Add alllll the old blog posts from college

src/posts/10-tips-for-successful-public-speaking.md

@@ -9,13 +9,13 @@ tags: [advice]
 
 Hey friends!
 
-So, not everyone likes speeches. Public speaking is the #1 most common fear out there. If you don’t get time to practice it often, it’s really just not fun.
+So, not everyone likes speeches. Public speaking is the #1 most common fear out there. If you don't get time to practice it often, it's really just not fun.
 
-So, here are my tips for you. I’m not just saying these. When I go out and talk to a bunch of people, I think about these all the time, and it helps. So do it.
+So, here are my tips for you. I'm not just saying these. When I go out and talk to a bunch of people, I think about these all the time, and it helps. So do it.
 
-## Don’t read.
+## Don't read.
 
-You are talking to people because you have something to say. You’re talking to them because you know what the heck you’re talking about. Speak from your head, not from your paper in front of you. In fact, try not to bring any paper at all, because they make shaky hands easy to spot. If you need notes, bring a clipboard or a notebook to help you out.
+You are talking to people because you have something to say. You're talking to them because you know what the heck you're talking about. Speak from your head, not from your paper in front of you. In fact, try not to bring any paper at all, because they make shaky hands easy to spot. If you need notes, bring a clipboard or a notebook to help you out.
 
 ## Get your hair out of your face.
 
@@ -23,32 +23,32 @@ The strongest hairspray can fail with the right amount of sweat and nervous touc
 
 ## Take your hands out of your pockets.
 
-It’s distracting. You look nervous. If you’re at a podium, put your hands at your sides or hold onto it. If you’ve not nothing in front of you, just keep your arms loosely at your sides unless you’re making a purposeful gesture.
+It's distracting. You look nervous. If you're at a podium, put your hands at your sides or hold onto it. If you've not nothing in front of you, just keep your arms loosely at your sides unless you're making a purposeful gesture.
 
 ## Plant your feet in a comfy stance.
 
-Nothing is more distracting than watching someone pace, rock, or fidget with their feet. Also, DO NOT cross your legs while standing. Even if you have incredible balance, you’re just asking to fall over.
+Nothing is more distracting than watching someone pace, rock, or fidget with their feet. Also, DO NOT cross your legs while standing. Even if you have incredible balance, you're just asking to fall over.
 
 ## Eye contact.
 
-This is the easiest one on the list. Don’t shift your eyes around, don’t stare at the back wall. That advice is for high schoolers. Look at everyone in the eye. For every sentence you say, look at someone. Shift to someone nearby when you say your next sentence. If your transition from person to person is smooth and steady, everyone will feel like you’ve spoken to them, and spoken to them well.
+This is the easiest one on the list. Don't shift your eyes around, don't stare at the back wall. That advice is for high schoolers. Look at everyone in the eye. For every sentence you say, look at someone. Shift to someone nearby when you say your next sentence. If your transition from person to person is smooth and steady, everyone will feel like you've spoken to them, and spoken to them well.
 
-## Don’t touch your face.
+## Don't touch your face.
 
-When people make mistakes (or have their hair in their face), they touch their face a LOT. It’s distracting. Some of the best speeches I’ve ever heard we ruined because I saw someone scratching their face and playing with their hair. No. Stop. Don’t do it.
+When people make mistakes (or have their hair in their face), they touch their face a LOT. It's distracting. Some of the best speeches I've ever heard we ruined because I saw someone scratching their face and playing with their hair. No. Stop. Don't do it.
 
 ## Take some time to recover.
 
-If you make a mistake, don’t apologize profusely, don’t stammer. Audiences are very tolerant of a moment of silence. So, if you fumble, just take pause and recollect your thoughts, and then resume. It’s a much more graceful approach to saying, “oh um I forgot to mention that crap so I have to go back” etc. etc.
+If you make a mistake, don't apologize profusely, don't stammer. Audiences are very tolerant of a moment of silence. So, if you fumble, just take pause and recollect your thoughts, and then resume. It's a much more graceful approach to saying, "oh um I forgot to mention that crap so I have to go back" etc. etc.
 
