Dreamweaver Class in Chicago

I just had my mini vacation/class in Chicago last week. The class was in a software tool called Dreamweaver, which helps build web sites. It ended up being a lot about HTML and CSS, the two pieces to building web sites that my other community college was teaching, sans using Dreamweaver. Dreamweaver will make it a lot easier, because you can create elements on the design side, and it will add/change the code on the code side. In the community college class, we were doing the coding all by hand.

My college class ended Wednesday evening and the final assignments are due tonight at midnight, but I worked double hard last weekend and Monday to get everything done, so I wouldn't have to work this weekend on it. It was a lot of reading, doing tutorial assignments and taking practice tests and then the real tests, but I'm glad I can relax this weekend.

The class was pretty good. I really liked the instructor, and they had a really cool space in the Fine Arts Building in Chicago where a lot of musicians and violin shops are. One day while on the floor of our class, I looked into a violin shop and realized this shop was the exact one I went into one time when my violin bow broke, and I was frantically looking for another one before my next lesson. I made a special trip to Chicago after work one time, and had already mapped out several violin places to ask them about bows. I remember that night, it was cold and windy, but I had no idea where I was at the time, I just followed the address and map.

Taking a class is enjoyable to me and I consider it vacation, but my vacation/vacation then was the mornings and evenings to relax (I stayed in a hotel). I enjoyed going to a different place for breakfast each morning and pretending I lived in Chicago and was doing my daily in-town commute to a job. In the evenings, I looked for a good place to eat each time, and had some tasty meals. The best one was a French restaurant where I savored every morsel, it was so good. Same with the sparkling wine.

The adventuresome times were, one, where I got a bloody nose (my first one ever) while in a bathroom of a hotel lobby where I had just ordered a drink and was taking a quick bathroom break. After about 20 minutes of holding paper towels to my nose, and one of those bathroom attendants encouraging me, it did stop, and I went back out and had my drink. A lady nearby had me order some ice so I could press it against my nose. She said her daughter used to get bloody noses. I can only attribute it to the cool air outside and I was walking around a lot and then all of a sudden coming into a warm building. I had been walking in the chilled air a lot exploring, so maybe it was just too much.

One other thing that went "wrong", was on the first day I got a blister on my left foot from all the walking I did to get there the first day, and my wanderings that evening, so by the second last day I had enough of the almost limping, so I bought a sewing kit and made a small hole in the blister to drain it. They say you're not supposed to do that, but man did that help (I ran it under hot water first).

Then the last adventuresome thing I did was get on the wrong train home. It was so weird, I had plenty of time, but I automatically got on the train I take to work and back every day, and it didn't dawn on me the time said 15 minutes earlier than I knew it was supposed to be (I think I was pretty tired by the last day). This train I take to work I have to drive to. Well, for the start of my trip, I had walked to another train station from home, so I should have gotten on that same train, so I could walk home again. If I stayed on this train that I just got on, I would get back to where my car is normally on a work day, but the car wouldn't be there! I guess there's always a cab as a last resort. But, fortunately, the two lines criss-cross and there's a station right there, so most of the time the trains stop there. Well, it did, I waited a few minutes for the other train (it was the same train I would have gotten on if I would have done it right). So, I made it back, walked home, and all was well.

I also got a new back pack for hiking, so I had about 30/40 pounds on my back. I made it, but it was a lot of work (and I think a major contributor to the blister on the way down there), and fortunately I was able-bodied and had no real issues with walking or carrying. If I would have had any issues with carrying anything, I couldn't have done it. Once it's on my back, though, it is better than trying to deal with a wheeled suitcase, especially since I walked up to a mile at a time for each leg of the trip to and from the trains.

What I wish they would have is suitcases with bigger, more bike-like wheels, that weren't noisy, and would cruise over sidewalk bumps easily. I also wish I could figure out how to back lighter. I mean I really only brought about 3 changes of clothes for three days, how can I bring less? Plus I wore light layers of a jacket (versus a thicker jacket). Fortunately it didn't rain at all, so didn't need to accommodate for that. That would add more junk to bring.

I guess the other option would be to drive to the train, get to Chicago and take a bus or cab to the hotel, then reverse that going home. Ya know, like most people would do? Then, a regular wheeled suitcase would have been fine.

Well, after 8 weeks of HTML/CSS and a 3 day class of the same with Dreamweaver, I can say I know quite a bit about creating a web site. Now, it's a matter of actually doing it and practicing before I forget stuff. I won't forget too soon, though, the next 8 weeks is my Javascript class at the community college, and then toward the end of that, another class in Chicago for part 2 of the Dreamweaver class (more advanced CSS, etc.).

This place in Chicago also has Javascript and PHP, etc. The college also has PHP, so depending on how far I go, I have plenty of classes ahead.