Welcome to Weekly Inspiration #4! I can’t believe this is already the fourth post…the days fly by so fast.
Quick Recap
Boring Things I Had to Do
- two exams
- one project
- prepare a presentation
- homework, homework, and more homework
Fun Things!
On the fun side, I…
- performed my first open scene in theater class
- played design games on UXcel
- tried to renovate my site and rebrand it to “The Creative Student Developer”
- found Typora
- watched in shock as Caticature earned 115 upvotes on Product Hunt in one day, earning it the title of #5 Product of the Day (It’s at 184 upvotes as of now!)
I’ve got so much to share with you. Let’s dive in!
Caticature on Product Hunt!
When I woke up at 5AM last Sunday morning, I thought it would simply be the start of another long week. Imagine my surprise when I opened up Product Hunt to see Caticature featured on the front page!
I blinked a few times. 28 upvotes?! Caticature had been hunted (submitted) the previous Wednesday, and products that didn’t get upvoted the day they were submitted usually stayed that way.
Needless to say, I was ecstatic! That entire day, I kept an eye on Product Hunt, watching as the upvotes on Caticature increased and moved it between fourth and sixth place. At midnight, Caticature settled for fifth.
Wow. So concludes my first hunt, I thought. I hadn’t spent a lot of time on Caticature before I launched it (<10 hours), so I did not expect much to come out of it. I couldn’t have been happier with the Product Hunt results.
EXTRA NOTE: I still have no clue how it happened. My best guess is that someone with a high point value upvoted Caticature, pushing it to the front page.
Settling Down for Computer Engineering
I’ve decided.
On Thursday, I submitted my TAG application to UCI’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering as a Computer Engineering major.
For the past few days, I’d been debating over choosing physics, math, aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, or computer engineering. After talking with my family, looking up job wages and job growth, and researching the required courses for each major, I decided to settle for computer engineering. This doesn’t change my course plan very much, except I’ll have to take “ENGR 250 Electric Circuits” next spring semester.
It’s a good thing I rarely regret my decisions.
Typora – Best Markdown Editor Ever
I had no idea I would fall in love with another app this week, but life does love to throw surprises my way!
First of all, Typora is a beautiful, minimal Markdown editor that’s “simple, yet powerful”. I’ve always loved Markdown but hated how ugly it looked; Typora solves this problem by providing inline previews of what you’re writing. Typora supports a variety of formats, including images, headers, lists, tables, code fences, mathematics, diagrams, inline styles, and much more. With Typora, you can also view an outline of your document, as well as organize Markdown files. Try it out!
EXTRA NOTE: I have a feeling I’m going to be using this for a while.
UXcel – Designer’s Eye
This week, I started learning and practicing my design skills on UXcel. My goal is to complete the UI/UX Design Foundations course, and I’m working my way through it!
Besides courses, UXcel also has a program they call “UEye Training”, which aims to sharpen one’s eye as a designer. The first few exercises are easy, but they get harder and harder. Sometimes, I stare at two designs that are supposed to be different but look exactly the same to my eye. When I finally learn what the difference between them is, it’s one of those “Ohhhhhh” moments.
Exams
I had two this week…let’s not talk about them. ?
Summary
My Week in Ten Words: Exams. Frustration. Future decisions. Big investments. Hope and excitement. Yeah!
Question of the Week: When is spending money worth it?
September 20-25, 2020