Of serpents and soccer

Hi! Last week has been tight with the start of classes and whatnot. And so, missed an issue (assuming newsletters are classified as issues, like magazines or newspapers). Anyway, classes have been hectic but interesting for the most part. Way more than the previous semesters, at least.

One that stood out in particular was “Python Programming for Rapid Engineering Solutions”. It’s not your average programming class where you work on random problem statements that cover the Fibonacci series, recursions and such. This course is entirely application-based scripting. And so far, I’ve been working on circuit analysis backends, projectile motion, etc. It’s absolutely amazing and if I had a choice, I’d rather have all my programming classes be like this. As a bonus, the class is structured more like an open area where you work and discuss with your peers rather than a traditional class where the teacher teaches and you listen.

In other news, I had a chance to attend two games last week. The first was a women’s soccer match between Arizona State University and South Dakota State University at the Sun Devil Soccer Stadium. It was fun initially but then the match was postponed midway due to inclement weather - a sandstorm followed by a thunderstorm. Uniquely Arizona, I’d say.

The second was a Major League Baseball game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Philadelphia Phillies. It was my first baseball game and it was amazing albeit confusing. Though basically a variation on cricket, I still had to sneak glances at the Baseball for Dummies guide for the first few innings to get a grasp of the game. Should have probably researched beforehand, but had classes and all. The D’Backs won 13-7 and with the game being at Chase Field, their home ground, the crowd went wild and the entire atmosphere was electric. It was exhilarating to be honest and I can definitely see myself heading here for more games!

On the reading front, I’ve been slacking off a bit, so still stuck on Austin Kleon’s Show Your Work! In it, he talks about how to put yourself out into the world. And since this aligns with my objective of sharing more of my art, I’ve been going extra slow and absorbing it all in. Plus I’m learning how to take notes from non-fiction which is something I’ve never done properly before. Before you ask, yes, I’ve never been great at taking notes from a textbook. That was one of the things my dad’s always tried to drill into me but never worked out. Plus mom would probably add that I’ve been bad at note-taking in general. And have my old notebooks to prove it.

Anyways, that’s all for now, I guess. As always, thank you for your time! See you all again soon!

P.S. The Diamondbacks get their name from the Western diamondback, a type of pit viper commonly found in the southwestern US and Mexico