 ## Tell stories.
 
-People remember them. If you want to talk about the importance of adopting puppies, tell them about your (or a friend’s) experience in buying a puppy. If you’re talking about best practices for putting together an event on campus, tell them about events you’ve hosted. Be funny, and smile with your stories. Chances are, the audience will smile back.
+People remember them. If you want to talk about the importance of adopting puppies, tell them about your (or a friend's) experience in buying a puppy. If you're talking about best practices for putting together an event on campus, tell them about events you've hosted. Be funny, and smile with your stories. Chances are, the audience will smile back.
 
 ## Be CONFIDENT.
 
-Public speaking isn’t as much about what you say as it is how you say it. Whether the audience is 5 people or 5,000, you have a reason to be there, and to make them really listen to what you’re saying. Sell yourself and your message to them. Deliver it like you’re the best person in the world to do it. Speak loudly, and smile. It’ll make the most boring speech more engaging.
+Public speaking isn't as much about what you say as it is how you say it. Whether the audience is 5 people or 5,000, you have a reason to be there, and to make them really listen to what you're saying. Sell yourself and your message to them. Deliver it like you're the best person in the world to do it. Speak loudly, and smile. It'll make the most boring speech more engaging.
 
 ## Have FUN!
 
-You’re going to be awesome at this. Go and tell people your message, and be proud doing it!
+You're going to be awesome at this. Go and tell people your message, and be proud doing it!

src/posts/agua-caliente-writing-exercise.md

@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ Suddenly, I hear a voice behind me.
 There he was. Exactly as I remembered. Older, perhaps, but just as
 confident-looking, with smile lines around his eyes.
 
-"Of course I'm here,” I replied, "I've been waiting for you."
+"Of course I'm here," I replied, "I've been waiting for you."
 
 "You have to stop waiting for me. You know why I left." He opened the door and
 ushered me toward it, but I refused.

src/posts/better-than-you.md

@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+---
+layout: ../layouts/BlogPost.astro
+title: I am better than you at everything
+slug: better-than-you
+description: "(I'm not, actually)"
+tags:
+  - advice
+added: 2013-12-09T06:00:00.000Z
+---
+
+Hey.
+
+I think you're great.
+
+Really.
+
+I've noticed that a lot of times when you're in a tough class like calculus or physics or Russian Literature or something, something happens: It breaks you. You were a great student until you hit that class. Suddenly, you're struggling. You're not just "getting" it. You have to study harder than you're used to, and things still don't seem to make sense.
+
+What the heck, school.
+
+And then, here comes in that one person. The one person that ruins the class curve. The person who does just "get" it.
+
+They're the worst.
+
+The worst part about them is that you don't always hate them. Sometimes they're even your friend. But when you happen to glance at their last test score with yours in the back of your mind, it's all loathing. Not just for them, but for yourself.
+
+"Why the heck don't I understand this?"
+"I thought I was smart…"
+"Where did I go wrong?"
+"I'm just going to drop this class."
+
+Don't drop the class.
+
+The sad part about those people is that they often are the loudest about their grades. You notice them the most. And even worse is that because everyone is trying to hide the fact that they are also suffering as much as you are, they also murmur things like, "oh yeah it wasn't so bad," or, "yeah I did better than expected." What those people don't say is, "Well… I was expecting a low F so the D+ actually is better than I expected…" etc.
+
+You are not alone.
+
+Those people who act like they're better than you at everything?
+
+They're not.
+
+Don't let that one test, that one project, that one class, and yes, that one person get you down.
+
+Every single person hits something that gets them to this point. You're going to be fine.
+
+So sit down, close Facebook and Reddit and Tumblr and Imgur and BuzzFeed and Instagram and Pinterest and Twitter and Klout and YouTube and Vine.
+
+Get to work.
+
+You can do it.

