lupismaris · 2 years ago
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Okay bar is restocked, meds and 🍃restocked, everything we need for pies/cookies/roasts/brunch has been purchased
The long insufferable holiday weekend is now allowed to commence
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thecobaltchameleon · 6 years ago
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Hello! I'm Lois, and recently my relationship with my brother J has been really strained. Both of us haven't been in a good place mental-health-wise, and with him starting school and me moving we've both been more focused on ourselves than with each other. Our relationship is on the way to healing, but I'd still like a bit of advice on how I can better seek him out and mutually work on it instead of awkwardly dancing around some of the issues that are still there. Thanks!
Hello Lois!
So sorry for the delay! I am aspiring tarot reading providing free readings in exchange for feedback, which helps me improve my tarot reading and intuitive abilities.
I created a custom five-card spread for you.
1. What you’ve been doing well:
Three of Autumn
You’ve been looking at this situation and its parts realistically, which is nothing to scoff at. Recognizing you both have health issues, mental or otherwise, and that you do awkwardly dance around some of the issues is important to think about and can help when proceeding. I see at some point you chose to make it a priority to repair the relationship and you’ve been putting a lot of energy into manifesting something positive between you two. That mindset is very helpful and will take you far.
2. What you should do more of:
Four of Summer
Since the both of you have your own things going on, it might be best to let things just be settled and calm at the moment. I think you’re both rebuilding some emotional stability in your lives. It may hurt or be frustrating to not actively create positive change with your relationship but focusing too much on doing that could do damage. Not only that, but you may be missing other opportunities for yourself if you are only thinking about your relationship with J. So do more of your own personal work.
3. What you should do less of:
Life Experience
This is a big one. This is a major arcana card, which represents big life events that need to be addressed. How you address them will determine how equipped or not you are to deal with followup situations. Having said that, this pairs well with the previous card in that you shouldn’t disturb the stability the two of you are rebuilding for yourselves. You are both transforming right now and creating something new out of the mess that strained your relationship, whatever that was. Stunting that transformation could bring the house down on both of you, making it much harder to repair and renew.
4. External factors to be aware of:
Six of Summer
Try not to focus on the details of what strained your relationship because you two might remember things differently for any number of reasons, and that kind of disagreement could set you back further than you’d like. You each have a circle of friends, work and/or school, and so many things that can influence each interaction you have. A bad day or an inspiring talk (not necessarily good inspiration) with a friend can appear to disrupt progress in your relationship reparation. If all of the sudden you have a bad interaction, know that it probably doesn’t have its roots in your relationship, but instead is because of the other things you’re dealing with. Just roll with the punches and focus on creating harmony between you two even if that means stepping back and taking space.
5. Guidance for moving forward:
The Hermit
This is another major arcana. My interpretation with this reading is that the cards really want to drive the point home about you doing your own thing and not forcing interactions for the sake of a speedy recovery or anything like that. The Hermit is all about taking time for yourself to work on spiritual growth, specifically, but honestly growth in all areas of your life.
Now, because you mentioned mental health, if you get the opportunity to offer any assistance in that area with your brother, then be a mentor to him. Share your experiences, how they’ve affected you, etc. Just make sure you aren’t condescending.
Overall, it seems your efforts come from a pure, positive place and that is half the battle. If the energy you are expressing is of positivity, love, and healing, your brother should feel that. Don’t force anything, but be open with regard to communication and take every opportunity presented to bring more positivity to your healing process.
I am not a licensed therapist or doctor, but I have a master’s degree in psychology and am currently taking courses on counseling so I’m putting that hat on when I say this: It is okay for situations to be awkward sometimes. It is important to hold a safe space for people when there is emotional work to be done. In that safe space, people can talk or not, or talk about a certain issue or not. Let him and yourself process things in your own time and you’ll know when its appropriate to talk more directly about specific issues. That is just my opinion.
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read for you, Lois! I appreciate your question and the challenge it posed for my tarot skills. If you have any questions, please let me know, and feedback, good or bad, is so so helpful.
I wish you the best of luck!Blessings to you!
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zeckrombryan · 5 years ago
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It has been more than a week (almost two weeks) since I posted anything, I simply did not have the will nor the effort to do so even the Malaysian government has imposed a Movement Control Order (MCO) from 18 March 2020 to 14 April 2020. Now, I want to share how I felt and experienced this MCO until now.
How did we get here?
Pre-panic Era
The first few cases of COVID-19 in Malaysia were detected during the end of January and the pandemic was still on the rise globally with somewhat insignificant effect, at least to me and the people around me. I boldly assumed that the virus would not be as serious as it was projected globally on social media and news outlets because Malaysia’s population density is quite low and my immune system is quite okay.
In addition, at that point in time, I was still in Johor studying which was one of the most prone areas to the virus as it was right beside Singapore. The cases during that time at Singapore was at a high and yet I still did not fret, at all, not a single shed of fear. I went to my classes without mask and sanitiser. Plus, I even convinced myself this virus is just another strain of flu. The assumptions that I had made until that time was so wrong and yet I still went with it.
On the other hand, the previous government was doing a good job at handling the first wave of the pandemic, keeping the cases as low as possible and the growth rate of the cases was also kept at bay. They did a good job. It did not look or feel like a pandemic, at all- at least to me.
Big shout-out to Dr. Dzukefly Ahmad and his team at containing the first wave of virus.
Life was normal. Until these happened.
Political Fiasco
From 21 February to 4 March 2020 went down the annals of Malaysia as one of the messiest period.
You can read this if you want to know more about it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Malaysian_political_crisis#21_February
After for the change in government, the fear in voicing out my opinions boldly (freedom of speech) had come back with a somewhat familiar feeling. Personally, I felt threaten to speak my mind as the people who supported the ‘new’ government and the people running it had left bad impressions to me in the past. (I do not want to go into a rant in this so I will just keep it at this)
It is the mindset that they have that I disliked.
I will give you an oversimplified version of what has happened:
Tun Mahathir (7th Prime Minister) resigned after certain members of his party ‘turned their backs’ on him to form a new government.
In my opinion, (just an opinion, do not arrest me, please.) I feel like those people running the government now, under the 8th Prime Minister- Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin- are nothing more than just disillusioned power-hungry money-grabbing politicians. (NOTE THAT THIS IS JUST AN OPINION)
Sigh…
I do not want to delve into my complaints anymore. The same inferiority and fear from the past is haunting me at the back of mind. I have to stop talking shit.
Back to reality.
Realistically, this political fiasco might have caused the sudden spike in the cases. My point is no matter which new government that just run the country for a few days knows thoroughly the system that was left behind by the previous government and have full control over the people working under them. There must be a shuffle in the government, different people; there must also have shortcomings in making the respective departments work effectively, different government. Thus a more sluggish effort was taken to tackle the cases.
Tabligh
There were over 16,000 people gathering at Sri Petalling for certain religious event at the start of March. Here is the more detailed report about it: https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2020/03/574484/14500-msians-tabligh-gathering-40-test-positive-covid-19
At the beginning of March was the rise of the second wave of the virus, even the WHO made efforts to tell people to have social distancing and stop gathering in masses, but there were these people who were ignorant about it.
They were not immediately quarantined and were given opportunities to get back to their respective homes. No actions were taken by the ‘new’ government at this point in time as they were busy distributing their ‘new fortune’ that was conveniently taken by them.
Here comes the spike and the sloppiness in executing MCO.
Movement Control Order was announced by the 8th PM on 16th March 2020 that everyone to stay at home from 18th to 31st March (14-day MCO) as the ‘new’ government just realised that the cases from the tabligh were spreading like wildfire.
Here is the full article, quite long: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/03/16/malaysia-announces-restricted-movement-measure-after-spike-in-covid-19-cases (the 8th PM wasted too much time on rather unimportant points, I just summarized his speech in a few lines above.)
As a fellow human, I felt the fear this time, the severity of the virus and had the urge to socially distance myself from the people around me. To be honest, the universities nationwide, mine included, gave delayed messages and some contradicting messages to the students, leaving us in a midst of confusion and panic.
Here is one where they encouraged us to go back before the MCO has been implemented (this was circulated between collages) and they also mentioned about locking down the university during the MCO period:
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And to make things worse, there was word circulating in my university hinting that there were already staffs who had the virus during this period of time.
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I was utterly confused and panicky. What in the actual fuck is happening? How is it that difficult to make a true statement based on facts? I do not see the need to cover this up. We are facing this together as a country, as a world. Please, do not hide your cases or symptoms during this outbreak, especially during the start of it, these acts are simply foolish and selfish, think about other people also. At this point in time, I had partially lost trust in the information provided by certain bodies.
At 17th March, one of our lecturers still carried out the lecture as usual whereas most of the other lecturers knew the severity of the virus and cancelled their classes immediately or moved them online. I did not attend the lecture, I am not stupid and I care about social distancing. The best time to stop the spread of virus is during the beginning of it. I am just being a responsible person.
A dilemma hit me in the afternoon about whether or not to go home. At this time, I only had the announcement about encouraging us to go back so I just went along with the notice. I grabbed along few of my other friends and went back home.
Luckily I made the right choice, everything went spiralling downhill after then.
On the same day, the police announced that they will start blocking people from crossing states in the midnight- people must register at their nearest police station first before crossing states. It was around 6 or 7 pm when it was announced.
Everyone panicked. It was a mess where people gathered:
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Announce by the head of police force to restrict state crossing on 17th March 2020.
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Malaysians lining up to get their permission to cross states after the announcement.
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Malaysians lining up to catch the bus before midnight.
I managed to get home before they scratched the crossing states restriction. They did not have time to prep for it and did not know one announcement literally threw everybody into panic mode.
I want to emphasize once more. It was a fucking mess.
Mass gatherings were happening here and there during this peak of the outbreak. Well played, nice move by our 8th PM in delivering and executing this.
Entertainers/ Comedians/ Politicians
During this peak period of the pandemic happening in Malaysia, the politicians of the ‘new’ government made some ‘laughable’ (filled with sarcasm, more like idiotic) moves/statements the riled up even more the current situation.
A tweet by a deputy minister  For the full article: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/03/16/deputy-minister-closes-twitter-account-after-uproar-over-covid-19-post/ The tweet went like this: The likelihood of dying from the Coronavirus is only 1%, while the possibility of dying at any moment is 100%.
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Re-opening the topic on child marriage.  For the full article: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/513990 In summary, another minister from the ‘new’ government want to continue making child marriage legal in Malaysia and also stated that Child Marriage is a blessing. Come on, people are busy dealing with the virus and you rather spend this time on this? You can be better than this.
Drinking warm water kills the Coronavirus. For the full article: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/03/20/health-minister039s-039warm-water-method039-to-kill-coronavirus-questioned This was said by our Health Minister. Applause.
These were 3 of the many things that piqued my interest during these trying times.
MCO Extended
For the first few days of MCO, both the government and the people were not taking things as seriously as it should be. People still moved around and gathering. The government was still catching up to speed unto what was happening and slow at deploying people into the field to prevent these gatherings from happening.
Cases were skyrocketing, (and still is now)
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People started to take things more seriously after a week or so. So as the government, day 5 only deployed the army to help the MCO; day 8 only gave money to the health ministry to purchase medical support; day 10 only announced financial help to the people. Well done! Really good job! Give a pat at the back to yourselves.
These were the messages sent by SMS by the government to the people. What a time we are living in.
Since the cases are still on the rise, the 8th PM announced an extra 14 days to the MCO, making it end by 14th April 2020. One whole month of staying at home. #stayathome
At this point in time, I do not know what to say or how to react with the situation. I will just go with the flow and continue with life as usual.
Masks, Hand Sanitisers and Food.
Even before the MCO, masks were sold out throughout the country but surprisingly hand sanitisers were still available. However, the price of masks and hand sanitisers skyrocketed drastically. (From RM0.20 per mask to RM2 per mask) There was a late implementation of price-caps by the government and a poor enforcement of it, making them expensive.
After MCO was being announced, people rushed to purchase food items in their local supermarkets. Here is one of them:
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People rushing to stock-up food items and essentials before MCO.
Daily essentials could not keep up production after a few days into MCO. And yet, the government ensured us that there is going to be enough food for us to last for a month or two. But, it contradicted with what is actually happening.
Going Online
Apart from affecting our daily lives, even the education sphere is affected too. Exams are cancelled or delayed and classes are shifted online. Speaking from my thoughts, about my university, we are going online too, including the lab, tests and also finals. Wow! Great job in following the footsteps of other more equipped universities!
Let me ask a few practical questions:
How legitimate the tests and finals will be?
How can hundreds of students sit for a test at the same time?
How are lab classes going to be carried out?
As far as I know, our e-learning system is more or less like a rusty website from the early 2010s, probably made by shitty interns. To put it nicely, the website is basic and have limited usage. A considerable number of our lecturers do not or rarely carry out online classes. I still cannot think of a feasible system for online finals and tests. This is just absurd.
Here are two files as to help us resolve our main concerns: Kenyataan Pej TNCAA-BM UTM FAQ PdP 27032020.pdf
Looking at the bright side, we get to try out new stuffs and probably the management team will realise the importance of getting the online portals ready to use in cases of emergency for this period only. All roses have thorns, and I feel like the thorns on this rose is more than the previous ones.
