#MLwork

[jose-pedro-jacinto]

Gara-Gara - VENENO REI DA RIMA (KUDURO) VIDEO OFFICIAL [www.mataianews.blogspot.com]

MLWork Comunicação

[tredenceinc]

MlWorks - An End to End Machine Learning and Model Management Accelerator

Struggling to streamline your #DataScience Practice and manage #ML models in Production? Pavan Nanjundaiah - Solutions Head at Tredence Inc. shares his insights on how we can bring in structure and efficiently manage your ML models using our #MLOps accelerator - ML Works, built on Databricks unified data analytics platform Click on the link to know more: https://bit.ly/2N8eVad

[measuringlife]

Measuring Me: Summertime Sadness

My job requires insane hours in the summer. 16 hour days are the norm, not the exception. It’s only for a few weeks, but it’s a very intense few weeks and somehow over the last few years shit hits the fan in my personal life just as work is getting crazy. Freddie my senior Pomeranian has had health issues flare up for the last 2 summers and again this past week My fiance has had some personal life drama the last 2 summers and now this summer - he got injured at work 2 weeks ago and resulting in numerous doctor visits and worker’s comp.

When I’m busy with work self-care is already really hard for me, but them to add on stress due to my loved ones it can be absolutely overwhelming. I’m so quick to take care of others before myself and then I find myself with the candle wick burned down completely at both ends. I already feel so out of sorts and it’s only been a week of craziness. 4 more weeks of this are going to be tough, this upcoming week is especially intense. I’m prioritizing fitness and sleep because I know both of these things are guaranteed to make me feel better. However, I’m also frustrated that my eating isn’t great and that wedding planning, and Measuring Life work are limping along. I know I can’t do it all and I know I shouldn’t attempt it, but I have the little voice that tells me I’m a worthless failure because I can’t do and be everything.

I somehow can’t allow myself to see that despite the long days at work for a few weeks, I have been working for 10 months to make these events happen. We start our initial summer planning and goal setting the Friday before Labor Day and then chip away at our monumental task each and every day. I think my age coupled with my cynicism for my work and field lead to extra lethargy. I’ve definitely “lost that loving feeling.” At the same time, I have also come to accept that I romanticized how I thought I’d feel in my job, but here I am coming up on my 3 year anniversary next week and I feel very meh. I guess meh is better than burned out which is how I previously felt. I’m excited to start my health grad certificate classes in the fall which is a big bonus of my employer, but I am also curious how long I can “hang in there.” I’m tired, work feels like Groundhogs Day most days. The funny thing is that there is a LINE of people who are just waiting for me to leave (or other people at my level in my field of work) who would be thrilled (or think they would be thrilled) to do my job. Knowing despite all your backbreaking work that you are replaceable is tough on the ego, even if your employer has no idea of your true value to their organization.

I guess to wrap things up on a positive note if nothing else this summer will only renew my desire to chase down my purpose and not get too comfortable and content. I also have a beach vacation that we leave for the morning after my last big July event. Having something to look forward to helps!

[measuringlife]

Measuring Me: Grad School 2.0

I went straight from undergrad into grad school without any break. I kept summer employment at my undergrad the summer after a graduated (that included housing) so when it came to going to grad school I moved straight from my college summer apartment to my grad school apartment. Most of the others in my Masters' cohort were fresh out of undergrad too.

For me, grad school was a secure next step (that also gave me two years until I had to start paying back my college loans). I also knew staying in a “student” headspace would likely help my academic performance as opposed to taking time off. One semester bled into the next. I was already used to 1x week classes since a big chunk of my communications classes were 1x week. What I was not used to was APA style writing and bibliographies, this was not part of my broadcast journalism curriculum. I pushed through my 42 credit masters in 4 semesters and when it came time for graduation in May 2007 I was DONE.

I also knew to continue on to a Ph.D. wasn’t going to be in the cards for me, for a whole host of reasons, particularly my concern about how long higher education as we know it will continue to exist. I had my sights set on getting to the “Director” level and seeing how that went. I’m closing out year 3 as a Director and at age almost 36 I know I don’t want to spend the next 30 years here. I also know higher education is not adapting quickly enough especially for Millenials like me that thrive off of flexibility. For the past 6 months or so as I forecast the end of my full-time higher education career I’ve spent a lot of think thinking about what’s next and what I can do now to help me get there. Taking “free” classes at a university where I’ve been employed has always been on the table, but I never took advantage of it.