src/posts/broke-a-bus.md

@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+---
+layout: ../layouts/BlogPost.astro
+title: How my big bod broke a bus
+slug: broke-a-bus
+description: I am a real Spaniard now!
+tags:
+  - personal
+added: 2012-03-08T06:00:00.000Z
+---
+
+So, every morning the buses to school (in Spain) are pretty crowded. There aren't many regulations (actually there are none) on how many people can fit on a bus. Also, in general, it has been noted that the Spaniards are not afraid to push or cut in line to get on the bus. Normally, I usually just let them go and I get on the next bus.
+
+On Thursday, this was not the case. When I approached the bus, there were just so many people that I was instantly separated from my friends Tasia and Madison at the stop. The bus was clearly full, and the bus driver yelled that he was going to close the door. It was at this moment my inner Spaniard came out, and pushed onto the bus anyway. I pushed about 3 people on so that I could get on too, and then a couple people saw what I did and followed. The bus was so packed that We didn't have to hold on to anything, we were just sardines waiting to be eaten by the classroom and monotony of everyday movement.
+
+However when the bus pulled away, I instantly noticed that we were a little heavy in front. When the bus stopped at a red light, there was air flowing out of somewhere. The bus driver looked worried. He had a student climb out to check the tires (he couldn't get out himself because there were too many people). The student saw nothing, but there was clearly a lot of air and the bus was lower than usual. We pulled over and the bus driver called in, asking if he could keep going. His manager said no, and all of the students started yelling. Eventually the driver was convinced to keep going. The bus moved very slowly and tilted more than usual on the turns. When we finally got to the university and everyone piled off, the bus driver called in and the bus was out of commission. Supposedly there were only just a few too many students on the bus. Whoops.
+
+Today I decided that I wasn't going to push and I ended up missing two buses. If breaking the bus is what it takes, SO BE IT.