One more thing, based on the announcements given by my university, I should be having online classes starting from 1 April 2020, but the government said the universities only can start earliest by 27th April 2020 and the latest by 1st June 2020. Here is the official announcement:
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This is, a mess.
What did I do for these few days?
For the first week of MCO, I focused on a game (King Of Glory), I literally spent more than 8 hours gaming for each day for the week. I guess it was just a purge after months of not touching any games.
For the second week of MCO, I hosted online classes / discussion rooms with my friends, helping them out on the syllabus if they felt left out during the classes. It felt good and invigorating to teach once again, the best part is that they understood what I was teaching (Yay!) and they stayed through with me until this day (for 7 consecutive days!) I did two 2-hour sessions per day covering all the Mathematics syllabus that we are supposed to know for this semester.
This is refreshing. My passion for teaching has yet to die, it burns even brighter in this season.
Every night, except for Sunday nights, I met up with my cell via Zoom for prayer sessions and reading God’s word. I feel like these are the only things that I can do to help alleviate the pandemic at hand. At helpless times like this, God is still there. I believe that God will answer our prayers and eradicate COVID-19 from the face of Earth.
I cooked for most of the days, breakfast and dinner. I did Maths. I lazed around watching Youtube, procrastinating on this post. And I watched more Youtube and scrolled more Instagram than I had ever done. It had been always like that. I did not know when it started.
But, during this MCO, I am facing the demons of the algorithm head-on, battling them valiantly. My sleep pattern was also in a freestyle, I could not sleep at night and felt tired in the afternoon.
I just hope that this will end soon. Hope our world and humanity would be restored and healed.
No more toxicity and complaining about the situation. Think positively and pray and hope for healing to rain upon humanity and the world.
P.S. Here is what the 8th PM tweeted about:
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We are a nation at war with invisible forces. The situation we are now facing is unprecedented in history. And this government may not be the government that you voted for. But I want you to know that this government cares for you.
Translation to BM:
Kami adalah sebuah negara yang sedang berperang dengan kekuatan yang tidak kelihatan. Keadaan yang kita hadapi sekarang tidak pernah berlaku dalam sejarah. Dan kerajaan ini mungkin bukan kerajaan yang anda pilih. Tetapi saya ingin anda tahu bahawa kerajaan ini mengambil berat tentang anda.
– Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (8th Prime Minister of Malaysia)
Shalom!
Hope. Joy.. Feelings cloaked as words.
Craving for more? Down below: WRITING 100 BLESSINGS! Becoming Steve Jobs by Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli (Book Review) Why Do I Still Write? The Fault in Expectations The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Fuck by Mark Manson (Book Review) Parasite (Movie Review) 14-Hour Phone Detox on Valentine’s Day
  it's been more than a week #malaysia #stayathome #thoughts #covid19 #feelings #amwriting #bloggerstribe It has been more than a week (almost two weeks) since I posted anything, I simply did not have the will nor the effort to do so even the Malaysian government has imposed a Movement Control Order (MCO) from 18 March 2020 to 14 April 2020.
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extremedivas · 6 years ago
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What is going on with CL music career?
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1. Where CL is right now?
The Fool reversed mean CL don’t want to be taken advantage of. In Career-wise she becoming restless in her current position or thinking of going out on her own.  CL need to think before she act! when making her own decision with her career as an entertainer . I believe she simply be holding back her best ideas due to a lack of confidence within herself or lack of trust with people. CL don’t be afraid to put herself out there and assert herself. Your ideas are just as valid as everyone else’s. Don’t be afraid to speak up. CL need to take charges in her career right now. If Yang Hyun Suk isn’t help you on your career. You need to leave out of YG Entertainment and build your own company.
2. Where CL is going from here?
The Six of Swords reversed mean that Yang Hyun Suk is holding CL hostage. Yang Hyun Suk trying to cause trouble for CL in the workplace and business. I see CL may feel trapped in a job she don’t like. CL plans are cancelled or changed because of Yang Hyun suk. She may experience delays in projects or delays completing tasks. She is forced to not do any music projects and celebrity appearance right now. CL is stuck with Yang Hyun Suk in his dungeon when her contract expired. 
3. What CL gonna do next?
The Lovers  can represent a signify that CL have a decision to make in relation to her career path. She is trying to work with Scott “Scooter” Braun to fixed her Yang Hyun Suk situation. I see she is really want to work with him in a mutual respect of her music style and talents. I see that CL will  possibility of getting romantically involved with a work colleague. CL need to become cautious about mixing business with pleasure, make sure she know the risks involved and are prepared for the consequences. Kpop idols career end with they have dating news and dating scandal. CL know this already and she need to be careful of dating this person in public and private.
4. What path that CL must take to complete her goal?
The Five of Wands reversed can represent the ending of conflict or competition in the workplace. Cl and her colleagues may join forces to complete an important project and all competitiveness is put aside to work as a team and get the job done. CL need to have harmony with people she work with or team with. CL need to know that fighting with people cause her carer to fail. She need to get along with people to help with her career.
5. What  is blocking CL goal?
The Queen of Swords can represent an older woman in work environment who is overly critical or harsh with CL or may spread malicious gossip about her. However, There is a communication issues where CL may not be getting her point across in the best way. Be careful not to come across as negative, severe, pessimistic or rude when dealing with co-workers or business associates. CL is blocking herself not complete her goal with this older women or herself. She need to stop dealing with bad co-workers or business associates who spread lies and malicious gossip on others celebrities.
6. How CL gonna remove the blockage in her path to complete her goal?
The Knight of Swords mean that CL need become ambition, drive and determination. CL need to know what she want to achieve and she are going for it.  CL need become more bold, brave, daring and courageous and go after what she want full throttle in her path goal. It can also represent a big change in her career or an arrival or departure of some kind so CL may get the promotion she were hoping for or a new job or change of industry. I see CL is leaving kpop industry and going into American industry. 
7. What CL want in her career?
The Devil reversed can indicate CL want freedom and control in her career. She really want to break free from Yang Hyun Suk. She is trying to build her own record company soon when she leave YG Entertainment.
8. What CL don't want in her career?
The Three of Swords mean that CL has grief and loss experienced due to the sudden loss of a job or redundancy. CL have suffered a job loss, she try to make the most of the free time she have by doing the things you normally wouldn’t have time for. It is important to stay positive and realist that career is just one aspect of her life, don’t let any issues in that area overshadow the other areas of her life.
9. What CL do need in her career?
The Empress can indicate CL will be feeling very creative and will inspire the people around her with her passion. CL will be full of new ideas. She trying to decide on a career or thinking of changing career, it is usually an indicator that CL would do well in a creative field such as the Arts and Fashion.
10. What CL need to avoid in her career path?
The High Priestess reversed can indicate a duplicitous female so be careful who you trust. CL need avoiding female business partner and gay man business partner who will destroy her career and money. Cl please trust your intuition while dealing with female and gay man in your works.
11. The outcome in CL music career?
The Three of Pentacles reversed can represent a lack of growth and lack of motivation to put the work into making it a success. If CL are involved in a team project, it can be a sign that the collaboration will not go well. CL need to stay away from collaboration with other singers and group musician.
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iwasadaisyfresh · 8 years ago
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AQUARIUS 2017 FEB’ ~ your’s truly..
February is eclipse month. Eclipse's mean the universe is about to turbo charge our lives in a BIG way. We often muse, there must be more. Essentially, it is all so simple. Simplicity, however, can be the very epitome of difficulty. Our seeking always leads back to oneself. February keeps pushing the envelope of authenticity. Are you walking towards your dreams? Are you being true to you? Trust that everything you need will arrive at the right time. Early on in the month we have a Lunar eclipse Moon (11th) in dramatic Leo. It opens up our feelings and urges us to be courageous. The 26th brings a Solar eclipse in Pisces. A Moon aided so strongly by spiritual Neptune almost always forms good fortune and auspicious events for all human kind.
Aquarius ~ Another year around the sun. Another year to begin any adventure your heart desires.. and oh, it desires. Although Aqua's can typically be cool and detached; this month is strongly associated with group dynamics, community and intimate union. Let things manifest organically after the Lunar eclipse. Flexibility is a skill you're yet to acquire when it comes to chance encounters. There is no need to rush; there will be time to do what must be done. The Pisces Full moon could stir up love, romance and one on one time. You may feel like jumping in the deep end in regard to feelings. Process them first before you blurt them out. In the work sphere, things may begin to change dramatically. You receive information about certain projects, multiple outcomes are possible now. Be wise. Choose growth.
Pisces ~ As you swim towards another birthday, your intuition is so active that you seem to be getting insights out of air. February is great for any mental work that requires originality and cleverness. The 4th of Feb sees Venus in your 2nd house of money. A lovely, little financial surprise pops up. The Lunar eclipse brings major changes to your workplace. It is a superb time to network and connect with others. Brainstorming ways to take your craft to a wider audience is also highlighted. You have a special talent the world needs to see! From the 19th sleep can be disturbed, release your stress. Finally, the Solar eclipse in your own sign turbo charges your love life at months end.
Aries ~ February is a month of renewal, Aries. From the 8th, Mercury steps into your 10th house, you are charming and popular. Your social circle and the people you spend time with becomes a major theme. Relationships that have been challenging get easier. ​There is also a Lunar eclipse in your love sector on the 11th, an intimate relationship could end or a culmination of sorts may begin. Get moving with big projects this month. 2017 is about taking advantage of financial opportunities, and working seriously on your financial plans. If you do things right, you can reach new levels of success. You have been working so hard these last few years, now is the chance to integrate it seamlessly.
Taurus ~ A month of metamorphosis, Taurus. You will feel liberated as you begin to make 'long-time coming' changes. On the 4th, your 12th house which rules release is highlighted. Go inwards. Look at your internal world. Be peaceful. What is holding you back? Past lovers may come back this month. The Lunar eclipse can bring an end to some issues with your home or family, and you could walk away from unhealthy relationships or strengthen intimate ones. Is it time for a change in career? Some serious communications are in order. The end of February sees you contributing to a wider community, listening to friends and putting your problems in the back seat for the time being.
Gemini ~ A month filled with huge opportunity comes knocking, Gemini. With Venus in the 11th house along with Mars + Uranus, you will be doing plenty of networking. New friends and new love are on the horizon, make sure you don't doubt yourself or your presence. Many Gemini's are planning international travel. This could be closely associated with study and new skills that can help you grow. Despite a lack of clear direction, you become more secure about changes you can make that will make you happier. You get an extra boost from the Solar eclipse in your career sector, and you may want to take full advantage of any opportunities you have early on. From the 18th you continue to reach high points in intimacy & friendship, it feel's good to see progress.
Cancer ~ Cancer, this month you are looking for something new. Rapid change is possible now, especially with Venus and Mars so close together. Keep focused on what you’re doing no matter what. Be cautious of making quick decisions. The 8th of the month shines a light on money.  Mars in your career sector puts major focus and emphasis on your goals. When it comes to money, the lunar eclipse occurs in your cash sector. Use it to eliminate bad financial habits. This Lunar eclipse helps regain confidence. You're loved, remember this. The Solar eclipse could have you caught off guard. Pisces, a water sign like you can really help crab's harness their inner most feelings. Ride the wave.
Leo ~ An important eclipse month, Leo. February is a time for learning new things. You may be in a new situation. On the 8th of the month, Mercury is coming to clear the air. Personal, romantic relationships can flourish at this time. The Lunar eclipse in your sign makes you extremely emotional for the next two weeks. The Eclipse will shine a light on whatever you aren't enjoying. Don’t be surprised if you burst into tears at the drop of a hat. This is the year to make vast changes, if that is what you seek. New beginnings are highlighted. Go deeply into anything psychological, meditation can be helpful at this time. Somehow things are making more sense, whether this new insight is shocking or familiar. Trust the journey, even if you don’t understand it.
Virgo ~ While you may feel a bit uncertain about what to do at the moment, your best bet is to stay open-minded. If you can be fluid, you'll adapt to what is necessary. Mars moves into your intimacy sector for February, you can find the right words to say, and you can open up intimately. The Lunar eclipse occurs in the sector ruling your subconscious mind, this can help with letting go of some old baggage. Inner work is important now. You will soon have a clear indication of what needs your attention. It’s all about confronting real issues. On the 19th, the sun enters your house of relationships- the Solar eclipse will bring new relationships into the existing picture. A magnetic pull is about to be felt!
Libra ~ February could bring a sudden change of direction or decision. Unexpected news is likely to change your mind, Libra. With Mars is in your relationship sector February through early March,  you can experience some major changes in your relationships. You will begin to feel a little restless, and the way this manifests is all up to you. The Solar eclipse occurs in your work sector, you have plenty of new work opportunities. It is important to create there moments for yourself, ramp up the energy levels. A surprise encounter around the 15th, could be very energising. Stay open to a new kind of energy in relationships. The eclipse season can be intense for air signs. Be gentle with yourself during this period of soul-searching – you’ll be stronger for it afterwards.
Scorpio ~ For most Scorpio's, February is a time to show the universe that you're on the same page. That you're here, that you're ready. A lunar eclipse occurs in your career sector and can be an excellent time for rewards, if you've worked hard. If you haven’t been doing things right, you can experience a setback or delay. From the 19th, the Solar eclipse can begin to influence your love life. It is a great time for meeting someone new. Quite often, when a new relationship is before you, you can become lost in the potential of the projected outcome. Try to harness the presence of now. A change in environment around the 20th brings your communication issues to the forefront for self-evaluation. Be so busy improving yourself that you have no time to criticise others.