Last year a colleague mentioned finished a certificate and it got me wondering what certificate programs the university I worked at offered. Pretty quickly I found the Nutrition Education certificate through the Health Studies department in the College of Arts and Sciences. Coincidently this is also the department that I adjunct teach Urban Hiking through. I applied back in November, but it was too late for Spring admission. I knew there was a lot of red tape regarding tuition remission so I was pleased that my department chair reached out to talk through my interest in the program. The plan is to start with taking a Nutrition course and a Behavior Changes for Health Promotion course in the fall then a Sports Nutrition class in the spring. It sounds right up my alley.

I know I have a lot on my plate as it so, so making time for classes 2 nights a week in the fall plus homework is going to be a test. Fall thankfully in my quieter season so I’m hopeful. I think Summer is too busy for me to spread a class over Fall, Spring, Summer for the next two years. There are also financial implications. My tuition is “waived,” but I would need to pay taxes on the class for anything over 3 credits, which would be the tune of $5,250 for each additional class each calendar year. The certificate is 18 credits total. However, my department chair mentioned that if I was enjoying the certificate program I could add 12 more credits to round out an MS in Health Promotion Management. I’m not so sure about that, but it’s good to know I have options.

I am trying best to channel my “workaholism” positively - both financially and developmentally. My group fitness instruction plays nicely into my coursework and pet sitting allows me to have some solo study time which I made the most of when studying for my group fitness instructor certification. All of this is building and I’m getting really excited about what the next few chapters hold.

[measuringlife]

My petsitting sidehustle has been BUSY lately. Lots of kitty clients which to my surprise I am loving. That little Persian boy I especially adored, I checked in for 10 days and I’m going to miss him and our lap time while brushing him. Here are this week’s clients and I can’t forget my number #1 boy, Freddie aka the reason I need a side hustle - to cover all his vet bills and prescription dog food!

[measuringlife]

Ya girl is hired to be BODYPUMP instructor @goldsgym 🙌💪🙌

[measuringlife]

Measuring Monday: Teaching 101

Teaching is my blood, both my parents were teachers and both of my mom’s parents were teachers. Truth be told I never set out to teach in any capacity, but destiny is funny like that.  

I found my way to teaching first in college where I started gravitating towards positions when I could “mentor” underclassman. Actually, that’s not true, I had a brief stint in high school where I taught CCD (Catholic education classes) for a year to first graders with my friend Heather. Nightmare, definitely solidified being a traditional K-12 teacher was not for me! So my college mentor role developed in co-teaching two interdisciplinary classes in grad school, both were highlights, but again I was drawn in through the leadership aspect more than the teaching. Two years later I taught a first-year college seminar, but that was the most “teaching” I did in like 5 years. Granted I was “leading” weekly 3 hour trainings for student leaders during that time, but again I never thought of it as teaching.

Suddenly I found myself at the helm of a whole course with 55+ sections of a first-year college transitions class and almost as many adjunct faculty to wrangle all while teaching a section myself. But it was during this time that I had my first real taste of experiential education, and in this case, it was through outdoor adventure curriculum. The learning that happened outside the class was even more powerful than anything that I could achieve in the classroom. One of my favorite “lessons” was on budgeting and decision making. We assigned students in small groups to meal plan for our trip. Each group probably got 2 meals to do. Each meal had a different amount budgeting to spend, so like breakfast was $4 per person, lunch was $6 per person, and dinner was $8 per person. The groups knew what meals they had to make and they were aware of the budget per person, but the trick was did the count all group members (including trip leaders, which one group forgot). What could they buy that could stretch the money out, what could be cooked with limited supplies on portable gas stoves? Were everyone’s dietary needs considered? Would the food be made at camp or did it need to be portable? So the groups needed to plan, shop and then cook. It was a real-life lesson and part of the well thought out curriculum that was cloaked in food shopping. In some cases they made too much food, others not enough food, went waaay under-budget or needed a last minute change because at the register they were over-budget. The processing the activity can sometimes be the best part.