src/posts/computer-science-actually-like.md

@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+---
+layout: ../layouts/BlogPost.astro
+title: What is Computer Science ACTUALLY like?
+slug: computer-science-actually-like
+description: "You might question CS as a major, but I'm here to tell you not to!"
+tags: [advice]
+added: 2014-02-25T06:00:00.000Z
+---
+
+Hi there cutie pie!
+
+So, as you might already know, I'm a computer science major, and I LOOOVE it! A lot of people, though, typically give me a cringe reaction when I say that it's my major.
+
+And yes, I know not everyone likes the idea of coding. They picture someone sitting at a computer all day long in a crappy cubicle staring at a screen with green text and a black background.
+
+Well, I'm here to tell you that you need to erase that image from your mind, because being a computer science major is SO much more than that!
+
+So here's some stereotypes that CS majors face, and then some counterexamples to show that they are not true. 😉
+
+## You're in a cube all day staring at a screen.
+
+False. In all of my internships that I've had, only one of them included a cubicle. Even then, I was only in it for a couple hours a day because I was in meetings and conference rooms and other places throughout the office. The company I'm going to work for, Venmo, has no offices at all!
+
+Now sure, if you want an office with cubicles or offices or couches or anything, there are definitely companies out there with those, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. But you should know that because of the flexibility of the degree and the job, you can honestly work in any type of environment you want.
+
+## It's full of a bunch of boys.
+
+I am not a boy. Next.
+
+Heh okay, I admit there are a lot of guys in computer science. Overall in the US, only 18% of all undergraduate computer and information sciences degrees are received by women ([stat from NCWIT](https://ncwit.org/resource/thefactsgirls/)). But ladies (and guys), don't let that deter you! There are so many great opportunities in computer science career-wise, project-wise, and networking-wise that something like gender shouldn't be a decision-making factor when deciding to go into the field or not.
+
+## It's basically math with a computer involved. No fun.
+
+No.
+
+Okay, yes, math is a good thing to know. But it's not the end of the world if you didn't rock your trig class in high school.
+
+Computer science is about problem solving. You're given a set of skills with the major. Each language you learn is a tool, each idea you learn is a method of solving something. You get to be as creative as you want at that point!
+
+Let's say you wish there were an easier way to keep track of your calorie intake. That's your problem. You can solve it in all kinds of different ways. Sure, you can write it in a notebook or something, but what if you don't have a pen nearby? Let's turn to tech. You could make a phone application that does it for you. You could even have it look up how many calories an avocado has for you so that you don't have to do that yourself. What if you wanted to get REALLY creative with it? Let's add some image recognition to your application. You could have your phone take a picture of an avocado, recognize what you're eating, and then do the looking up of calories for you and list it on your calendar. You could make a website for it! A smartwatch application! A Google Glass tracker that publishes to Twitter! There's so many options!
+
+Computer science is great because of it's flexibility. Do you like art? You can work with code that only works with art ([there's a whole website dedicated to that kind of coding here](https://experiments.withgoogle.com/)). You like chemistry? You can make programs that test strengths of covalent bonds between atoms (I asked my computer science/chemistry double major buddy for that example, so it's super legit). You like math? You can work with Turing machines and algorithms exclusively. You like marketing? You can be a developer evangelist and work with events, writing, code, and competitions ([here's a blog post of someone who did just that](https://www.rdegges.com/2014/my-experience-as-a-new-developer-evangelist/)). You like foreign languages? You can make products to bridge the gap between nations.
+
+Also, what if you don't want to code? You can have jobs like being a technical writer, a project manager, a technical recruiter, a patent lawyer… there's so many opportunities for you even if you just know a little technical knowledge!
+
+I could go on and give an example for pretty much every single other subject you throw at me. Technology is constantly growing, which only means there will be more and more ways to relate computer science to pretty much anything. Not just math.
+
+## I don't have coding experience, so there's no point. It is too late.
+
+\*Touches your shoulder tenderly\* It is never too late for now.
+
+Not everyone goes into CS knowing things about coding. A majority of people I knew in my freshmen classes had little to no experience at all!
+
+Don't let those people intimidate you. You can totally learn at your own pace, in the way that you want. Having previous experience, sure, that's a nice bonus. But you could say that about literally every other field (I tried thinking of exceptions to this rule, and there are none). Don't worry about getting your feet wet, or even moving a little slowly. It's a subject that takes patience. It's so vast that some things are pieces of cake to some people, and pure torture for others. As you go through your classes, you figure out what you like, and you can gear your electives towards your preferences.
+
+Plus, there's so many jobs in computer science out there that you don't have to even think about being worried.
+
+WHAT A CLEVER SEGUE:
+
+## Computer Science is being outsourced all over the place, there's no jobs here.
+
+No no no no no.
+
+There are so many jobs here, it's ridiculous.
+
+Quick history lesson: Baby boomers started taking on a lot of jobs, computer-related ones too, many years ago. Now, they're starting to retire a lot. Millions have retired over the past 6 years.
+
+So, what does that mean for you, for us? JOBS! Not Steve Jobs. I mean careers. For you and me.
+
+The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that by 2020 there will be more than 1.4 million computing-related job openings. At current rates, however, we can only fill about 30% of those jobs with U.S. computing bachelor's grads ([Source](https://ncwit.org/resource/thefacts/)).
+
+That's a LOT of jobs. Get on it.
+
+## Computer scientists are socially awkward.
+
+No we're not.
+
+Well, some are.
+
+But honestly, you could say the same about every single other major out there. Why we were targeted with that one, I couldn't tell you.
+
+We're normal. I'm normal. NORMAL.
+
+## You are probably tired of reading this.
+
+I hope I've deterred some of your malicious thoughts about CS majors (okay I'm sure they weren't malicious, more like "curious," but whatever) and answered some of your questions!
+
+You should totally give computer science a try. You don't have to major in it if you don't want to, but you could just try a class. You'd be surprised at how fun it is.
+
+Get jiggy with it. Peace out, girl scout.
+(Crap, I just reread that… maybe I AM one of the weird ones…)

