Forem: Brenda Limón

Happy Podcast Day!

Brenda Limón — Tue, 01 Oct 2019 01:20:44 +0000

Hello there! Happy podcast day! During my time of code, I use to listen to music and podcasts to focus and get in a good mood.

So usually I listen to happy music like Panic at the Disco, Bruno Mars, or even Disney music (don’t judge me if you ever sing let it go) haha, but podcasts are more to relax, and as a fan of movies and business I listen to this podcasts:

The Rambling movie club
Is a new podcast with an awesome host Jamie Dumayne and here you can find very good movies to watch, remember and share. Btw, I’m the guest on the episode that’s coming this Wednesday and I talk about Mexican culture.

Yo Business
This business podcast is made by two millennials in NYC and they just talk about real business and work so I feel that I can do little things and have some progress, I don’t feel stressed like with big successful business people so that’s good 😛.

So this are some suggestions that I hope you like, share if you have a podcast if you listen to some podcasts or whatever you want.

Hugs&HuskyLove 🐶

The truth about my first tech job

Brenda Limón — Tue, 24 Sep 2019 16:27:35 +0000

Hello there! It's been a while. I've been doing a lot of things during this year, and there's something that I learned that can be very useful for you if you're new in this environment.

A year ago I was kind of stuck, I wanted to learn how to code but I wasn't sure about how, when, what platform, book, etc. I was starting to feel very stressed because I had no job, no money and a lot of free time that I wasn't using. Then I saw on my social media a post of a girl that I've never met in person but that was part of the environment, she has a company that teaches kids about technology, so one night I decided that I was gonna contact her, I had nothing to lose and she is someone very popular and known in Mexico City.

A way to contact someone you've never talked to is by email, but it can happen that you don't have that information, then don't be scared and just say hi, what you want and if you can keep talking on that social media or if he/she can give you a direct contact. It's very scary, I know, but it's worth it, cause you have nothing to lose.

So I sent her a DM in Facebook and I went to sleep, now that I read it again I know I made some mistakes. This is basically the message

Hi (person)!
I've been looking for the perfect words to introduce myself and impress you, but after thinking about it I consider that the best thing I can do is been honest, just like you.

The reason why I'm texting you is that I'm stuck in this point of my life and I'm done with that.

I studied communication, a career that I discovered was not for me and I tried to quit but I couldn't because of my family. I tried to start a startup a couple of years ago and I failed, I stayed away for my family emotionally, I went to therapy, and basically right now I'm a failure.

I'm not saying this so you feel petty for me or anything like that, I'll just like if you could give me some advice about what can I do.

I have no job, I'm 24, I'm learning to program by my own which is stressing but exciting, I'm from Puebla but I travel a lot to Mexico City, so I'll like to know how do you manage those hard moments when you don't know what to do.

Also, I'll like to know if you're looking for someone to help you with your company in anything, cause I think the project is awesome and I'll love to help you. I know we don't know each other in person, but anyone who's able to speak out loud about her feelings deserves respect and admiration. So I believe that you are the kind of person that I need in my life right now.

If you made it till here, thanks, I'll like to invite you a cup of coffee sometime and hope you have an awesome day tomorrow.

Thanks again, Brenda

Yeah...that was embarrassing, believe me. Never send a text in the middle of the night, your mind is not on its best moment.

But! I was lucky, I guess she felt petty for me and the next morning the answered my text inviting me to a call, so I could tell her more detailed why I was so desperate. We talked for like two hours and she invited me to Mexico City to talk about the possibility of joining the company. I felt in heaven, even if it was something extremely embarrassing, I had the chance to sit and talk to her about how could we collaborate, and that meeting finished with me being the new member of the team.

There's something that you must remember, sometimes the people that you follow with the awesome photos and all the phrases are just photos of the life they're struggling to live. She was awesome, successful and the ideal mentor for me, I loved the project and even with my low experience in engineering, I worked very hard to make the company successful.

Sadly, after some weeks, I got to see the reality. We were just four people on the team, the leader, the party designer, the graphic designer, and me, the learning leader. Must of the time, it was just the leader and me. She told me that they were having problems with money and that she was not able to pay me a lot, but that she promised to pay me more after some months. I decided to trust her and don't ask for what you must always ask, a CONTRACT.

I signed a contract for not working in another company like hers or using the material, but I never signed a contract to protect myself. But she believed in me, she was a good person, so it was okay. I started working with the kids, which I loved and making social media, but then the one who helped us with the graphic design didn't send all the designs so I started to do graphic design too using the skills that I learned in university. I started to do sales by sending texts to the parents, having like 50 different conversations at a time, and I was good at it, to be honest, is not like I didn't like it, but I was paid just for the lessons.