Sagittarius ~ Unity. Commitment. Intimacy, that is February in a nut shell. Mars enters your love sector, with Uranus still in there too, you can make changes in your love relationships, and perhaps gain more independence from them. Improvements on home life run smoothly this month too. This is because you have the Solar eclipse in your home & family sector. Being close with loved ones is rejuvenating at this time, an epiphany on what you hold close comes to you now. With such emphasis on relationships this month it's important to cultivate compassion and listen fully to your partner.  Do not be afraid to speak from your heart. Business calls around the 17th, focus on communication. You will be heard as you speak truth.
Capricorn ~ Capricorn, a surprising self-assessment comes out of nowhere in the early days of February. You see yourself with fresh eyes, it is invigorating, even a little unreal. A Lunar eclipse occurs in your intimacy sector on the 11th, and this can be a good time to be honest about personal 'close to the heart' subjects. You might be ready to take an existing relationship to another level, in this case the universe very much supports you. If in any situation however, you do not know which way to go, it is a sign to disengage. Be authentic, go to your truth. Later in the month, a Solar eclipse in Pisces occurs, and you can have new ideas that you’re pushing. Pursue anything that excites you in this time. Over all, this month is a time to be enthusiastic about life and what is ahead.
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the-starchariot · 5 years ago
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Mountain
Nouns / phrases: Difficulties, problems, obstacles, impairment, hurdles, challenge. Problematic situations or behaviour. Things that need to be overcome. In a positive sense: the experience of overcoming something; conquest. Something that cannot be overlooked, the elephant in the room. Presence, physical presence. Weight, obesity, great size, inflexibility. Long time spans, permanence, (en)durance. Silence, motionlessness, blockade, blockage, deadlock. Relentlessness, persistence, patience, stubbornness, rigidity. Refusal, unwillingness in general.   Activities: To complicate, challenge, hinder, block. To overcome. To insist, persist, endure. To not budge or back down. To refuse, to not want to. To silence, to keep silent, to keep still. Attributes: Difficult, problematic, obstructive, restrictive, impaired. Tackling. Conspicuous, ostentatious, glaring. Present, in place, here and now. Big, tall, heavy, overweight. Unmoved, blocked, rigid, still, quiet, silent. Stubborn, persisting, unwilling, refusing, forbidding. Permanent, enduring, forever. As a person: Person with the above attributes, esp. big or overweight, tall, quiet, stubborn, rigid. Someone "solid as a rock", or: your nemesis or contender. As advice: You can refuse! Keep silent; hold still! Persist! Tackle the challenge! Negatively: Don't be so stubborn! Get moving!   Time factor *) : Very long time spans (even years). Long-lasting; stagnancy, stalemate. Or: something may happen, but only if a lot of patient effort is invested. 
Difficulties / Refusal / Elephant in the Room / Silence / Blockade About the meaning: All the following interpretations of the Mountain spring from the sheer physical size of mountains; their long, long development. Difficulties / obstacles / challenge: First of all, the Mountain stands for difficulties, obstacles, impairment, challenge, hurdles, for anything that is in your way and/or needs to be overcome. It can represent problems, and problematic situations or behaviour. It is important though that difficulties and challenges are not necessarily something bad. We need challenges in order to grow. So the Mountain can be a hint that it is time to look for a challenge, or to face difficulties with grace. And in rare cases, depending on context, I also interpret the Mountain as "conquest" or (especially in combination with Tower) as "victory over x". Persistence / patience / endurance: Because of the nature of mountains (their shaping - growth or shrinkage - is usually so slow that to our human eyes mountains seem to be eternal) the Mountain is a great symbol for persistence, patience, and stubbornness, and for long times spans - for (en)durance, and permanence. It can represent things that last for years, or that seemingly last forever. Weight / physical presence / refusal / unwillingness: If you look at the physical attributes of a mountain you will probably come up with "great weight", "great size - hight and width", and maybe "physical inflexibility". Thus, the Mountain can represent objects with these qualities, but also people who are big, tall, fat or even obese, and people whose bodies are stiff and inflexible. But it can also mean that something or someone is physically very much there, so much that their physical presence might even feel overwhelming. Now these characteristics could also be understood in a non-physical way. The Mountain then represents something important that grabs our attention. It stands for inflexible thinking, unwillingness to budge or back down, relentlessness, or, and that's what I have found most helpful for many readings, refusal. It can mean that someone is refusing or unwilling to do something. Something obvious / the elephant in the room: On an even more metaphorical level, a strong (physical) presence translates into "something that can't be overlooked because it is so obvious". So sometimes I interpret the Mountain as representing something the querent should stop trying to pretend they didn't know, or stop trying to act as if it weren't there. Put a bit differently, the Mountain is a wonderful representative for the elephant in the room - for something awkward which is seen by everyone but no-one dares mention it. The Mountain can mean that there's no use trying to avoid a certain issue - we have to deal with it because it won't go away until we do. Silence / motionlessness / blockade: Mountains are majestic; they are so much there that they almost seem like gigantic living beings. But they are very silent and unmoving. Depending on how you look at them, silence and motionlessness have something very relaxing about them, and they may feel like a big relief, even restorative, to you. But especially if you apply them to relationship dynamics, motionlessness and silence might be perceived as (emotionally) cold, as unbearably stubborn, and rigid even. And translated into a situation, a stubborn refusal to move equals blockade, blockage, or deadlock. 
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About the Image: Many Lenormand decks show a Mountain that is reminiscent of the kind of mountain Heidi grew up on: a mountain of the Alps. There were lots of rock and steep slopes but there were also soft grasses and fir trees, and on her hikes the little girl had the company of birds and butterflies, and of course the goats. Having been raised close to the Alps myself, they definitely do not represent problems or deadlock to me. Athletic challenge, yes - but not the forbidding barricade, the rigid obstacle, that I understood the Lenormand Mountain was symbolising. So for my Mountain I chose one that is more like a mountain of the Himalayas - where there's only rock and gravel and ice, where there's utter silence apart from the sound of the wind. Overcoming this icy, silent, and unmoved entity, with no suaveness to distract you from the exertion, would very definitely not just be a gruelling physical challenge. It would take you to your mental and emotional limits.
Mountain-Rider Difficult news. Sudden(unexpected) hurdles. To try and block change or react to someone's advances with stubborn silence. Difficult or challenging changes, bad news. Blocked movement, something or someone is stuck; tension. To tackle something very actively. Boundaries are pushed. Intrusive presence; someone or something takes too much room. Mountain-Clover To not take difficulties too seriously; to just go ahead and give something a try. Difficulties with being at ease. To remain untroubled by challenges. To be unmoved by the small joys of life. No luck, no ease. The elephant in the room is that you or somebody else doesn't actually care that much. To be unwilling to just give something a try. Enduring, lasting good luck. Mountain-Ship To seek out challenges. Challenging change. Difficult journey. Forced pause; developments have come to a stop. Impeded/delayed departure. Something blocks change. The refusal to change anything. To leave behind someone who is just hindering us. It's the elephant in the room that someone will soon leave (or won't commit), or that someone important is not there. Conflict between someone who refuses to move and someone who has itchy feet. That which blocks us from leaving. To not express one's desire to leave. Someone is going to leave; there's nothing which can be done to stop them! Mountain-House Familiar challenge; to be used to having to jump hurdles. Comfortable silence. Very quiet or stubborn family (member). Lack of communication in the family. No one in the family talks about the elephant in the room. Difficulties with the home and/or family. Debilitating compliance to tradition/rules. Never leaving the comfort zone creates a rather boring, too quiet, unchanging, life. Strict, unbudging conservatism. To refuse access to our private life. Mountain-Tree Physical challenges - sport. Inability to get going. To feel unable to move - dislike (and/or lack) of physical activities. To replenish your energies by being silent and still. Vital energy is so slow and overly calm it feels unpleasantly like it's frozen. An actual, physical, real, mountain. Very extreme stubbornness; stubborn persistence. To slowly grow into something you used to feel was unmanageable task. To deal with difficulties pragmatically and calmly. Mountain-Clouds To be completely stuck in a problematic, confused situation. To be so tangled in your own confused ideas that you can't move right or left anymore. Confusion and despair are proving hard to overcome. A secret no one talks about. To be not quite aware of how big a challenge will be. Mountain-Snake To seek challenge. To have reached an impasse in your efforts to get somewhere or something. An obstacle is between you and what you want. Hot desires are met with cold silence. To be unmoved by someone's attempts at seduction. Mountain-Coffin Big grief, great loss that feels impossible to overcome. Inability to go through with ending something. It's time to end silence; it's time to start to move again. All involved know that something is over but no-one wants to admit it. To hide one's grief behind silence or seeming emotional cold. Mountain-Bouquet Social phobia (to freeze in social situations). Difficulties with making or accepting compliments or with giving or accepting gifts. It's going to take a long time until you and someone else (or a group of people) will come to accept/like each other. It's difficult to make friends with a person, idea or situation. Exaggerated problems. A greatly embellished tale of conquest/victory. Praiseworthy patience. Friendly silence. Tackling social dealings/gatherings. Mountain-Scythe To break the silence. To suddenly start moving again. To make a painful decisions unemotionally, coldly. A very difficult act of severance. For a long time nothing happens - but then it will happen extremely quickly. To be surprised by the suddenness of something after a long period of standstill. In order to get things moving again you have to be quick, not hesitate even a bit, and maybe risk pain (a tear off the band-aid quickly situation). To get over something. Mountain-Whip Threat of a challenge. Abuse/aggression/shame/conflict that we keep quiet about. (Inner) conflict or guilt so strong it makes us freeze up, unable to act. To punish with silence - the silent treatment. To not react to bullying/aggression. To react with stoic calm to attacks; to be unmoved by attacks. To patiently wait out conflicts. Or: someone's unmoved reaction to our criticism drives us mad. To be driven to extremes (attacks, aggression) by a difficult situation we think can't be solved with other means. Mountain-Birds Big worries. Paralysing, numbing stress. Stressing problems. Always present, never quiet circling thoughts. Conflict between noise and silence, nervousness and total, utter calm, between wanting (or having) to move and wanting (or having) to be still. To be worried about a problem you're facing. To be impatient for something that's not going to happen any time soon. Standstill/having to wait makes you fidgety and restless. To distract yourself from difficulties. Challengingly much is going on. To jump from one challenge to the next without ever quite mastering one. Mountain-Child Inexperience is hindering your progress. Small problems (or problems that will become bigger if you don't do something now). Growing silence. Little weight, or slow weight gain. Difficult child. No communication with a child. Playful approach to challenge. A problem so serious, a challenge so big, that it might break the inexperienced. To challenge child or student. Naive approach to difficulties. Mountain-Fox To be wary of challenge/difficulties. To cautiously keep quiet. To be very absorbed in a challenge/difficult situation. To deal with a problem you need to be very cunning and maybe think of yourself first. Problematic self-absorption. To become silent/unmoved as self-defence. To block what you don't agree with. "No means no." To adapt to a difficult situation. Mountain-Bear Problem/blockade/elephant in the room that dominates your life. Important challenge. To ensure there is provision for hard times. Someone who helps you overcome difficulties. To be forbidden something very strictly. Parent, teacher or boss who is extremely stubborn, or who you can't talk to. Something or someone that strongly influences you for a very long time (possibly even when they aren't there anymore; e.g. a parent's disappointment in you is still painfully present for you even when the parent is long dead). Mountain-Stars Inability (for fear, or because of doubts?) to reach for the stars, to dare to live your dream. Hope has become doubt. Some faith which used to be strong now suddenly has gone silent. Trust issues. To have the experience of transcendence when in the mountains. The spiritual quality of deep silence (internal and/or external). To feel a disconnect between yourself and something or someone; a general feeling of disconnect. Mountain-Stork Difficult transition. To tackle a transition. A transformative process has been blocked, come to a standstill. Transformative power of silence. A longing for silence. Someone is an extremely quiet or unemotional person by nature. To not allow oneself to transform. Conflict between the need for change and the wish for things to just stop and stay as they are forever. A very slow but lasting transformation. Difficulties with letting things run their natural course. A challenge / problem that will keep turning up in your life until you have mastered / faced it. Return of one's nemesis. In order to tackle this challenge you need to reorient yourself. Mountain-Dog Difficult or silent friend. Something is an obstacle to friendship. A friendship that has grown cold. Our follower-mentality or unwillingness to stand up for ourselves hinders our progress. Insurmountable need to please others. To wait for permission in vain. To ask for help with a problem or challenge. A friend in a difficult situation. To be utterly devoted to someone who doesn't show any sign that they return the feeling. A challenge to someone's loyalty. Someone very tractable vs. someone who won't budge an inch. Mountain-Tower Extreme/hard to bear loneliness. Silent retreat; to retreat in the mountains. Difficulties with the authorities or with authority in general. To question authority, to challenge the person at the top. Emotional silence; to feel nothing. Clear, fresh air. The need to put up walls of silence. To very stubbornly stick with "no!". Authority through physical size. To come out on top. Mountain-Garden To stubbornly refuse to take part in social gatherings / society. Difficulties with teamworking or networking. It's hard to come out of the closet. Social hurdles. Institutionalised and/or structural discrimination. To tackle something together. Shared problems; problems that concern the whole of