src/posts/crush-procrastinating.md

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+---
+layout: ../layouts/BlogPost.astro
+title: Crushing Procrastination in 3 Steps
+slug: crush-procrastinating
+description: You should be doing that thing. You know that.
+tags:
+  - advice
+added: 2013-11-04T06:00:00.000Z
+---
+
+Hey. I get you. You're attractive, and you're reading this.
+
+You're also probably not working on something you should be.
+
+That's okay.
+
+BUT, procrastination is still a pain. There's all kinds of ways to combat it so that you don't end up suffering until the minute before something's due. The phrase, "Due Tomorrow? Do Tomorrow." is not something to live by. Instead think, "I will obey Cassidy."
+
+1. Prioritize! When you tell yourself, "Psh this is nothing, I'll do it tomorrow," you should actually block off some time the next day to work on it. Scheduling things gives you the structure and the dedicated time you need to actually make some progress.
+2. Focus! Pick a task or assignment you've been putting off, and work on it for 20 minutes without looking up or stopping. Take a 5 minute break, and then do it again. This will help you form habits that will eventually allow you to be more productive, and feel like it too!
+3. Get friends! If you're tempted to procrastinate, ask a friend (or enemy, I guess…) to hold you accountable. Tell them what you want to accomplish, and your deadline. Ask them to check in with you for updates on your progress. You'll be much more motivated when you know someone's keeping tabs on your work, especially someone that you respect.
+
+I bet you're gonna rock this whole "not procrastinating" thing. I believe in you.

src/posts/crushing-the-impostor-syndrome.md

@@ -2,9 +2,7 @@
 layout: ../layouts/BlogPost.astro
 title: Crushing the Impostor Syndrome
 slug: impostor-syndrome
-description: >-
+description: Sometimes you don't feel like you're good enough, and that you're fooling everyone. You're not alone.
-  Sometimes you don't feel like you're good enough, and that you're fooling
-  everyone.  You're not alone.
 tags:
   - advice
   - musings
@@ -19,7 +17,7 @@ So, I hope you enjoy!
 
 Hey friends. You look really good today. Nice shirt.
 
-So, the other day, someone I work with (a genius, I might add) told me that they didn’t actually know anything about their job. I laughed it off and said they knew so much more than I did, they didn’t need to worry at all. Then they laughed at what I said, and said that I knew more than them!
+So, the other day, someone I work with (a genius, I might add) told me that they didn't actually know anything about their job. I laughed it off and said they knew so much more than I did, they didn't need to worry at all. Then they laughed at what I said, and said that I knew more than them!
 
 What the heck.
 
@@ -27,35 +25,35 @@ They are lying.
 
 Or are they?
 
-This is a phenomenon called the Impostor Syndrome. You achieve things, you do assignments, and you go through school and work, hoping that nobody will realize that you have no idea what you’re doing. You say, “oh, I got lucky on that one,” or, “someone helped me along with that one,” or, “what I did really wasn’t that big of a deal.”
+This is a phenomenon called the Impostor Syndrome. You achieve things, you do assignments, and you go through school and work, hoping that nobody will realize that you have no idea what you're doing. You say, "oh, I got lucky on that one," or, "someone helped me along with that one," or, "what I did really wasn't that big of a deal."
 
 Have you ever thought that?
 If not, good for you. Stop reading this and go enjoy your summer.
 If so, welcome to the rest of the world.
 
-Impostor syndrome is a real thing. Search for it all over the internet and you’ll find papers upon studies upon books upon articles of countless people going through the same thing.
+Impostor syndrome is a real thing. Search for it all over the internet and you'll find papers upon studies upon books upon articles of countless people going through the same thing.
 
-> “I have written eleven books, but each time I think, ‘Uh oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out.’” – Maya Angelou
+> "I have written eleven books, but each time I think, ‘Uh oh, they're going to find out now. I've run a game on everybody, and they're going to find me out.'" – Maya Angelou
 
-Sometimes in classes and at work, I feel like I’m the only one who’s struggling. I’m the only one who’s not sleeping at night and spending countless hours on a single assignment or paper or program. Everyone else seems to just get it. It’s like I’m lying to everyone that I belong at that level, including myself. When I try to confide this in others, they just say, “don’t be silly, you’re great at this.” And all I can think is, “Crap, I’ve fooled them too.”
+Sometimes in classes and at work, I feel like I'm the only one who's struggling. I'm the only one who's not sleeping at night and spending countless hours on a single assignment or paper or program. Everyone else seems to just get it. It's like I'm lying to everyone that I belong at that level, including myself. When I try to confide this in others, they just say, "don't be silly, you're great at this." And all I can think is, "Crap, I've fooled them too."
 