Anyway, I taught another few years in traditional classroom settings, I even was hired to teach a 3-credit public speaking class, talk about traditional. I was really looking forward to the chance, but when I changed jobs HR needed me to resign my adjunct gig with my full-time gig, so I gave up the class months before it started. I toyed with picking up a first-year seminar class or a communications class at my current school, but for a whole host of reasons I didn’t. Then Urban Hiking found me.

A younger colleague of mine who I was Facebook friends with posted in Fall 2017 about being excited to be a first-time adjunct faculty and teaching an Urban Hiking class. I was excited for her excitement, but I was like Urban Hiking, tell me more. We chatted about it a few times over the course of the semester, I shared with her a bit about my outdoor education background. Well not too long after that she reached out to me letting me know she couldn’t teach in the Spring and wanted to refer me to her department chair. Next thing I knew I was brushing off my resume and interviewing for the gig which I got on the spot!

Teaching Urban Hiking last spring for the first time was a game changer. I was able to teach college students, be outdoors, and exercise. WINNING! This class is for 3 hours on Saturdays for 5 weeks and I was unsure about if it was worth the extra haul into DC. However, it quickly became my favorite part of the week. Not only was the class time itself great, but I loved reading the students reflections about each week’s hike and lesson. The class is designed to take students on various DC trails and introduce necessary hiking skills and concepts to hike for outdoor travel or as a recreational fitness activity. Content covers: fitness for hiking, route planning,  proper clothing and gear, safety concerns, and environmental conditions. I’m currently in my 3rd semester teaching Urban Hiking and it gets better and better. I’ve also spent the past two semesters mentoring the adjuncts who have taught the other second. Yup, the class was so popular that my department added a second section!

Recently I’ve gone and added the layer of Group Fitness Instructing which is such a different vibe. There are participants of all ages and abilities, those who are there to work out hard and those there to be more social. There is a sense of team and community, but also we are individuals all on our own journey, getting unique things from the workout. Lots of folks have asked me about my BODYPUMP teaching. In the Les Mills formats (which is the umbrella company out of New Zealand that are trainers that develop varieties of workouts) the instructors do the whole workout with the participants facing the class. We give verbal cues and we model the exercises. We stay at the front and try and give corrective cues as we go without calling out participants directly during class. There is so much going on from microphones to music to equipment, to knowing the choreography, getting the timing down, giving good cues, getting your mouth and brain to connect so you can say those cues, AND you are doing the entire workout while giving modifications, corrections, and most importantly praise and encouragement. Since I’m still a sub instructor I haven’t had the opportunity to develop too much rapport with the participants, but I’ve found myself subbing the same classes a few times now and that rapport is starting to develop.

Yesterday I fully co-taught a BODYPUMP class with my friend R. It was a blast to be teaching PUMP in my home gym. I’m co-teaching PUMP with J on Thursday and I’m stoked since I was a regular in that class. I’m also solo subbing at my home gym on the 17th and I can’t wait. The big dance will be when I get to sub a 10:25am Saturday class which is always packed and was a part of my weekend routine for a long time!

Call me a teacher, faculty, adjunct, instructor, professor whatever you want. I enjoy leading people and being seen as a resource.

[measuringlife]

Measuring Monday: Facing Fear

If you have a Hulu subscription and 98 minutes, I can’t recommend watching “Free Solo,” enough. It’s the Oscar-winning documentary about free solo (rocking climbing without ropes) climber Alex Honnold. I was vaguely familiar with this story, but watching his meticulous planning and approach to climbing El Cap was so inspiring. He was systematic, focused, had a support network/tribe, and wasn’t afraid. A key message throughout the doc was “do it until it’s not scary anymore.” I also loved the comparison a fellow climber made about the discipline, training, focus, and skills to free solo El Cap - imagine a gold medal worthy Olympic performance and how Alex’s option was to win the gold or die.