society. Mountain-Mountain*) Big challenges, unsurmountable difficulties. To be blocked/hindered by your own or someone else's silence. It's hard to break the silence. Being overweight is a huge issue. Blockade or standstill that seems to last forever. Something eternal. Challenges or difficulties or silence etc. are very dominant in the querent's life. Mountain-Crossroad Problematic choice, difficult decision; inability to choose. Manifold difficulties; multi-faceted problem. A choice as a stumbling block. That which hinders a decision. To tread water for an extremely long time. To feel so overwhelmed by the number of alternatives that are open to us that we can't move anymore at all. Something or someone is between us and freedom. To choose our challenges. To take the challenging road. Mountain-Mice Something is gnawing away at your ability to resist. To be close to giving up. Something big becomes smaller. To keep quiet about an unhealthy secret, or about something dirty or corrupt. The elephant in the room: a sickness, or, that something is bad and unhealthy - but this fact is ignored. Someone sneakily puts obstacles in your way. Unhealthy silence. Unhealthy inactivity. Weight loss. Big loss. Exhaustive/draining challenges. Mountain-Heart A difficult relationship. Hurdles to jump, obstacles to overcome, before one can find love. A relationship suffers from the silence from one or both partners. A cold heart. Love grown cold. No more tenderness. To refuse compassion. To be unable or unwilling to forgive. Rigid views on love or on how to properly show affection. Person who cannot show affection, who won't soften up. To try to get through to someone with love. To stubbornly love no matter what. Mountain-Ring A difficult/problematic connection. A challenging liaison. A commitment to something keeps you back. To persist because you're committed. Enduring commitment. A lasting connection. An obstacle to making a connection. Interrupted connection; refusal to connect or commit. It's hard to connect. Connection that isn't felt. Silence helps to bond or, to bond through silence. The cause for a problem; the effect of a problem. Inability to severe a tie. To stubbornly commit to something against all odds. Unbudging commitment. Predictable difficulties. Mountain-Book A fact/truth which is problematic or which challenges you. Education on something is very hard to obtain. To be kept away from education. An obstacle in a learning process. Learning difficulties. To to be left in the dark about something. To keep quiet about something; to refuse to tell the truth or share knowledge. To be unmoved by the facts and stubbornly hold true what you want to believe. An obstacle yet to be discovered. Lack of knowledge is an obstacle. Facts about mountains. To classify something as difficult or problematic. Mountain-Letter Difficulties with communicating, or difficult/challenging conversation. Problematic ways or means of communication. An obstacle to communication. Telling silence. Silence that (should) tell you something. Something you just can't talk about. To finally speak about the elephant in the room. Conflict between wanting to talk about something and feeling you should keep silent about it. To address a problem. To have difficulties addressing something. Mountain-Man (a) Man who is: difficult, problematic, restrictive, impaired, challenging, conspicuous, present, big, tall, heavy, overweight, unmoved, blocked, rigid, quiet, silent, stubborn, persisting, unwilling or refusing to do something. Male nemesis or contender. Problems with masculinity. Difficulties/challenges specific to men. To challenge a man. To have problems with a man or men in general. To hinder a man. A man gives us the silent treatment (or the other way around). Mountain-Woman (a) Woman who is: difficult, problematic, restrictive, impaired, challenging, conspicuous, present, big, tall, heavy, overweight, unmoved, blocked, rigid, quiet, silent, stubborn, persisting, unwilling or refusing to do something. Female nemesis or contender. Problems with femininity. Difficulties/challenges specific to women. To challenge a woman. To have problems with a woman or women in general. To hinder a woman. A woman gives us the silent treatment (or the other way around). Mountain-Man (b) Man who is: difficult, problematic, restrictive, impaired, challenging, conspicuous, present, big, tall, heavy, overweight, unmoved, blocked, rigid, quiet, silent, stubborn, persisting, unwilling or refusing to do something. Male nemesis or contender. Problems with masculinity. Difficulties/challenges specific to men. To challenge a man. To have problems with a man or men in general. To hinder a man. A man gives us the silent treatment (or the other way around). Mountain-Woman (b) Woman who is: difficult, problematic, restrictive, impaired, challenging, conspicuous, present, big, tall, heavy, overweight, unmoved, blocked, rigid, quiet, silent, stubborn, persisting, unwilling or refusing to do something. Female nemesis or contender. Problems with femininity. Difficulties/challenges specific to women. To challenge a woman. To have problems with a woman or women in general. To hinder a woman. A woman gives us the silent treatment (or the other way around). Mountain-(Sensual)Lily Writer's (or painter's) block. Blocked creativity in general. Maybe: infertility? To be unmoved by the arts or by sensual pleasure - frigidity? Low sex drive. Abstinence, austereness. To deny yourself or someone else sensual/sexual pleasures. Difficulties with appreciating the sensual world. A very, very, VERY slow process - so slow it seems nothing is moving, but it is. To deeply enjoy silence. To enjoy idleness. To be extremely lazy. Fattening food. Mountain-(Virtuous)Lily Difficult moral considerations. An obstacle to virtue. To challenge someone's ideas of morality or specific moral values. To have difficulties being virtuous or with specific virtues. One's stubborn, cold virtuousness is an obstacle (e.g. to enjoying oneself). Virtuousness which can't be shaken; purity so solid it can't be soiled. The elephant in the room is a moral issue. Problematic austereness or self-chastising. The virtue of discretion; to keep silent about something for moral reasons - maybe even at personal costs. It's challenging to do the right thing. Problematic moral views or something which is morally problematic. Mountain-Sun An obstacle to happiness. Happiness is curtailed. Difficulties with just being happy. Difficulties with seeing the bright side of things. To be unmoved by other people's happiness; inability to be happy for yourself or for others. Problems which maybe are not that relevant. To not feel like celebrating. A challenge that's fun. A very obvious obstacle. Something seems to be an obstacle only on the surface. Mountain-Moon Difficult emotions; something is emotionally challenging. To tackle emotional issues. Inability to connect with deep needs and fears; intuition is blocked. Emotional blockade. Obstacle that lies in the emotional area. Difficulties/problems which go very deep and/or are very relevant. To rest before tackling a challenge. Inability to sleep. Something keeps us from sleeping. Finding time to rest is a challenge. Profound silence. Quietness is weighing on us. To overcome fear. To not give in to someone's neediness. Mountain-Key Solution to a problem; the key to mastering a challenge. To break through silence, to start opening up. Attempts to get someone to open up, to let them in, or to be let in, are met with stubborn, silent resistance. To refuse to open up. To refuse to accept something, or to even entertain a new idea. To try hard but it's not working. To accept a challenge. To accept that things are difficult. To be willing and able to learn from difficulties. An obstacle to learning. Being too open and accepting is problematic. Mountain-Fish To value challenges. Many problems. Financial concerns; financial issues weigh on you. Nothing happens financially, no change in work life. Nothing moves in the order situation. challenging job. Hoarding, or being close-fisted. Overcoming a difficulty will result in great profit in some way. An obstacle to profiting. Wanting to profit is an obstacle. it. Mountain-Anchor Status quo will not change for a long time yet. Status quo is hard to bear. To find it challenging to stay put. An obstacle to settling down. To focus on difficulties. Whole life revolves around a specific problem or difficulties in general. To hold on stubbornly and/or patiently. Persisting silence. Everything revolves around the elephant in the room. No weight loss / continuing weight gain. Mountain-Cross Something weighs on you terribly; unbearable pressure. Something is very hard to bear, difficult duty or responsibility. Something is blocking you from fulfilling your life-task; obstacle to following your calling. A challenging stroke of fate. Exhausting challenge; difficulties that wear you down. To persist out of a feeling of duty. Problematically dogmatic.
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mariaajamesol · 7 years ago
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5 questions: Alain Schlesser – WordPress Core Contributor
Alain Schlesser – aka Schlessera – is a prolific WordPress Core Contributor and he is on a mission: “I want to make WordPress future-proof enough to withstand the next few online revolutions without drowning in technical debt, and as a direct consequence, ensure the longevity of the community that’s surrounding it”. Yoast supports him in reaching those goals. Find out more about Alain and his work in the WordPress community.
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A couple of weeks ago, Yoast hired you as a freelancer to expand the work you do on WordPress core. Can you explain this move and what it enables you to do? And what do you hope to get out of it personally?
For some time now, I have been working on WordPress core in my spare time. I have also invested a lot of time into creating educational material like blog posts and WordCamp talks. I had to do all this besides the client work I am getting paid for. As a freelancer, this causes a constant struggle where you’re trying to balance the work you think is important with the work that pays the bills. It causes a lot of stress, and you even miss many important opportunities because the financial pressure grows too big.
I was always able to produce a lot of open source work as a side-effect of my client work. However, working on the important issues of WordPress core is a different beast. I didn’t find a way to integrate these concerns into any client projects.
Being paid for working on WordPress core means that I can afford to spend the time on critical topics. I can now seize opportunities as they come. It means I can work on the areas of the core that do not provide an immediate ROI, but are necessary for a long-term improvement.
One of my overarching personal goals is to make WordPress future-proof enough to withstand the next few online revolutions without drowning in technical debt, and as a direct consequence, ensure the longevity of the community that’s surrounding it.
You are a very active member of the WordPress community and even a core-contributor to the latest couple of releases. What is it that attracts you to this community and how did you start off?
When I started delving more deeply into WordPress, I quickly noticed that the code did not exactly follow common best practices. Some parts of the code were well-built, but very generally, it all seemed as though people were constantly trying to reinvent the wheel, instead of reading up on accepted solutions for their problems.
That led me to frequently share best practices and tips whenever I found an opportunity to do so. A lot of the jobs and the traction I initially got came directly or indirectly from freely sharing my own knowledge and experience. But I was mostly working in isolation, except for the few Slack teams I was a member of.
This all changed after I attended my first WordCamp. It was WordCamp Europe in Vienna, and it was a wonderful experience. I was already wondering for a few months whether WordPress was the right platform for me. It felt like making several steps backwards as a developer, instead of progressing. But the first WordCamp changed everything for me.
Although I went to Vienna for professional reasons, it enriched my personal life as well. It made me aware of how much I truly appreciate the community that has gathered around the WordPress project. All of a sudden, all the technical drawbacks of the WordPress platform were secondary to the feeling of personal growth in the welcoming and inspiring community.
That’s why I now work hard on helping make WordPress the best platform it can be (… according to my own benchmarks and agenda, of course). I always try to be as positive and constructive as I can manage. There’s more than enough people that are more than willing to tell you all that is bad about the WordPress codebase. However, not many will be able to point you towards a possible path to improvement that will still meet all given requirements of such an old project. I, however, am working on moving from the former to the latter group.
Could you tell us a bit about the work that’s going on in WordPress at the moment? What key issues need to be worked on?
A lot of the effort is currently being focused on Gutenberg. This is the new editing experience that should launch with WordPress 5.0. However, there are many smaller groups still working fervently on other areas of the core that are just as important.
Right now, I am mostly focusing on the PHP/backend side of things. I want to work on the architectural problems that are plaguing WordPress. I also started a feature project to analyze and redesign the bootstrap process. In addition, I am helping prepare a bump of the minimum PHP version and try to fix the major performance issues of a normal request.
More generally, I think that WordPress needs more experienced developers with outside experience, that can help teach and enforce better practices. That’s why I also want to work on eliminating the hurdles that these developers face.
We need helping hands if we want to improve WordPress, right? Basically, anyone working with or on WordPress could make major or minor contributions to improve the CMS. Let’s say someone is interested in taking part in the project, what steps should he/she take?
An obvious first step is to head over to make.wordpress.org and read through the list of teams to see whether something catches your interest. There’s lots of documentation for most teams that take you through the initial steps of contributing for the first time.
Apart from that, just meet other people at the next Meetup or WordCamp in your region. Most WordCamps have a “Contributor Day” that is ideal for getting a feel for the project. There are also team leads present that will help you with the initial onboarding.
Finally, for the people who don’t know you yet, could you give us a little background on yourself and your work?
I started dabbling in software development as a child on a Commodore C-64. I learned to develop in Basic, and mostly tried to build text adventures, which was an early form of natural language processing. Later on, I moved through several other languages, covering C, C++, Assembler, Pascal and a lot of more obscure dialects.
I always saw game development as the most interesting area for myself. In this area, you not only needed to make everything work, it also needed to work as fast as possible. You always try to get around the then very crippling performance limits. This led me down several rabbit holes at once, learning about data structures and algorithms, artificial intelligence, graphics and sound driver development, etc.
When I later thought about what professional path to follow, I always tried to avoid the IT space though, as I associated it with frustrating technical support work, more than anything else. That’s why I ended up working as a government agent in the administration of a prison.
I ended up dealing a lot with IT anyway. Since then, I worked on a very diverse set of projects. I even accumulated some certifications along the way, such as for Oracle PL/SQL or Microsoft Sharepoint development.
As I was never truly satisfied with the work I did for the government (mostly because of the long delays and the nonsensical budget allocations), I read a lot about freelancing, remote work, and lifestyle design.
