the event. This was where all the trial and errors and learning finally happened. The first problem was the fees not showing up. Second was a session with conflicting time. Third was not being able to deselect an option. They sound simple to fix, but I was the phone for 30 minutes to resolve this immediately because people were registering as I made those changes and it’s a big event that couldn't wait another day to fix it.

This trial and error theme got me reflecting on my life journey so far. (For this blog, I've learned to write in googledocs, correct it in WORD, and then paste it in BlogSpot.) I've had job and relationship experiences to help form the best of me for a better person in all aspects of life (family, work, school, community, leadership). Take everything as a lesson (Dali Lama). My last position started at 7:30am and that meant I had to at least be up by 7am at the latest. My current job starts at 8:30pm. A whole hour makes a big difference. I wake up happier :D and I get enough sleep even if I stay up late. The one before that was at 8am. Now I know that 8:30am is the perfect starting time for me. One position had me working until 5pm every day and I did not like that at all. I felt like I didn't have a life. But age is also a factor. Getting off at 5pm works out for a lot of older people, but that wasn't what I needed at that time. As I get older, I know I’ll be ready for the 8-5 thaang.

The other thing I do every day is check my email that’s subscribed to the jobcenter. I have a job, but I’m still curious about what’s out there, what’s next, how do I move up, how do I gain more, what kind is going to make/help me grow? I’m not a hopper in the workforce; I’m an adventurer. As I browsed through some of those jobs, it made me conscious of my current situation. Education and experiences is what can help you control the cards you are dealt with, which was from Jerry Yang when he came to speak at UW-Whitewater. Some people have reached a point in their life that they are willing to work for someone else, whatever the pay may be, and it’s great that works out for them. One day we will all get there, whether if it’s working for someone or being our own boss, I just hope it’s something we believe in and only aim to make things better for everyone.

No one can take my education was often said by our parents. So many of us are fortunate we can still control what we make out of our lives through education. I’m not sure what anyone’s situation is, but it starts with believing in yourself and some hope. One thing you’ll need for sure is a support system. Let go of people who are dragging you down. I have a friend who was a single mom around age 22 and she completed her B.A. and Masters already. My sister also went back to school full time and she has four children. My other sister took the longest break after high school and she went back around age 28. Education is already making an impact in their lives. We can stay where we're comfortable or get more schooling to change our situations. The decision is yours. You are in control.

Many of us do not have any other obligations like our parents. We can invest in ourselves as much as we want to learn so many things to be whatever we want to be. Why do you think I am blogging about finding adventures and learning new things? I don't want to live with any regrets. If you’re not there yet, I hope you’ll get there. If you’re already there, I hope you can be there for those who need your guidance. Thank you for reading. Like. Share. Comment. I’ll take it all.