I came across a great Forbes article from earlier this month titled, “The Seven Lessons From “Free Solo” on Working Without a Rope”, the 7 lessons were:

The accomplishment is more preparation than performance

Know the terrain

Control the risks you can: anticipate the risks you can’t

Turn around when it’s not right

Seek mastery, not luck

Practice creates confidence

There are no “hacks”

I learned lesson 1 through marathon training. I ran a near perfect (to me) marathon in 5:04, after a serious training cycle. My second marathon I under-prepared and I willed myself to the finish dragging my sister along in 5: 28, but my third marathon I trained hard. However I knew it was going to be a tough race due to injury and 15 extra pounds of weight I was carrying since my last marathons, I finished in 5:45. As much as you focus on 26.2 miles it’s important to remember and celebrate the hundreds of miles you ran getting you to that start line. This notion holds true is all types of situations.

Know the terrain is an interesting one. Over the last year since I initially began to seriously toy with a career change/life transition, I knew I needed to really explore as much as I could before making any decisions. I started writing more, worked with a life coach, get certified in BODYPUMP, work as a fitness instructor, teach an Urban Hiking class, study my weight watchers leaders/meetings, absorb as much inspirational and aspirational health/wellness/fitness content in all forms as possible. If I am going to leap I want to know where I’m headed as well as I can.

I love lesson 3, I say it all the time - especially at my day job. I am a broken record of saying “control the control-ables” and “do your future self a favor.” I’ve come to realize how my strategic thinking skills are kinda like a superpower. I thought everyone had them, but I can just see the domino effect or the decision trees so clearly with most things. What can I avoid and what can I anticipate. Part of my anticipation skills at work has been to log and collect data that I know will be useful in the future or create documents are well labeled and put in folders where I can find them later so I can retool and send out when they are needed in a moment’s notice. I also write meeting agendas and send them 24 hours before the meeting because who knows what the next day will look like and I’d rather get it done. Any spare time I have each day at work I use 50% of it to chill for a moment and 50% of it to start tackling future projects or items that will likely be useful in the future.

Turn around when it’s not right, this is a lesson that has bitten me in the ass multiple times. Too often my ego or stubborn nature get in the way of my bailing on something or someone. I’m working on this daily. I think part of this life/career shift is to turn around from this life of a 9-5 in the same field for my whole career. My creativity is stifled and the more I head toward the light of change the more freedom I feel.

I can fully relate to practice create confidences to lesson 1 also, but faking it until you make it can only take you so far. Confidence comes from preparedness, learning, being mentored/supported, and building on smaller successes. I relied on bravado for a long time, but it’s nowhere near as powerful as confidence. When you KNOW something with every fiber of your being it’s a force to be reckoned with.

I didn’t skip lesson 5, but I tied in better with lesson 7. I’m not a lucky person, but I’ve always relied on mastery. I am getting something because of the blood, sweat, and tears I put into it. Which ties into the fact that there are no life hacks to excellence. What you put into it you will get out of it and hopefully even more. But even if it’s an exact return on investment I still think that’s worthy. Honnald said in a TED talk when asked about any hacks was “What is the thing that’s worth putting in the work for you? What is the thing that’s most important to you?” He went on to say, “Baked into that is an appreciation for the hard work and the level to which you’ve completely devoted yourself to the pursuit.” First, you need to examine yourself, your wants, your dreams, and aspirations. Then you go after it, no holds barred!

[measuringlife]

Measuring Monday: High School Jobs

In January 1998, after the holidays I got my first job at my church’s Rectory, I was 14 and in 9th grade. I got the gig because at the time I was an altar server, one of the first female altar servers after a rule change in the Catholic Church thankyouverymuch. Now, I had sporadically babysat for a few years prior and continued to do so, but this was my first job on a payroll - making a whopping  $4.25/hr. I generally worked on Wednesdays from 4pm-7pm. Much of that time was spent listening to Z100 on the clock radio and doing homework. Oh and there was that one time that a funeral got scheduled, but I failed to write it down in all the like 5 places I was supposed to, so the family and funeral home showed up to a locked church...oooooooooopps. Thankfully it got worked out quickly and I didn't get fired due to my misstep.

Each subsequent year of high school I picked up an additional gig, summer after 10th grade I worked my first of 3 summers at a Day Camp near my house while keeping the Rectory job. I loved my summers as a Camp Counselor - I got a delicious free lunch every day, got to work on my tan, make new friends, and some of the male Counselors were babes. I also liked the kids, I worked with Kindergarten boys my first summer - they were my favorite. Then 1st grade girls and finally 6th grade girls. As a Counselor, we only got paid a small stipend, but tips at the end of the summer were awesome!