Then, about three years ago, my wife and I made the jump. We both quit our jobs, moved from Luxembourg to Germany and started a new life. I opted to freelance as a PHP and WordPress developer, as these made up the biggest part of the market. I just assumed it would be easy to find work for that reason.
Read more: ‘Why there’s only one model: the open source model’ »
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samiaedithg · 7 years ago
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5 questions: Alain Schlesser – WordPress Core Contributor
Alain Schlesser – aka Schlessera – is a prolific WordPress Core Contributor and he is on a mission: “I want to make WordPress future-proof enough to withstand the next few online revolutions without drowning in technical debt, and as a direct consequence, ensure the longevity of the community that’s surrounding it”. Yoast supports him in reaching those goals. Find out more about Alain and his work in the WordPress community.
Optimize your site for search & social media and keep it optimized with Yoast SEO Premium »
$89 - Buy now »
Info
A couple of weeks ago, Yoast hired you as a freelancer to expand the work you do on WordPress core. Can you explain this move and what it enables you to do? And what do you hope to get out of it personally?
For some time now, I have been working on WordPress core in my spare time. I have also invested a lot of time into creating educational material like blog posts and WordCamp talks. I had to do all this besides the client work I am getting paid for. As a freelancer, this causes a constant struggle where you’re trying to balance the work you think is important with the work that pays the bills. It causes a lot of stress, and you even miss many important opportunities because the financial pressure grows too big.
I was always able to produce a lot of open source work as a side-effect of my client work. However, working on the important issues of WordPress core is a different beast. I didn’t find a way to integrate these concerns into any client projects.
Being paid for working on WordPress core means that I can afford to spend the time on critical topics. I can now seize opportunities as they come. It means I can work on the areas of the core that do not provide an immediate ROI, but are necessary for a long-term improvement.
One of my overarching personal goals is to make WordPress future-proof enough to withstand the next few online revolutions without drowning in technical debt, and as a direct consequence, ensure the longevity of the community that’s surrounding it.
You are a very active member of the WordPress community and even a core-contributor to the latest couple of releases. What is it that attracts you to this community and how did you start off?
When I started delving more deeply into WordPress, I quickly noticed that the code did not exactly follow common best practices. Some parts of the code were well-built, but very generally, it all seemed as though people were constantly trying to reinvent the wheel, instead of reading up on accepted solutions for their problems.
That led me to frequently share best practices and tips whenever I found an opportunity to do so. A lot of the jobs and the traction I initially got came directly or indirectly from freely sharing my own knowledge and experience. But I was mostly working in isolation, except for the few Slack teams I was a member of.
This all changed after I attended my first WordCamp. It was WordCamp Europe in Vienna, and it was a wonderful experience. I was already wondering for a few months whether WordPress was the right platform for me. It felt like making several steps backwards as a developer, instead of progressing. But the first WordCamp changed everything for me.
Although I went to Vienna for professional reasons, it enriched my personal life as well. It made me aware of how much I truly appreciate the community that has gathered around the WordPress project. All of a sudden, all the technical drawbacks of the WordPress platform were secondary to the feeling of personal growth in the welcoming and inspiring community.
That’s why I now work hard on helping make WordPress the best platform it can be (… according to my own benchmarks and agenda, of course). I always try to be as positive and constructive as I can manage. There’s more than enough people that are more than willing to tell you all that is bad about the WordPress codebase. However, not many will be able to point you towards a possible path to improvement that will still meet all given requirements of such an old project. I, however, am working on moving from the former to the latter group.
Could you tell us a bit about the work that’s going on in WordPress at the moment? What key issues need to be worked on?
A lot of the effort is currently being focused on Gutenberg. This is the new editing experience that should launch with WordPress 5.0. However, there are many smaller groups still working fervently on other areas of the core that are just as important.
Right now, I am mostly focusing on the PHP/backend side of things. I want to work on the architectural problems that are plaguing WordPress. I also started a feature project to analyze and redesign the bootstrap process. In addition, I am helping prepare a bump of the minimum PHP version and try to fix the major performance issues of a normal request.
More generally, I think that WordPress needs more experienced developers with outside experience, that can help teach and enforce better practices. That’s why I also want to work on eliminating the hurdles that these developers face.
We need helping hands if we want to improve WordPress, right? Basically, anyone working with or on WordPress could make major or minor contributions to improve the CMS. Let’s say someone is interested in taking part in the project, what steps should he/she take?
An obvious first step is to head over to make.wordpress.org and read through the list of teams to see whether something catches your interest. There’s lots of documentation for most teams that take you through the initial steps of contributing for the first time.
Apart from that, just meet other people at the next Meetup or WordCamp in your region. Most WordCamps have a “Contributor Day” that is ideal for getting a feel for the project. There are also team leads present that will help you with the initial onboarding.
Finally, for the people who don’t know you yet, could you give us a little background on yourself and your work?
I started dabbling in software development as a child on a Commodore C-64. I learned to develop in Basic, and mostly tried to build text adventures, which was an early form of natural language processing. Later on, I moved through several other languages, covering C, C++, Assembler, Pascal and a lot of more obscure dialects.
I always saw game development as the most interesting area for myself. In this area, you not only needed to make everything work, it also needed to work as fast as possible. You always try to get around the then very crippling performance limits. This led me down several rabbit holes at once, learning about data structures and algorithms, artificial intelligence, graphics and sound driver development, etc.
When I later thought about what professional path to follow, I always tried to avoid the IT space though, as I associated it with frustrating technical support work, more than anything else. That’s why I ended up working as a government agent in the administration of a prison.
I ended up dealing a lot with IT anyway. Since then, I worked on a very diverse set of projects. I even accumulated some certifications along the way, such as for Oracle PL/SQL or Microsoft Sharepoint development.
As I was never truly satisfied with the work I did for the government (mostly because of the long delays and the nonsensical budget allocations), I read a lot about freelancing, remote work, and lifestyle design.
Then, about three years ago, my wife and I made the jump. We both quit our jobs, moved from Luxembourg to Germany and started a new life. I opted to freelance as a PHP and WordPress developer, as these made up the biggest part of the market. I just assumed it would be easy to find work for that reason.
Read more: ‘Why there’s only one model: the open source model’ »
http://ift.tt/2vXVPJH
0 notes
lindasharonbn · 7 years ago
Text
5 questions: Alain Schlesser – WordPress Core Contributor
Alain Schlesser – aka Schlessera – is a prolific WordPress Core Contributor and he is on a mission: “I want to make WordPress future-proof enough to withstand the next few online revolutions without drowning in technical debt, and as a direct consequence, ensure the longevity of the community that’s surrounding it”. Yoast supports him in reaching those goals. Find out more about Alain and his work in the WordPress community.
Optimize your site for search & social media and keep it optimized with Yoast SEO Premium »
$89 - Buy now »
Info
A couple of weeks ago, Yoast hired you as a freelancer to expand the work you do on WordPress core. Can you explain this move and what it enables you to do? And what do you hope to get out of it personally?
For some time now, I have been working on WordPress core in my spare time. I have also invested a lot of time into creating educational material like blog posts and WordCamp talks. I had to do all this besides the client work I am getting paid for. As a freelancer, this causes a constant struggle where you’re trying to balance the work you think is important with the work that pays the bills. It causes a lot of stress, and you even miss many important opportunities because the financial pressure grows too big.
I was always able to produce a lot of open source work as a side-effect of my client work. However, working on the important issues of WordPress core is a different beast. I didn’t find a way to integrate these concerns into any client projects.
Being paid for working on WordPress core means that I can afford to spend the time on critical topics. I can now seize opportunities as they come. It means I can work on the areas of the core that do not provide an immediate ROI, but are necessary for a long-term improvement.
One of my overarching personal goals is to make WordPress future-proof enough to withstand the next few online revolutions without drowning in technical debt, and as a direct consequence, ensure the longevity of the community that’s surrounding it.
You are a very active member of the WordPress community and even a core-contributor to the latest couple of releases. What is it that attracts you to this community and how did you start off?
When I started delving more deeply into WordPress, I quickly noticed that the code did not exactly follow common best practices. Some parts of the code were well-built, but very generally, it all seemed as though people were constantly trying to reinvent the wheel, instead of reading up on accepted solutions for their problems.
That led me to frequently share best practices and tips whenever I found an opportunity to do so. A lot of the jobs and the traction I initially got came directly or indirectly from freely sharing my own knowledge and experience. But I was mostly working in isolation, except for the few Slack teams I was a member of.
This all changed after I attended my first WordCamp. It was WordCamp Europe in Vienna, and it was a wonderful experience. I was already wondering for a few months whether WordPress was the right platform for me. It felt like making several steps backwards as a developer, instead of progressing. But the first WordCamp changed everything for me.
Although I went to Vienna for professional reasons, it enriched my personal life as well. It made me aware of how much I truly appreciate the community that has gathered around the WordPress project. All of a sudden, all the technical drawbacks of the WordPress platform were secondary to the feeling of personal growth in the welcoming and inspiring community.
That’s why I now work hard on helping make WordPress the best platform it can be (… according to my own benchmarks and agenda, of course). I always try to be as positive and constructive as I can manage. There’s more than enough people that are more than willing to tell you all that is bad about the WordPress codebase. However, not many will be able to point you towards a possible path to improvement that will still meet all given requirements of such an old project. I, however, am working on moving from the former to the latter group.
Could you tell us a bit about the work that’s going on in WordPress at the moment? What key issues need to be worked on?
A lot of the effort is currently being focused on Gutenberg. This is the new editing experience that should launch with WordPress 5.0. However, there are many smaller groups still working fervently on other areas of the core that are just as important.
Right now, I am mostly focusing on the PHP/backend side of things. I want to work on the architectural problems that are plaguing WordPress. I also started a feature project to analyze and redesign the bootstrap process. In addition, I am helping prepare a bump of the minimum PHP version and try to fix the major performance issues of a normal request.
More generally, I think that WordPress needs more experienced developers with outside experience, that can help teach and enforce better practices. That’s why I also want to work on eliminating the hurdles that these developers face.
We need helping hands if we want to improve WordPress, right? Basically, anyone working with or on WordPress could make major or minor contributions to improve the CMS. Let’s say someone is interested in taking part in the project, what steps should he/she take?
An obvious first step is to head over to make.wordpress.org and read through the list of teams to see whether something catches your interest. There’s lots of documentation for most teams that take you through the initial steps of contributing for the first time.
Apart from that, just meet other people at the next Meetup or WordCamp in your region. Most WordCamps have a “Contributor Day” that is ideal for getting a feel for the project. There are also team leads present that will help you with the initial onboarding.
Finally, for the people who don’t know you yet, could you give us a little background on yourself and your work?
I started dabbling in software development as a child on a Commodore C-64. I learned to develop in Basic, and mostly tried to build text adventures, which was an early form of natural language processing. Later on, I moved through several other languages, covering C, C++, Assembler, Pascal and a lot of more obscure dialects.
I always saw game development as the most interesting area for myself. In this area, you not only needed to make everything work, it also needed to work as fast as possible. You always try to get around the then very crippling performance limits. This led me down several rabbit holes at once, learning about data structures and algorithms, artificial intelligence, graphics and sound driver development, etc.
When I later thought about what professional path to follow, I always tried to avoid the IT space though, as I associated it with frustrating technical support work, more than anything else. That’s why I ended up working as a government agent in the administration of a prison.
I ended up dealing a lot with IT anyway. Since then, I worked on a very diverse set of projects. I even accumulated some certifications along the way, such as for Oracle PL/SQL or Microsoft Sharepoint development.
As I was never truly satisfied with the work I did for the government (mostly because of the long delays and the nonsensical budget allocations), I read a lot about freelancing, remote work, and lifestyle design.
Then, about three years ago, my wife and I made the jump. We both quit our jobs, moved from Luxembourg to Germany and started a new life. I opted to freelance as a PHP and WordPress developer, as these made up the biggest part of the market. I just assumed it would be easy to find work for that reason.
Read more: ‘Why there’s only one model: the open source model’ »
http://ift.tt/2vXVPJH
0 notes
miettawilliemk · 7 years ago
Text
5 questions: Alain Schlesser – WordPress Core Contributor
Alain Schlesser – aka Schlessera – is a prolific WordPress Core Contributor and he is on a mission: “I want to make WordPress future-proof enough to withstand the next few online revolutions without drowning in technical debt, and as a direct consequence, ensure the longevity of the community that’s surrounding it”. Yoast supports him in reaching those goals. Find out more about Alain and his work in the WordPress community.
Optimize your site for search & social media and keep it optimized with Yoast SEO Premium »
$89 - Buy now »
Info
A couple of weeks ago, Yoast hired you as a freelancer to expand the work you do on WordPress core. Can you explain this move and what it enables you to do? And what do you hope to get out of it personally?
For some time now, I have been working on WordPress core in my spare time. I have also invested a lot of time into creating educational material like blog posts and WordCamp talks. I had to do all this besides the client work I am getting paid for. As a freelancer, this causes a constant struggle where you’re trying to balance the work you think is important with the work that pays the bills. It causes a lot of stress, and you even miss many important opportunities because the financial pressure grows too big.
I was always able to produce a lot of open source work as a side-effect of my client work. However, working on the important issues of WordPress core is a different beast. I didn’t find a way to integrate these concerns into any client projects.