-> “The beauty of the impostor syndrome is you vacillate between extreme egomania and a complete feeling of: ‘I’m a fraud! Oh God, they’re on to me! I’m a fraud!’ So you just try to ride the egomania when it comes and enjoy it, and then slide through the idea of fraud.” – Tina Fey
+> "The beauty of the impostor syndrome is you vacillate between extreme egomania and a complete feeling of: ‘I'm a fraud! Oh God, they're on to me! I'm a fraud!' So you just try to ride the egomania when it comes and enjoy it, and then slide through the idea of fraud." – Tina Fey
 
-Students don’t just feel this. Everyone encounters this at some points. But why? Why do we feel like this? Dr. Valerie Young says that, “The thing about ‘impostors’ is they have unsustainably high standards for everything they do. The thinking here is, If I don’t know everything, then I know nothing. If it’s not absolutely perfect, it’s woefully deficient. If I’m not operating at the top of my game 24/7, then I’m incompetent.”
+Students don't just feel this. Everyone encounters this at some points. But why? Why do we feel like this? Dr. Valerie Young says that, "The thing about ‘impostors' is they have unsustainably high standards for everything they do. The thinking here is, If I don't know everything, then I know nothing. If it's not absolutely perfect, it's woefully deficient. If I'm not operating at the top of my game 24/7, then I'm incompetent."
 
-> “You think, ‘Why would anyone want to see me again in a movie? And I don’t know how to act anyway, so why am I doing this?’” – Meryl Streep
+> "You think, ‘Why would anyone want to see me again in a movie? And I don't know how to act anyway, so why am I doing this?'" – Meryl Streep
 
-One day a couple of months ago at my internship, I wrote this fairly simple application for my team that would make one of their projects run more smoothly. When I showed it to them, I was terrified that they’d just be like, “that’s nice, Cassidy,” then go on with their work. But then a miracle happened. They were impressed. They asked how I did it. They asked if I’d talk at a lunch about the language and algorithm I used. I’m not saying this to brag. I’m saying this out of pure shock.
+One day a couple of months ago at my internship, I wrote this fairly simple application for my team that would make one of their projects run more smoothly. When I showed it to them, I was terrified that they'd just be like, "that's nice, Cassidy," then go on with their work. But then a miracle happened. They were impressed. They asked how I did it. They asked if I'd talk at a lunch about the language and algorithm I used. I'm not saying this to brag. I'm saying this out of pure shock.
 
 I came to a realization that can be explained by the following. I assumed that everyone around me was a super genius programmer, because they seemed like it. But in fact, everything I knew was not in their repertoire. I could teach them as they were teaching me. What?!?
 
 ![Impostor diagram](/assets/impostorsyndrome.jpg)
 
-So, how do you destroy the Impostor Syndrome? Here’s a few tips.
+So, how do you destroy the Impostor Syndrome? Here's a few tips.
 