Three months passed and I was living in Mexico City with some money that I saved, but I wasn't get paid yet, I learn about circuits, laser-cut, 3D printing, programming, animation so I could give the kids a very good experience, and I really liked my job, but I was noticing that I was doing must of the job and I was not being paid, and it doesn't matter if you love it, you need money to survive and as long as it's not your company, your project, is not worth it.

So, after a big Christmas party where I had to deal with 22 kids on my own almost, I had enough. I was giving money to buy things, paying for my transport, and getting nothing. I went home and I realized that I had no more money, when I asked my boss when I'll get it she said soon, but I had to wait almost 2 weeks and for the four months I got 8000 pesos (411 dollars). I loved my job, but I learned that I was being used, so I asked for the money I invested and my boss didn't answer me...for almost 6 months! She just disappeared, she had a lot of stress and decided to take a break without telling. I wasn't fired, I didn't quit, she just texted me six months later to ask me for the keys of the warehouse, like if those six months never happened.

I realized that sometimes even between startups, NGO's and small companies where you can grow and learn a lot, people are gonna care more about be profitable than taking care of the team who's giving everything for it to succeed.

So, in a resume, this is what I learned from that experience:

Don't text someone in the middle of the night and if you do make sure not to use more than 100 words.
Business meetings are important so bring always a notebook with points about what do you want and don't be scared to talk about it.
Ask for a contract, always.
Establish the limits of your work, is okay to explore other areas but remember that you're not getting paid for it.
Remember teamwork, if you feel youre doing all the job, ask for a meeting and try to fix the situation.
Don't be scared of learning. Try to always learn something to make your work better.
Don't be afraid to talk about money. You're working, you deserve the pay.
If they want you to do everything, is time to talk about the roles in the company. More responsibility deserves more power.
Save the tickets in case you need to pay for things for the company.
Your work has a price because you studied, spent time in the office, you did your best, and you deserve it.

What do you think about this experience? Maybe I waited a lot to do something, but I learned to recognize that my work has value.

Happy programmer's day!

Brenda Limón — Fri, 13 Sep 2019 23:06:19 +0000

Happy programmer's day to everybody! What's the best part of being a programmer for you? Share with the community! Get a cup of your favorite drink and celebrate with all of us!

The best part for me is that I always find surprises about what can I do with my code, and all the awesome things I can learn, is a whole world waiting to be discovered, and I really enjoy that.

Hugs&Husky love 🐶

Don't be scared of new things

Brenda Limón — Wed, 11 Sep 2019 15:50:12 +0000

Hello everybody! I've been doing a lot of things during this year and there's a couple I want to share with you!

Well, the first thing I want you to know is that during my last job I learned the basics of robotics and how to use arduino. AND IT WAS AWESOME! I was going to this amazing maker space where I could just let myself go and have fun doing all kinds of things. I even made a reindeer that could move its head, for Christmas!

During that time when I was living in a different city, I learned to not be scared of trying new things, even if I was a newbie in code. I was able to build: a reindeer and make it move, use a professional 3D printer, use a laser cutter, make arduino circuits and program things that I couldn't understand but I was doing it!

So, now I'm back home! I'll tell you all the stories later if you want to know. I'm getting ready for a new adventure that I think is gonna be one of the most exciting things in my life. Back home I don't have all the technology, tools and people to help me and teach me and save me, but even knowing that, HERE I GO!

With the help of my boyfriend we built a little solar robot, (it's a toy robot from a box, very cheap, and a perfect gift) and it felt great! Even if it was something extremely easy I went back to that maker space and I realized that I can go from small things and keep pushing with all the knowledge from these months. Also, my robot looks super cute.

Anyway, never stop learning and don't be scared of learning new things, if you want to try, you can do it!

Hugs&Husky love 🐶

Stickers Contest!!🐶😍🤓

Brenda Limón — Mon, 03 Dec 2018 03:11:43 +0000

Hello everybody!

I hope you’re doing awesome, I’m very happy with my new job and I got a few new stickers, so I thought that we could do a contest!!! I love stickers, I think is part of our presentation, some people want to fill their laptop cases with them, others just want a few, but stickers are like badges! and they have a lot of stories behind.

So, what I thought was that you can comment on this post with a photo of your laptop case, and the best story you had when you got one of those. All kind of stickers count because there are people like me that get crazy and have tons of panda and huskie's stickers 😅

So, let's be the great community we are, give a heart to all the cases that you like, because of the designs, the stories or whatever, and the winner (there has to be a winner I know) will be the one with more hearts! and will receive Dev.to stickers as a gift from me. The contest end on Friday 7 of December, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. (Mexico City timezone 😉).

I'll share my stickers too, although I don't have a lot right now but I hope you like it and let's see all the amazing stories we have!

As always, hugs and husky love ❤️ Good luck to everybody!

Where are you Mexicans?