The summer prior to my Senior year of high school I picked up another job at CVS, which was right across from the Camp, so during the summer on days that I was working at CVS I’d walk across the street for a 4:30-9:30pm shift after an 8am-4pm day at Camp. I knew I had a good work ethic, but I also wanted to be away from my house as much as possible and the spending money was critical since by this time I was paying for most of my own clothes, school supplies, etc. By this time, summer 2000, the minimum wage has risen to $5.15/hr. I also l really loved my time at CVS, being on register and facing the shelves were my favorite. My coworkers were also a cast of characters which made working there entertaining. I was working at CVS was when “ExtraCare Card” launched, I wanna say February-March 2001. I still have my OG card.  While working there I ended up picking up some hours in the Pharmacy as a tech and went to a few weekend training for some “certifications.” I actually got paid a little more for the hours I worked in the Pharmacy which was great. Plus I really like Pharmacy too, well except for dealing with insurance companies, but nobody like them!

Even after I left for college I came back to work at CVS over my 5-6 week Winter break my freshman year. On New Years Eve 2001 (going into 2002) about an hour before the 6pm holiday closing the store was held up... at gunpoint... by a former employee... who I hugged only minutes before when I saw him in the store. I was actually in Pharmacy when the robbery happened, but my friend (an elementary school turned he friend who I got the job at CVS a year prior) was the one held up in the office when the robber slipped in behind her. I didn’t know we were robbed until after the fact, but needless to say my CVS career did not extend through whatever shifts I was scheduled to work the rest of Winter break. I actually was subpoenaed to testify at the Grand Jury trial months later which required me to get excused from college in CT to go to Long Island for a long weekend. Despite this blemish on my CVS experience, I am still a very loyal CVS customer.

If you thought I worked a lot in high school, then spoiler alert: I worked even more in college.

[measuringlife]

I've earned 63 fit points thus far today from going to Body combat and Body pump this morning, walking the dogs that I'm sitting for, and 7.1 miles in my last urban hiking class.

Facilitating my recovery with water, Powerade zero and chocolate milk. Chocolate milk is a perfect recovery drink and beer is also good too, I shall also have pumpkin beer later!

[measuringlife]

A friend shared this quote with me via twitter today and holy hell can I relate. I’m known to always have a lot on my plate, sometimes by force, but other times by choice. Over the past year I have focused on balance and alignment as my ultimate goals. However this is always a work in progress for me… .

[measuringlife]

I just realized I didn’t share here that I recently started dog sitting with @roverdotcom! I’ve had clients the past 2 weekends and I’ve loved it. It’s a pretty simple way to make money and multitask and HELLO I love dogs! I have some Rover discount codes or could share my page if your are in the Northern VA/DC area and want me to dog sit/walk!

[measuringlife]

Week 2 of Urban Hiking. Lovely little 4.75 miler!

[measuringlife]

Beautiful day for a 4.5 mile hike with my class yesterday! I can’t believe next week is already our last class!

[measuringlife]

I got nominated for a Staff Performance Award by one of my students, this is the nomination she wrote. I’ve never received any sort of formal recognition for my work before and this is just beyond heartwarming!

[measuringlife]

This is a picture of me right now. Seriously. I want to share the good and the bad here. I’ve put on 10 lbs since 7/27 and almost left Body Combat in the middle of class because I could FEEL those 10 lbs jiggling on my body making everything seem so much harder. I finished out the class and I’m glad I did. Thankfully my busiest season of work officially wraps up on Friday after an especially grueling Sun-Tues this week. I know I will get back in the groove now that vacation, Birthday, and final push of a busy work season are behind me, but I still feel like a failure. Like I caught a beautiful butterfly that I lost time and time again and swore I wouldn’t let it getaway, but then I did. I know weight loss and fitness is a series of falling down and getting back up. I’m just wallowing in the moment and I thought it was important to share my human imperfection because it’s real. #failure #human #weightlossjourney #fitnessjourney #real #recovery #selfcare #balance #alignment