-Be confident. Don’t just wait until you feel confident to act like it. Admit when you don’t know something, and be authentic and accept that you don’t need to know everything.
+Be confident. Don't just wait until you feel confident to act like it. Admit when you don't know something, and be authentic and accept that you don't need to know everything.
-Communicate and seek encouragement. It sounds like silly advice. But sometimes, you need a pep talk. When you’re feeling down about yourself, tell a parent, a teacher, or a close friend. Be willing to accept their encouragement and don’t just tell yourself that they’re just being nice! If you accept and internalize what they say, you might just live by it.
+Communicate and seek encouragement. It sounds like silly advice. But sometimes, you need a pep talk. When you're feeling down about yourself, tell a parent, a teacher, or a close friend. Be willing to accept their encouragement and don't just tell yourself that they're just being nice! If you accept and internalize what they say, you might just live by it.
-Take risks, and get out of your comfort zone. When you tell yourself that you “fooled them again” or that you “got lucky again,” you’re going to start avoiding taking on challenges and opportunities just in case you won’t be able to pull it off like last time. Take that hard class with the difficult professor, take on the tough assignment at work, join a team that you feel is better than you are. You learn the most when you challenge yourself!
+Take risks, and get out of your comfort zone. When you tell yourself that you "fooled them again" or that you "got lucky again," you're going to start avoiding taking on challenges and opportunities just in case you won't be able to pull it off like last time. Take that hard class with the difficult professor, take on the tough assignment at work, join a team that you feel is better than you are. You learn the most when you challenge yourself!
-So, with that, good luck. I know this was a lot to take in, but I want to tell you that you are great. You are smart. You’re about to go to the best university in the world (in my opinion anyway, people probably have others), take on impressive courses, join clubs I never could, and be successful.
+So, with that, good luck. I know this was a lot to take in, but I want to tell you that you are great. You are smart. You're about to go to the best university in the world (in my opinion anyway, people probably have others), take on impressive courses, join clubs I never could, and be successful.
 
-## You’ll do great.
+## You'll do great.

src/posts/design-iphone-app.md

@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+---
+layout: ../layouts/BlogPost.astro
+title: Design Your First iPhone App
+slug: design-iphone-app
+description: It's not too bad to start building the phone app of your dreams!
+tags:
+  - advice
+  - technical
+added: 2013-10-21T05:00:00.000Z
+---
+
+Hey good lookin.
+
+So, I'm a computer science major. Introducing myself that way usually sends people running for the hills. "I'm not tech savvy," they say. "I could never do that," they say.
+
+They are wrong.
+
+Anyone can code, if you put your mind to it. So, I'm going to show you the first steps you need to make an iPhone app of your very own. I'll keep it general and let you follow more specific tutorials and such, but if you follow these steps, you're on your way to building your own app. If you've got a great idea, and you're good at the business side of things, there are plenty of learning resources and opportunities to help you with actually creating the next big app!
+
+First of all, be sure you own a Mac. If you own a PC, you're kind of out of luck. Don't worry, I didn't have a Mac for a while, so I just learned on lab computers and borrowed them!
+
+If this is covered, it's just a few easy steps:
+
+1. **Get an App Store Developer account.**
+   You can't sell an app that you can't list on the store. You have to set up an account that costs about $100 a year. Even if you don't launch your app for a little while, it's good to do. An App Store account provides access to helpful tools and resources for development.
+
+2. **Map out your app.**
+   What's the look and feel of your app? What will the home screen look like? What pages do you need? What do you expect out of your users? How will it flow from screen to screen?
+   There's a great app called [POP](https://marvelapp.com/pop) that helps you figure this out. You just draw out what each screen will look like on paper and take pictures of your drawings, and then it treats your sketches as a real app! It really helps you figure out the flow and design of things.
+3. **Put it together!**
+   The next, fairly intimidating, step is actually coding the app! But don't let that scare you. If you're willing to learn, you can totally learn to code with one of the following resources:
+
+   - [Treehouse](https://teamtreehouse.com/)
+   - [Skillshare](https://www.skillshare.com/)
+   - [Codecademy](https://www.codecademy.com/)
+   - [Stack Overflow](https://stackoverflow.com/)
+
+If you put your mind to it, you can learn it!
+
+If you aren't up for coding but you still want your idea to exist, you can hire a team. Yes, that sounds expensive, but even in just talking to friends and classmates, you might find someone!
+
+There's plenty of options for you to make your great ideas a reality. Good luck!