Brenda Limón — Sat, 03 Nov 2018 03:57:28 +0000

Happy Día de Muertos to everybody! Today in Mexico we celebrate those who are no longer with us come to say hi and eat their favorite meals.

It’s a beautiful tradition that we have here and I was wondering if there’s a lot of Mexicans in the DEV community. I think it would be awesome to know each other and have a meetup or something to talk about technology and the DEV environment like friends.
I don’t know, just an idea, so everyone who’s living in Mexico raise your hand! (Or today your death’s bread) and say if you would like to have a group on DEV.to and organize a meetup!

¡Vamos por una chela y a hablar de la vida como devs!

Hugs&HuskyLove

How to get out of the hole

Brenda Limón — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 21:53:25 +0000

Hello there!

Quite a long time without writing, sorry about that, a lot of things happened and I always write when...well when I feel good with myself, everything is okay now and I want to share with you the new adventure that I started.

I got a job! Yaiiiii!!!!!😃 my job is Club Coordinator in an NGO, Code Party, and I'm the teacher of amazing kids who want to learn about technology, in just one month I learned how to use a laser engraving machine, and also everything that I'm learning about coding I try to explain it to them, and it's funny, because you are on the same level than a little kid, and that's okay, I'm enjoying myself.

The truth is that two months ago I was really sad, feeling that the world was falling apart, I felt alone, I stopped learning, and I just wanted an advice. So I asked a girl who I follow in the tech world if she could give me some support words (I asked this by messenger at almost 12 am). The surprise was that she called me, she listened to me, she told me parts of her life to let me know that bad things happen to everyone and that we can't give up in our dreams. She gave me courage, and she told me "come to Mexico City, let's have some dinner, and let's start working together" at first I thought that she felt pity for me, but she told me that she knew the kind of person that I was, that even if we had never seen each other, she knew that I was the kind of person that she needed in Code Party.

So I went to meet her, and we started working since the first day, it's been a month since then, and two months since someone left, am I 100% okay? no, but I think the important thing is that we can't give up, we can be sad, we can cry, we can take a break, but we must not stay down.

A couple of days ago my t-shirt of Dev.to arrived. I forgot that the team of Dev.to sent me that amazing gift, and I realize that I have the support of all of you, and each one of you has all my support, I use my t-shirt during my code time and I'm back, I feel the energy like Goku doing a genkidama!!!

Teaching the kids how to code, animate, design etc. it's awesome, and I realize that the things that I can explain so easily are because I understand it perfectly, obviously, easy things at first, but it was the first class I ever gave and all my students got the information. A little girl designed for me a world of code where you can code your food and make it real, your house, car, and everything, it was so cute and close to reality.

I guess that sometimes life can punch you really hard, so much that you can't breathe, but it's just a moment, don't overthink it, look for something or someone who can help you, it's so easy to feel alone, but there's always someone there, it's a test, a chapter, a new beginning, let's go for it!

Thanks a lot for all the support and I'm right here if anyone wants to talk, doesn't matter about what. I'm back on the race!!!

Hugs&Husky love!

SHE CAN CODE!

Brenda Limón — Thu, 16 Aug 2018 20:02:00 +0000

I'm so happy to be accepted in Dev.to, even when I'm just a poor beginner who needs help with her english writing. I feel bad today, and I wanted to share with you something that's happening in Mexico, if not in the entire world.

If you read one of my first posts, you’ll know I'm a beginner, a baby in code, I have a communications degree but what I want for life is create awesome things with code. I don't know where you are, but at least in Mexico having a bachelor degree is essential because of status, but in the tech environment a paper can't proof your abilities, if you can code, you'll show your code to prove it. Of course, if you can study a software career it's better.

Anyway, I got my degree 2 months ago and started studying on my own, searching for a job in a communications area but in a tech company, so I can be in the area that I wanted. A couple of friends freaked out, telling me that I haded to just get a job for communications and stay there, communications is a women's career, programming is for nerd men. We're in 2018, those comments shouldn't exist.

There are organizations like Epic Queen, Laboratoria, and Women who Code where women are welcome to become a developer, because the women on science, engineers, developers or involved in tech is increasing, but the mentality is that "it's a men thing". Instead of discussing, scream or have an explosive reaction with my friends, I ask them for an explanation, 2 men trying to convince me, for not saying themselves, why men are better than women in science/tech. This was some of their points:

Women needs take more time.
Getting ready, getting pregnant. They said that men in tech can forget the entire world, they don't need "love" or relationships like women, they can stay in a lab or an office for three days and get more results than a group of women who can't stand even a day. I know, what kind of people are they?
Men have the skill of being a boss, a CEO, women don't.
"Obviously", the boss have to be manly to give confidence to the employees and make better deals, they don't worry about the company because a man is in charge, but if it's a woman, how can they be sure she's not gonna get "bipolar" and do something stupid, or during their period she's gonna fired everyone. I mean, how stupid can someone be?
WE ARE FRAGILE.
They can't say their opinion to a woman because they're gonna hurt her feelings, and if they do that, we become a bunch of "bitches" (sorry for the word).