Being paid for working on WordPress core means that I can afford to spend the time on critical topics. I can now seize opportunities as they come. It means I can work on the areas of the core that do not provide an immediate ROI, but are necessary for a long-term improvement.
One of my overarching personal goals is to make WordPress future-proof enough to withstand the next few online revolutions without drowning in technical debt, and as a direct consequence, ensure the longevity of the community that’s surrounding it.
You are a very active member of the WordPress community and even a core-contributor to the latest couple of releases. What is it that attracts you to this community and how did you start off?
When I started delving more deeply into WordPress, I quickly noticed that the code did not exactly follow common best practices. Some parts of the code were well-built, but very generally, it all seemed as though people were constantly trying to reinvent the wheel, instead of reading up on accepted solutions for their problems.
That led me to frequently share best practices and tips whenever I found an opportunity to do so. A lot of the jobs and the traction I initially got came directly or indirectly from freely sharing my own knowledge and experience. But I was mostly working in isolation, except for the few Slack teams I was a member of.
This all changed after I attended my first WordCamp. It was WordCamp Europe in Vienna, and it was a wonderful experience. I was already wondering for a few months whether WordPress was the right platform for me. It felt like making several steps backwards as a developer, instead of progressing. But the first WordCamp changed everything for me.
Although I went to Vienna for professional reasons, it enriched my personal life as well. It made me aware of how much I truly appreciate the community that has gathered around the WordPress project. All of a sudden, all the technical drawbacks of the WordPress platform were secondary to the feeling of personal growth in the welcoming and inspiring community.
That’s why I now work hard on helping make WordPress the best platform it can be (… according to my own benchmarks and agenda, of course). I always try to be as positive and constructive as I can manage. There’s more than enough people that are more than willing to tell you all that is bad about the WordPress codebase. However, not many will be able to point you towards a possible path to improvement that will still meet all given requirements of such an old project. I, however, am working on moving from the former to the latter group.
Could you tell us a bit about the work that’s going on in WordPress at the moment? What key issues need to be worked on?
A lot of the effort is currently being focused on Gutenberg. This is the new editing experience that should launch with WordPress 5.0. However, there are many smaller groups still working fervently on other areas of the core that are just as important.
Right now, I am mostly focusing on the PHP/backend side of things. I want to work on the architectural problems that are plaguing WordPress. I also started a feature project to analyze and redesign the bootstrap process. In addition, I am helping prepare a bump of the minimum PHP version and try to fix the major performance issues of a normal request.
More generally, I think that WordPress needs more experienced developers with outside experience, that can help teach and enforce better practices. That’s why I also want to work on eliminating the hurdles that these developers face.
We need helping hands if we want to improve WordPress, right? Basically, anyone working with or on WordPress could make major or minor contributions to improve the CMS. Let’s say someone is interested in taking part in the project, what steps should he/she take?
An obvious first step is to head over to make.wordpress.org and read through the list of teams to see whether something catches your interest. There’s lots of documentation for most teams that take you through the initial steps of contributing for the first time.
Apart from that, just meet other people at the next Meetup or WordCamp in your region. Most WordCamps have a “Contributor Day” that is ideal for getting a feel for the project. There are also team leads present that will help you with the initial onboarding.
Finally, for the people who don’t know you yet, could you give us a little background on yourself and your work?
I started dabbling in software development as a child on a Commodore C-64. I learned to develop in Basic, and mostly tried to build text adventures, which was an early form of natural language processing. Later on, I moved through several other languages, covering C, C++, Assembler, Pascal and a lot of more obscure dialects.
I always saw game development as the most interesting area for myself. In this area, you not only needed to make everything work, it also needed to work as fast as possible. You always try to get around the then very crippling performance limits. This led me down several rabbit holes at once, learning about data structures and algorithms, artificial intelligence, graphics and sound driver development, etc.
When I later thought about what professional path to follow, I always tried to avoid the IT space though, as I associated it with frustrating technical support work, more than anything else. That’s why I ended up working as a government agent in the administration of a prison.
I ended up dealing a lot with IT anyway. Since then, I worked on a very diverse set of projects. I even accumulated some certifications along the way, such as for Oracle PL/SQL or Microsoft Sharepoint development.
As I was never truly satisfied with the work I did for the government (mostly because of the long delays and the nonsensical budget allocations), I read a lot about freelancing, remote work, and lifestyle design.
Then, about three years ago, my wife and I made the jump. We both quit our jobs, moved from Luxembourg to Germany and started a new life. I opted to freelance as a PHP and WordPress developer, as these made up the biggest part of the market. I just assumed it would be easy to find work for that reason.
Read more: ‘Why there’s only one model: the open source model’ »
http://ift.tt/2vXVPJH
0 notes
mariaajameso · 7 years ago
Text
5 questions: Alain Schlesser – WordPress Core Contributor
Alain Schlesser – aka Schlessera – is a prolific WordPress Core Contributor and he is on a mission: “I want to make WordPress future-proof enough to withstand the next few online revolutions without drowning in technical debt, and as a direct consequence, ensure the longevity of the community that’s surrounding it”. Yoast supports him in reaching those goals. Find out more about Alain and his work in the WordPress community.
Optimize your site for search & social media and keep it optimized with Yoast SEO Premium »
$89 - Buy now »
Info
A couple of weeks ago, Yoast hired you as a freelancer to expand the work you do on WordPress core. Can you explain this move and what it enables you to do? And what do you hope to get out of it personally?
For some time now, I have been working on WordPress core in my spare time. I have also invested a lot of time into creating educational material like blog posts and WordCamp talks. I had to do all this besides the client work I am getting paid for. As a freelancer, this causes a constant struggle where you’re trying to balance the work you think is important with the work that pays the bills. It causes a lot of stress, and you even miss many important opportunities because the financial pressure grows too big.
I was always able to produce a lot of open source work as a side-effect of my client work. However, working on the important issues of WordPress core is a different beast. I didn’t find a way to integrate these concerns into any client projects.
Being paid for working on WordPress core means that I can afford to spend the time on critical topics. I can now seize opportunities as they come. It means I can work on the areas of the core that do not provide an immediate ROI, but are necessary for a long-term improvement.
One of my overarching personal goals is to make WordPress future-proof enough to withstand the next few online revolutions without drowning in technical debt, and as a direct consequence, ensure the longevity of the community that’s surrounding it.
You are a very active member of the WordPress community and even a core-contributor to the latest couple of releases. What is it that attracts you to this community and how did you start off?
When I started delving more deeply into WordPress, I quickly noticed that the code did not exactly follow common best practices. Some parts of the code were well-built, but very generally, it all seemed as though people were constantly trying to reinvent the wheel, instead of reading up on accepted solutions for their problems.
That led me to frequently share best practices and tips whenever I found an opportunity to do so. A lot of the jobs and the traction I initially got came directly or indirectly from freely sharing my own knowledge and experience. But I was mostly working in isolation, except for the few Slack teams I was a member of.
This all changed after I attended my first WordCamp. It was WordCamp Europe in Vienna, and it was a wonderful experience. I was already wondering for a few months whether WordPress was the right platform for me. It felt like making several steps backwards as a developer, instead of progressing. But the first WordCamp changed everything for me.
Although I went to Vienna for professional reasons, it enriched my personal life as well. It made me aware of how much I truly appreciate the community that has gathered around the WordPress project. All of a sudden, all the technical drawbacks of the WordPress platform were secondary to the feeling of personal growth in the welcoming and inspiring community.
That’s why I now work hard on helping make WordPress the best platform it can be (… according to my own benchmarks and agenda, of course). I always try to be as positive and constructive as I can manage. There’s more than enough people that are more than willing to tell you all that is bad about the WordPress codebase. However, not many will be able to point you towards a possible path to improvement that will still meet all given requirements of such an old project. I, however, am working on moving from the former to the latter group.
Could you tell us a bit about the work that’s going on in WordPress at the moment? What key issues need to be worked on?
A lot of the effort is currently being focused on Gutenberg. This is the new editing experience that should launch with WordPress 5.0. However, there are many smaller groups still working fervently on other areas of the core that are just as important.
Right now, I am mostly focusing on the PHP/backend side of things. I want to work on the architectural problems that are plaguing WordPress. I also started a feature project to analyze and redesign the bootstrap process. In addition, I am helping prepare a bump of the minimum PHP version and try to fix the major performance issues of a normal request.
More generally, I think that WordPress needs more experienced developers with outside experience, that can help teach and enforce better practices. That’s why I also want to work on eliminating the hurdles that these developers face.
We need helping hands if we want to improve WordPress, right? Basically, anyone working with or on WordPress could make major or minor contributions to improve the CMS. Let’s say someone is interested in taking part in the project, what steps should he/she take?
An obvious first step is to head over to make.wordpress.org and read through the list of teams to see whether something catches your interest. There’s lots of documentation for most teams that take you through the initial steps of contributing for the first time.
Apart from that, just meet other people at the next Meetup or WordCamp in your region. Most WordCamps have a “Contributor Day” that is ideal for getting a feel for the project. There are also team leads present that will help you with the initial onboarding.
Finally, for the people who don’t know you yet, could you give us a little background on yourself and your work?
I started dabbling in software development as a child on a Commodore C-64. I learned to develop in Basic, and mostly tried to build text adventures, which was an early form of natural language processing. Later on, I moved through several other languages, covering C, C++, Assembler, Pascal and a lot of more obscure dialects.
I always saw game development as the most interesting area for myself. In this area, you not only needed to make everything work, it also needed to work as fast as possible. You always try to get around the then very crippling performance limits. This led me down several rabbit holes at once, learning about data structures and algorithms, artificial intelligence, graphics and sound driver development, etc.
When I later thought about what professional path to follow, I always tried to avoid the IT space though, as I associated it with frustrating technical support work, more than anything else. That’s why I ended up working as a government agent in the administration of a prison.
I ended up dealing a lot with IT anyway. Since then, I worked on a very diverse set of projects. I even accumulated some certifications along the way, such as for Oracle PL/SQL or Microsoft Sharepoint development.
As I was never truly satisfied with the work I did for the government (mostly because of the long delays and the nonsensical budget allocations), I read a lot about freelancing, remote work, and lifestyle design.
Then, about three years ago, my wife and I made the jump. We both quit our jobs, moved from Luxembourg to Germany and started a new life. I opted to freelance as a PHP and WordPress developer, as these made up the biggest part of the market. I just assumed it would be easy to find work for that reason.
Read more: ‘Why there’s only one model: the open source model’ »
http://ift.tt/2vXVPJH
0 notes
elenaturnerge1 · 7 years ago
Text
5 questions: Alain Schlesser – WordPress Core Contributor
Alain Schlesser – aka Schlessera – is a prolific WordPress Core Contributor and he is on a mission: “I want to make WordPress future-proof enough to withstand the next few online revolutions without drowning in technical debt, and as a direct consequence, ensure the longevity of the community that’s surrounding it”. Yoast supports him in reaching those goals. Find out more about Alain and his work in the WordPress community.
Optimize your site for search & social media and keep it optimized with Yoast SEO Premium »
$89 - Buy now »
Info
A couple of weeks ago, Yoast hired you as a freelancer to expand the work you do on WordPress core. Can you explain this move and what it enables you to do? And what do you hope to get out of it personally?
For some time now, I have been working on WordPress core in my spare time. I have also invested a lot of time into creating educational material like blog posts and WordCamp talks. I had to do all this besides the client work I am getting paid for. As a freelancer, this causes a constant struggle where you’re trying to balance the work you think is important with the work that pays the bills. It causes a lot of stress, and you even miss many important opportunities because the financial pressure grows too big.
I was always able to produce a lot of open source work as a side-effect of my client work. However, working on the important issues of WordPress core is a different beast. I didn’t find a way to integrate these concerns into any client projects.
Being paid for working on WordPress core means that I can afford to spend the time on critical topics. I can now seize opportunities as they come. It means I can work on the areas of the core that do not provide an immediate ROI, but are necessary for a long-term improvement.
One of my overarching personal goals is to make WordPress future-proof enough to withstand the next few online revolutions without drowning in technical debt, and as a direct consequence, ensure the longevity of the community that’s surrounding it.
You are a very active member of the WordPress community and even a core-contributor to the latest couple of releases. What is it that attracts you to this community and how did you start off?
When I started delving more deeply into WordPress, I quickly noticed that the code did not exactly follow common best practices. Some parts of the code were well-built, but very generally, it all seemed as though people were constantly trying to reinvent the wheel, instead of reading up on accepted solutions for their problems.
That led me to frequently share best practices and tips whenever I found an opportunity to do so. A lot of the jobs and the traction I initially got came directly or indirectly from freely sharing my own knowledge and experience. But I was mostly working in isolation, except for the few Slack teams I was a member of.
This all changed after I attended my first WordCamp. It was WordCamp Europe in Vienna, and it was a wonderful experience. I was already wondering for a few months whether WordPress was the right platform for me. It felt like making several steps backwards as a developer, instead of progressing. But the first WordCamp changed everything for me.
Although I went to Vienna for professional reasons, it enriched my personal life as well. It made me aware of how much I truly appreciate the community that has gathered around the WordPress project. All of a sudden, all the technical drawbacks of the WordPress platform were secondary to the feeling of personal growth in the welcoming and inspiring community.
That’s why I now work hard on helping make WordPress the best platform it can be (… according to my own benchmarks and agenda, of course). I always try to be as positive and constructive as I can manage. There’s more than enough people that are more than willing to tell you all that is bad about the WordPress codebase. However, not many will be able to point you towards a possible path to improvement that will still meet all given requirements of such an old project. I, however, am working on moving from the former to the latter group.
Could you tell us a bit about the work that’s going on in WordPress at the moment? What key issues need to be worked on?
A lot of the effort is currently being focused on Gutenberg. This is the new editing experience that should launch with WordPress 5.0. However, there are many smaller groups still working fervently on other areas of the core that are just as important.
Right now, I am mostly focusing on the PHP/backend side of things. I want to work on the architectural problems that are plaguing WordPress. I also started a feature project to analyze and redesign the bootstrap process. In addition, I am helping prepare a bump of the minimum PHP version and try to fix the major performance issues of a normal request.
More generally, I think that WordPress needs more experienced developers with outside experience, that can help teach and enforce better practices. That’s why I also want to work on eliminating the hurdles that these developers face.
We need helping hands if we want to improve WordPress, right? Basically, anyone working with or on WordPress could make major or minor contributions to improve the CMS. Let’s say someone is interested in taking part in the project, what steps should he/she take?
An obvious first step is to head over to make.wordpress.org and read through the list of teams to see whether something catches your interest. There’s lots of documentation for most teams that take you through the initial steps of contributing for the first time.
Apart from that, just meet other people at the next Meetup or WordCamp in your region. Most WordCamps have a “Contributor Day” that is ideal for getting a feel for the project. There are also team leads present that will help you with the initial onboarding.
Finally, for the people who don’t know you yet, could you give us a little background on yourself and your work?
I started dabbling in software development as a child on a Commodore C-64. I learned to develop in Basic, and mostly tried to build text adventures, which was an early form of natural language processing. Later on, I moved through several other languages, covering C, C++, Assembler, Pascal and a lot of more obscure dialects.
I always saw game development as the most interesting area for myself. In this area, you not only needed to make everything work, it also needed to work as fast as possible. You always try to get around the then very crippling performance limits. This led me down several rabbit holes at once, learning about data structures and algorithms, artificial intelligence, graphics and sound driver development, etc.
When I later thought about what professional path to follow, I always tried to avoid the IT space though, as I associated it with frustrating technical support work, more than anything else. That’s why I ended up working as a government agent in the administration of a prison.
I ended up dealing a lot with IT anyway. Since then, I worked on a very diverse set of projects. I even accumulated some certifications along the way, such as for Oracle PL/SQL or Microsoft Sharepoint development.
As I was never truly satisfied with the work I did for the government (mostly because of the long delays and the nonsensical budget allocations), I read a lot about freelancing, remote work, and lifestyle design.
Then, about three years ago, my wife and I made the jump. We both quit our jobs, moved from Luxembourg to Germany and started a new life. I opted to freelance as a PHP and WordPress developer, as these made up the biggest part of the market. I just assumed it would be easy to find work for that reason.
Read more: ‘Why there’s only one model: the open source model’ »
http://ift.tt/2vXVPJH
0 notes
evanstheodoredqe · 7 years ago
Text
5 questions: Alain Schlesser – WordPress Core Contributor
Alain Schlesser – aka Schlessera – is a prolific WordPress Core Contributor and he is on a mission: “I want to make WordPress future-proof enough to withstand the next few online revolutions without drowning in technical debt, and as a direct consequence, ensure the longevity of the community that’s surrounding it”. Yoast supports him in reaching those goals. Find out more about Alain and his work in the WordPress community.
Optimize your site for search & social media and keep it optimized with Yoast SEO Premium »
$89 - Buy now »
Info
A couple of weeks ago, Yoast hired you as a freelancer to expand the work you do on WordPress core. Can you explain this move and what it enables you to do? And what do you hope to get out of it personally?
For some time now, I have been working on WordPress core in my spare time. I have also invested a lot of time into creating educational material like blog posts and WordCamp talks. I had to do all this besides the client work I am getting paid for. As a freelancer, this causes a constant struggle where you’re trying to balance the work you think is important with the work that pays the bills. It causes a lot of stress, and you even miss many important opportunities because the financial pressure grows too big.
I was always able to produce a lot of open source work as a side-effect of my client work. However, working on the important issues of WordPress core is a different beast. I didn’t find a way to integrate these concerns into any client projects.
Being paid for working on WordPress core means that I can afford to spend the time on critical topics. I can now seize opportunities as they come. It means I can work on the areas of the core that do not provide an immediate ROI, but are necessary for a long-term improvement.
One of my overarching personal goals is to make WordPress future-proof enough to withstand the next few online revolutions without drowning in technical debt, and as a direct consequence, ensure the longevity of the community that’s surrounding it.
You are a very active member of the WordPress community and even a core-contributor to the latest couple of releases. What is it that attracts you to this community and how did you start off?
When I started delving more deeply into WordPress, I quickly noticed that the code did not exactly follow common best practices. Some parts of the code were well-built, but very generally, it all seemed as though people were constantly trying to reinvent the wheel, instead of reading up on accepted solutions for their problems.
That led me to frequently share best practices and tips whenever I found an opportunity to do so. A lot of the jobs and the traction I initially got came directly or indirectly from freely sharing my own knowledge and experience. But I was mostly working in isolation, except for the few Slack teams I was a member of.
This all changed after I attended my first WordCamp. It was WordCamp Europe in Vienna, and it was a wonderful experience. I was already wondering for a few months whether WordPress was the right platform for me. It felt like making several steps backwards as a developer, instead of progressing. But the first WordCamp changed everything for me.
Although I went to Vienna for professional reasons, it enriched my personal life as well. It made me aware of how much I truly appreciate the community that has gathered around the WordPress project. All of a sudden, all the technical drawbacks of the WordPress platform were secondary to the feeling of personal growth in the welcoming and inspiring community.
That’s why I now work hard on helping make WordPress the best platform it can be (… according to my own benchmarks and agenda, of course). I always try to be as positive and constructive as I can manage. There’s more than enough people that are more than willing to tell you all that is bad about the WordPress codebase. However, not many will be able to point you towards a possible path to improvement that will still meet all given requirements of such an old project. I, however, am working on moving from the former to the latter group.
Could you tell us a bit about the work that’s going on in WordPress at the moment? What key issues need to be worked on?
A lot of the effort is currently being focused on Gutenberg. This is the new editing experience that should launch with WordPress 5.0. However, there are many smaller groups still working fervently on other areas of the core that are just as important.
Right now, I am mostly focusing on the PHP/backend side of things. I want to work on the architectural problems that are plaguing WordPress. I also started a feature project to analyze and redesign the bootstrap process. In addition, I am helping prepare a bump of the minimum PHP version and try to fix the major performance issues of a normal request.
More generally, I think that WordPress needs more experienced developers with outside experience, that can help teach and enforce better practices. That’s why I also want to work on eliminating the hurdles that these developers face.
We need helping hands if we want to improve WordPress, right? Basically, anyone working with or on WordPress could make major or minor contributions to improve the CMS. Let’s say someone is interested in taking part in the project, what steps should he/she take?
An obvious first step is to head over to make.wordpress.org and read through the list of teams to see whether something catches your interest. There’s lots of documentation for most teams that take you through the initial steps of contributing for the first time.
Apart from that, just meet other people at the next Meetup or WordCamp in your region. Most WordCamps have a “Contributor Day” that is ideal for getting a feel for the project. There are also team leads present that will help you with the initial onboarding.
Finally, for the people who don’t know you yet, could you give us a little background on yourself and your work?
I started dabbling in software development as a child on a Commodore C-64. I learned to develop in Basic, and mostly tried to build text adventures, which was an early form of natural language processing. Later on, I moved through several other languages, covering C, C++, Assembler, Pascal and a lot of more obscure dialects.
I always saw game development as the most interesting area for myself. In this area, you not only needed to make everything work, it also needed to work as fast as possible. You always try to get around the then very crippling performance limits. This led me down several rabbit holes at once, learning about data structures and algorithms, artificial intelligence, graphics and sound driver development, etc.
When I later thought about what professional path to follow, I always tried to avoid the IT space though, as I associated it with frustrating technical support work, more than anything else. That’s why I ended up working as a government agent in the administration of a prison.
I ended up dealing a lot with IT anyway. Since then, I worked on a very diverse set of projects. I even accumulated some certifications along the way, such as for Oracle PL/SQL or Microsoft Sharepoint development.
As I was never truly satisfied with the work I did for the government (mostly because of the long delays and the nonsensical budget allocations), I read a lot about freelancing, remote work, and lifestyle design.
Then, about three years ago, my wife and I made the jump. We both quit our jobs, moved from Luxembourg to Germany and started a new life. I opted to freelance as a PHP and WordPress developer, as these made up the biggest part of the market. I just assumed it would be easy to find work for that reason.
Read more: ‘Why there’s only one model: the open source model’ »
http://ift.tt/2vXVPJH
0 notes
elenaturnerge · 7 years ago
Text
5 questions: Alain Schlesser – WordPress Core Contributor
Alain Schlesser – aka Schlessera – is a prolific WordPress Core Contributor and he is on a mission: “I want to make WordPress future-proof enough to withstand the next few online revolutions without drowning in technical debt, and as a direct consequence, ensure the longevity of the community that’s surrounding it”. Yoast supports him in reaching those goals. Find out more about Alain and his work in the WordPress community.
Optimize your site for search & social media and keep it optimized with Yoast SEO Premium »
$89 - Buy now »
Info
A couple of weeks ago, Yoast hired you as a freelancer to expand the work you do on WordPress core. Can you explain this move and what it enables you to do? And what do you hope to get out of it personally?
For some time now, I have been working on WordPress core in my spare time. I have also invested a lot of time into creating educational material like blog posts and WordCamp talks. I had to do all this besides the client work I am getting paid for. As a freelancer, this causes a constant struggle where you’re trying to balance the work you think is important with the work that pays the bills. It causes a lot of stress, and you even miss many important opportunities because the financial pressure grows too big.
I was always able to produce a lot of open source work as a side-effect of my client work. However, working on the important issues of WordPress core is a different beast. I didn’t find a way to integrate these concerns into any client projects.
Being paid for working on WordPress core means that I can afford to spend the time on critical topics. I can now seize opportunities as they come. It means I can work on the areas of the core that do not provide an immediate ROI, but are necessary for a long-term improvement.
One of my overarching personal goals is to make WordPress future-proof enough to withstand the next few online revolutions without drowning in technical debt, and as a direct consequence, ensure the longevity of the community that’s surrounding it.
You are a very active member of the WordPress community and even a core-contributor to the latest couple of releases. What is it that attracts you to this community and how did you start off?
When I started delving more deeply into WordPress, I quickly noticed that the code did not exactly follow common best practices. Some parts of the code were well-built, but very generally, it all seemed as though people were constantly trying to reinvent the wheel, instead of reading up on accepted solutions for their problems.
That led me to frequently share best practices and tips whenever I found an opportunity to do so. A lot of the jobs and the traction I initially got came directly or indirectly from freely sharing my own knowledge and experience. But I was mostly working in isolation, except for the few Slack teams I was a member of.
This all changed after I attended my first WordCamp. It was WordCamp Europe in Vienna, and it was a wonderful experience. I was already wondering for a few months whether WordPress was the right platform for me. It felt like making several steps backwards as a developer, instead of progressing. But the first WordCamp changed everything for me.
Although I went to Vienna for professional reasons, it enriched my personal life as well. It made me aware of how much I truly appreciate the community that has gathered around the WordPress project. All of a sudden, all the technical drawbacks of the WordPress platform were secondary to the feeling of personal growth in the welcoming and inspiring community.
That’s why I now work hard on helping make WordPress the best platform it can be (… according to my own benchmarks and agenda, of course). I always try to be as positive and constructive as I can manage. There’s more than enough people that are more than willing to tell you all that is bad about the WordPress codebase. However, not many will be able to point you towards a possible path to improvement that will still meet all given requirements of such an old project. I, however, am working on moving from the former to the latter group.
Could you tell us a bit about the work that’s going on in WordPress at the moment? What key issues need to be worked on?
A lot of the effort is currently being focused on Gutenberg. This is the new editing experience that should launch with WordPress 5.0. However, there are many smaller groups still working fervently on other areas of the core that are just as important.
Right now, I am mostly focusing on the PHP/backend side of things. I want to work on the architectural problems that are plaguing WordPress. I also started a feature project to analyze and redesign the bootstrap process. In addition, I am helping prepare a bump of the minimum PHP version and try to fix the major performance issues of a normal request.
More generally, I think that WordPress needs more experienced developers with outside experience, that can help teach and enforce better practices. That’s why I also want to work on eliminating the hurdles that these developers face.
We need helping hands if we want to improve WordPress, right? Basically, anyone working with or on WordPress could make major or minor contributions to improve the CMS. Let’s say someone is interested in taking part in the project, what steps should he/she take?
An obvious first step is to head over to make.wordpress.org and read through the list of teams to see whether something catches your interest. There’s lots of documentation for most teams that take you through the initial steps of contributing for the first time.
Apart from that, just meet other people at the next Meetup or WordCamp in your region. Most WordCamps have a “Contributor Day” that is ideal for getting a feel for the project. There are also team leads present that will help you with the initial onboarding.