To work in tech it's needed passion, discipline, teamwork, and vision, according to me, any career, work, project or anything according to a professional life requires that to be successful, and it has nothing to do with gender.

In Mexico City, I've found a lot of mentalities, but most of the tech environment welcomes women because we are as good as men, not better, equal. I can't go ask for a job when I know the basic of the basic and get mad because I didn't get it, we are not looking for exceptions, we're looking the opportunity to proof ourselves, like every human on this planet.

At the end, I told my "friends" to search Safra A. Catz, Susan Wojcicki, Sheryl Sandberg and some other amazing women. We can do wathever we want, all of us, women and men, men and women, we're not under nobody, and even if I'm a baby developer I'm sure of something: I CAN CODE.

Thanks for reading me, just wanted to get this out of my chest.

Hugs & Husky love! 🐶👩🏻‍💻

The distraction's killer

Brenda Limón — Thu, 16 Aug 2018 17:42:44 +0000

In every activity that requires full concentration, I have a problem, distractions.

Now that I've started coding, I have to face a lot of distractions, because I can't code without my laptop (or can I? 🤔). The most common is Youtube, Netflix, or WOW (World of Warcraft 😍). Usually, when I just can't concentrate I take a 20 minutes break and then I keep working, but a lot of times those 20 mins. become in 1 hour, 2 hours, and I get mad because of the time wasted, and I can't keep working.

I tried the other way, when I don't wanna work I give me 20 mins. of full work and if there's no progress then I take a break. Sometimes the 20 minutes turn in 3 hours, that's awesome, but also sometimes I just can't.

I listen always the same playlist in Spotify because it's a way to know how much time I've been working, I listen to the whole musical of Hamilton, that's almost 3 hours of concentration and after that, I can take a break of 1 hour, I keep Youtube and Netflix block, that's the most useful strategy till now.

The distractors are not only online. When I'm home I take a nap, eat, clean, instead of focus. To get out of a comfort zone, I go to coffee shops, does that also happen to you?

How do you get focus? Can you concentrate more at home or outside? At what time do you prefer to work? what's your strategy or advice? I know there's nothing stronger than discipline, but we always need some help to keep it.

Thanks a lot!

Hugs & Husky love! 🐶👩🏻‍💻

Cycles while and for in JS, help me!

Brenda Limón — Sun, 12 Aug 2018 16:34:26 +0000

Hi! I'm trying to learn how to draw in Canvas, as an exercise to learn about cycles in JS, the exercise is that we have to use while to create a cycle and draw this:

Everything was okay, my code is like this:

**var d= document.getElementById("dibujito");**
**var lienzo= d.getContext("2d");**
**var lineas = 30;**
**var l = 0;**
**var yi, xf;**
**var colorcito = "pink";**


**while(l < lineas)**
**{**
 ** yi = 10 * l;**
  **xf = 10 * (l+1);**
  **dibujarLinea(colorcito, 0,yi,xf,300);**
  **console.log("Linea " + l)**
  **l = l + 1;**
**}**


**dibujarLinea(colorcito,299,1,299,299);**
**dibujarLinea(colorcito,1,1,299,1);**
**dibujarLinea(colorcito,1,1,1,299);**
**dibujarLinea(colorcito,1,299,299,299);**

**function dibujarLinea(color,xinicial,yinicial,xfinal,yfinal)**
**{**
  **lienzo.beginPath();**
  **lienzo.strokeStyle = color;**
  **lienzo.moveTo(xinicial,yinicial);**
  **lienzo.lineTo(xfinal,yfinal);**
  **lienzo.stroke();**
  **lienzo.closePath();**
**}**

But the problem comes when I have to turn the draw like this with for

I just don't understand how to use for, I've already tried to make the code work but I can't, can you explain to me how to make it work? Thanks!

Hugs & Husky love!🐶👩🏻‍💻

Feedback on my Portfolio/Blog.

Brenda Limón — Sun, 29 Jul 2018 01:11:57 +0000

I'm trying to get the right job for me. I have developed my online portfolio/blog. It would be great if you could give me feedback or suggestions on how to improve.

Here is the link :
https://brendazam.com

If anyone else is looking for feedback on their portfolio/blog, add your link and I will give you my feedback. 😄

Thanks in advance!

What Defines a "Junior" Developer? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Brenda Limón — Sat, 28 Jul 2018 18:14:05 +0000

How do you define a “Junior” Developer? Is it by the amount of experience they have? Does a developer’s age indicate seniority? Do you assign this title to developers at lower salary tiers? 🤷🏻‍♀️