Finally, for the people who don’t know you yet, could you give us a little background on yourself and your work?
I started dabbling in software development as a child on a Commodore C-64. I learned to develop in Basic, and mostly tried to build text adventures, which was an early form of natural language processing. Later on, I moved through several other languages, covering C, C++, Assembler, Pascal and a lot of more obscure dialects.
I always saw game development as the most interesting area for myself. In this area, you not only needed to make everything work, it also needed to work as fast as possible. You always try to get around the then very crippling performance limits. This led me down several rabbit holes at once, learning about data structures and algorithms, artificial intelligence, graphics and sound driver development, etc.
When I later thought about what professional path to follow, I always tried to avoid the IT space though, as I associated it with frustrating technical support work, more than anything else. That’s why I ended up working as a government agent in the administration of a prison.
I ended up dealing a lot with IT anyway. Since then, I worked on a very diverse set of projects. I even accumulated some certifications along the way, such as for Oracle PL/SQL or Microsoft Sharepoint development.
As I was never truly satisfied with the work I did for the government (mostly because of the long delays and the nonsensical budget allocations), I read a lot about freelancing, remote work, and lifestyle design.
Then, about three years ago, my wife and I made the jump. We both quit our jobs, moved from Luxembourg to Germany and started a new life. I opted to freelance as a PHP and WordPress developer, as these made up the biggest part of the market. I just assumed it would be easy to find work for that reason.
Read more: ‘Why there’s only one model: the open source model’ »
http://ift.tt/2vXVPJH
0 notes
rodrigueztha · 7 years ago
Text
5 questions: Alain Schlesser – WordPress Core Contributor
Alain Schlesser – aka Schlessera – is a prolific WordPress Core Contributor and he is on a mission: “I want to make WordPress future-proof enough to withstand the next few online revolutions without drowning in technical debt, and as a direct consequence, ensure the longevity of the community that’s surrounding it”. Yoast supports him in reaching those goals. Find out more about Alain and his work in the WordPress community.
Optimize your site for search & social media and keep it optimized with Yoast SEO Premium »
$89 - Buy now »
Info
A couple of weeks ago, Yoast hired you as a freelancer to expand the work you do on WordPress core. Can you explain this move and what it enables you to do? And what do you hope to get out of it personally?
For some time now, I have been working on WordPress core in my spare time. I have also invested a lot of time into creating educational material like blog posts and WordCamp talks. I had to do all this besides the client work I am getting paid for. As a freelancer, this causes a constant struggle where you’re trying to balance the work you think is important with the work that pays the bills. It causes a lot of stress, and you even miss many important opportunities because the financial pressure grows too big.
I was always able to produce a lot of open source work as a side-effect of my client work. However, working on the important issues of WordPress core is a different beast. I didn’t find a way to integrate these concerns into any client projects.
Being paid for working on WordPress core means that I can afford to spend the time on critical topics. I can now seize opportunities as they come. It means I can work on the areas of the core that do not provide an immediate ROI, but are necessary for a long-term improvement.
One of my overarching personal goals is to make WordPress future-proof enough to withstand the next few online revolutions without drowning in technical debt, and as a direct consequence, ensure the longevity of the community that’s surrounding it.
You are a very active member of the WordPress community and even a core-contributor to the latest couple of releases. What is it that attracts you to this community and how did you start off?
When I started delving more deeply into WordPress, I quickly noticed that the code did not exactly follow common best practices. Some parts of the code were well-built, but very generally, it all seemed as though people were constantly trying to reinvent the wheel, instead of reading up on accepted solutions for their problems.
That led me to frequently share best practices and tips whenever I found an opportunity to do so. A lot of the jobs and the traction I initially got came directly or indirectly from freely sharing my own knowledge and experience. But I was mostly working in isolation, except for the few Slack teams I was a member of.
This all changed after I attended my first WordCamp. It was WordCamp Europe in Vienna, and it was a wonderful experience. I was already wondering for a few months whether WordPress was the right platform for me. It felt like making several steps backwards as a developer, instead of progressing. But the first WordCamp changed everything for me.
Although I went to Vienna for professional reasons, it enriched my personal life as well. It made me aware of how much I truly appreciate the community that has gathered around the WordPress project. All of a sudden, all the technical drawbacks of the WordPress platform were secondary to the feeling of personal growth in the welcoming and inspiring community.
That’s why I now work hard on helping make WordPress the best platform it can be (… according to my own benchmarks and agenda, of course). I always try to be as positive and constructive as I can manage. There’s more than enough people that are more than willing to tell you all that is bad about the WordPress codebase. However, not many will be able to point you towards a possible path to improvement that will still meet all given requirements of such an old project. I, however, am working on moving from the former to the latter group.
Could you tell us a bit about the work that’s going on in WordPress at the moment? What key issues need to be worked on?
A lot of the effort is currently being focused on Gutenberg. This is the new editing experience that should launch with WordPress 5.0. However, there are many smaller groups still working fervently on other areas of the core that are just as important.
Right now, I am mostly focusing on the PHP/backend side of things. I want to work on the architectural problems that are plaguing WordPress. I also started a feature project to analyze and redesign the bootstrap process. In addition, I am helping prepare a bump of the minimum PHP version and try to fix the major performance issues of a normal request.
More generally, I think that WordPress needs more experienced developers with outside experience, that can help teach and enforce better practices. That’s why I also want to work on eliminating the hurdles that these developers face.
We need helping hands if we want to improve WordPress, right? Basically, anyone working with or on WordPress could make major or minor contributions to improve the CMS. Let’s say someone is interested in taking part in the project, what steps should he/she take?
An obvious first step is to head over to make.wordpress.org and read through the list of teams to see whether something catches your interest. There’s lots of documentation for most teams that take you through the initial steps of contributing for the first time.
Apart from that, just meet other people at the next Meetup or WordCamp in your region. Most WordCamps have a “Contributor Day” that is ideal for getting a feel for the project. There are also team leads present that will help you with the initial onboarding.
Finally, for the people who don’t know you yet, could you give us a little background on yourself and your work?
I started dabbling in software development as a child on a Commodore C-64. I learned to develop in Basic, and mostly tried to build text adventures, which was an early form of natural language processing. Later on, I moved through several other languages, covering C, C++, Assembler, Pascal and a lot of more obscure dialects.
I always saw game development as the most interesting area for myself. In this area, you not only needed to make everything work, it also needed to work as fast as possible. You always try to get around the then very crippling performance limits. This led me down several rabbit holes at once, learning about data structures and algorithms, artificial intelligence, graphics and sound driver development, etc.
When I later thought about what professional path to follow, I always tried to avoid the IT space though, as I associated it with frustrating technical support work, more than anything else. That’s why I ended up working as a government agent in the administration of a prison.
I ended up dealing a lot with IT anyway. Since then, I worked on a very diverse set of projects. I even accumulated some certifications along the way, such as for Oracle PL/SQL or Microsoft Sharepoint development.
As I was never truly satisfied with the work I did for the government (mostly because of the long delays and the nonsensical budget allocations), I read a lot about freelancing, remote work, and lifestyle design.
Then, about three years ago, my wife and I made the jump. We both quit our jobs, moved from Luxembourg to Germany and started a new life. I opted to freelance as a PHP and WordPress developer, as these made up the biggest part of the market. I just assumed it would be easy to find work for that reason.
Read more: ‘Why there’s only one model: the open source model’ »
http://ift.tt/2vXVPJH
0 notes
wendyjudithqe · 7 years ago
Text
5 questions: Alain Schlesser – WordPress Core Contributor
Alain Schlesser – aka Schlessera – is a prolific WordPress Core Contributor and he is on a mission: “I want to make WordPress future-proof enough to withstand the next few online revolutions without drowning in technical debt, and as a direct consequence, ensure the longevity of the community that’s surrounding it”. Yoast supports him in reaching those goals. Find out more about Alain and his work in the WordPress community.
Optimize your site for search & social media and keep it optimized with Yoast SEO Premium »
$89 - Buy now »
Info
A couple of weeks ago, Yoast hired you as a freelancer to expand the work you do on WordPress core. Can you explain this move and what it enables you to do? And what do you hope to get out of it personally?
For some time now, I have been working on WordPress core in my spare time. I have also invested a lot of time into creating educational material like blog posts and WordCamp talks. I had to do all this besides the client work I am getting paid for. As a freelancer, this causes a constant struggle where you’re trying to balance the work you think is important with the work that pays the bills. It causes a lot of stress, and you even miss many important opportunities because the financial pressure grows too big.
I was always able to produce a lot of open source work as a side-effect of my client work. However, working on the important issues of WordPress core is a different beast. I didn’t find a way to integrate these concerns into any client projects.
Being paid for working on WordPress core means that I can afford to spend the time on critical topics. I can now seize opportunities as they come. It means I can work on the areas of the core that do not provide an immediate ROI, but are necessary for a long-term improvement.
One of my overarching personal goals is to make WordPress future-proof enough to withstand the next few online revolutions without drowning in technical debt, and as a direct consequence, ensure the longevity of the community that’s surrounding it.
You are a very active member of the WordPress community and even a core-contributor to the latest couple of releases. What is it that attracts you to this community and how did you start off?
When I started delving more deeply into WordPress, I quickly noticed that the code did not exactly follow common best practices. Some parts of the code were well-built, but very generally, it all seemed as though people were constantly trying to reinvent the wheel, instead of reading up on accepted solutions for their problems.
That led me to frequently share best practices and tips whenever I found an opportunity to do so. A lot of the jobs and the traction I initially got came directly or indirectly from freely sharing my own knowledge and experience. But I was mostly working in isolation, except for the few Slack teams I was a member of.
This all changed after I attended my first WordCamp. It was WordCamp Europe in Vienna, and it was a wonderful experience. I was already wondering for a few months whether WordPress was the right platform for me. It felt like making several steps backwards as a developer, instead of progressing. But the first WordCamp changed everything for me.
Although I went to Vienna for professional reasons, it enriched my personal life as well. It made me aware of how much I truly appreciate the community that has gathered around the WordPress project. All of a sudden, all the technical drawbacks of the WordPress platform were secondary to the feeling of personal growth in the welcoming and inspiring community.
That’s why I now work hard on helping make WordPress the best platform it can be (… according to my own benchmarks and agenda, of course). I always try to be as positive and constructive as I can manage. There’s more than enough people that are more than willing to tell you all that is bad about the WordPress codebase. However, not many will be able to point you towards a possible path to improvement that will still meet all given requirements of such an old project. I, however, am working on moving from the former to the latter group.
Could you tell us a bit about the work that’s going on in WordPress at the moment? What key issues need to be worked on?
A lot of the effort is currently being focused on Gutenberg. This is the new editing experience that should launch with WordPress 5.0. However, there are many smaller groups still working fervently on other areas of the core that are just as important.
Right now, I am mostly focusing on the PHP/backend side of things. I want to work on the architectural problems that are plaguing WordPress. I also started a feature project to analyze and redesign the bootstrap process. In addition, I am helping prepare a bump of the minimum PHP version and try to fix the major performance issues of a normal request.
More generally, I think that WordPress needs more experienced developers with outside experience, that can help teach and enforce better practices. That’s why I also want to work on eliminating the hurdles that these developers face.
We need helping hands if we want to improve WordPress, right? Basically, anyone working with or on WordPress could make major or minor contributions to improve the CMS. Let’s say someone is interested in taking part in the project, what steps should he/she take?
An obvious first step is to head over to make.wordpress.org and read through the list of teams to see whether something catches your interest. There’s lots of documentation for most teams that take you through the initial steps of contributing for the first time.
Apart from that, just meet other people at the next Meetup or WordCamp in your region. Most WordCamps have a “Contributor Day” that is ideal for getting a feel for the project. There are also team leads present that will help you with the initial onboarding.
Finally, for the people who don’t know you yet, could you give us a little background on yourself and your work?
I started dabbling in software development as a child on a Commodore C-64. I learned to develop in Basic, and mostly tried to build text adventures, which was an early form of natural language processing. Later on, I moved through several other languages, covering C, C++, Assembler, Pascal and a lot of more obscure dialects.
I always saw game development as the most interesting area for myself. In this area, you not only needed to make everything work, it also needed to work as fast as possible. You always try to get around the then very crippling performance limits. This led me down several rabbit holes at once, learning about data structures and algorithms, artificial intelligence, graphics and sound driver development, etc.
When I later thought about what professional path to follow, I always tried to avoid the IT space though, as I associated it with frustrating technical support work, more than anything else. That’s why I ended up working as a government agent in the administration of a prison.
I ended up dealing a lot with IT anyway. Since then, I worked on a very diverse set of projects. I even accumulated some certifications along the way, such as for Oracle PL/SQL or Microsoft Sharepoint development.
As I was never truly satisfied with the work I did for the government (mostly because of the long delays and the nonsensical budget allocations), I read a lot about freelancing, remote work, and lifestyle design.
Then, about three years ago, my wife and I made the jump. We both quit our jobs, moved from Luxembourg to Germany and started a new life. I opted to freelance as a PHP and WordPress developer, as these made up the biggest part of the market. I just assumed it would be easy to find work for that reason.
Read more: ‘Why there’s only one model: the open source model’ »
http://ift.tt/2vXVPJH
0 notes