src/posts/dream-major.md

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+---
+layout: ../layouts/BlogPost.astro
+title: Finding your dream major in college
+slug: dream-major
+description: What if you could study exactly what you wanted to?
+tags:
+  - advice
+added: 2013-11-14T06:00:00.000Z
+---
+
+It's hard to pick a major sometimes. It's scary too. I mean, you're not DEFINITELY stuck with your choice for the rest of your life, if you don't like it. But imagine if you loved your choice from the start, and that you can get your dream job right out of college??
+
+I feel like that kind of happened to me. I asked myself several questions, and the job I got for after graduation is exactly what I want to do with my life!
+
+So, I thought I'd pass along those questions. Who knows, maybe you'll find something new about yourself.
+
+1. I've always wondered what it would be like to do \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, and I think it's interesting to me because \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.
+2. If I had to go back to school tomorrow, I'd major in \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, because \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.
+3. My co-workers and friends always say I'm great at \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, because \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.
+4. The thing I love most about my current schoolwork/job/major is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, because \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.
+5. If I had the right skill set, I'd definitely try \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, because \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.
+6. If my parents/boss/roommate/manager/professor would let me, I'd do more of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, because \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.
+7. If I had a free Saturday that had to be spent just "working" on something, I'd choose \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, because \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.
+8. When I retire, I want to be known for \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, because \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.
+9. If I could choose one friend to trade jobs/majors with, I'd choose \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, because \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.
+
+What'd you come up with?

src/posts/fb-hackathon.md

@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+---
+layout: ../layouts/BlogPost.astro
+title: Facebook's 2012 Summer of Hack
+slug: fb-hackathon
+description: I got to check out the Seattle Facebook offices for their summer hackathon!
+tags:
+  - events
+added: 2012-08-10T05:00:00.000Z
+---
+
+Hey everyone!
+
+So my friends and I were invited to the Facebook offices in Seattle for their Summer of Hack 24 hour Hackathon the other day. From Saturday 1PM to Sunday 1PM we had out our computers and just coded. It was SO fun! My friend Luis and I made a browser game where stars fall from the sky and you have to catch them, and you can tweet your score. Other people made things like Mac applications and collage designers!  It was so fun!  It took me FOREVER to recover from the lack of sleep though.
+
+[Here's the code for our game!](https://github.com/cassidoo/Star-Catcher)
+
+But, to make it all even more worth it, I got to walk away with a nice bundle of swag.![](/assets/fbswag.jpeg)

src/posts/feedback-is-awesome.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 layout: "../layouts/BlogPost.astro"
 title: "Feedback is awesome"
 slug: feedback-is-awesome
-description: "I love getting feedback from people.  You learn most from it."
+description: "I love getting feedback from people. You learn most from it."
 added: "Feb 22 2014"
 tags: [advice, musings]
 ---
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ This made my day! I love getting positive feedback like this, it only makes me w
 And then, I also got an email from one of the higher ups at Intuit today:
 
 > We were just talking about you the other day, in relation to the Women in Technology initiative in QuickBooks Product Dev. We rolled out a formal goal of mentorship and sponsorship to develop a pipeline of women ready for director, group manager, principal engineer, and architect roles. Since we started... we have two new women group managers, a new woman principal engineer, and several new first-time managers. We have a monthly lunch with the women PD leaders, and we feature various guest speakers— mostly women execs at Intuit. Intuit also hosted a Girl Geek Dinner...
-> Btw, your work on ...[things I worked on at Intuit]... default template is now live in QBO. So you’ve got a legacy at Intuit from your internship.
+> Btw, your work on ...[things I worked on at Intuit]... default template is now live in QBO. So you've got a legacy at Intuit from your internship.
 
 Between the two messages, I don't know which one made me more happy. I love hearing that my views on mentorship are being spread, and that my work I'm doing is making a real impact.
 

src/posts/grace-hopper-baltimore.md

@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+---
+layout: ../layouts/BlogPost.astro
+title: Grace Hopper in Baltimore!
+slug: grace-hopper-baltimore
+description: I'm at a huge women in tech conference!
+tags:
+  - events
+added: 2012-10-03T05:00:00.000Z
+---
+
+Hey everyone!!
+
+Right now I'm at the [Grace Hopper Celebration for Women in Computing Conference](https://ghc.anitab.org/) in Baltimore, Maryland!! I got sponsorship from Microsoft to go and so far I'm having SO MUCH FUN. I have some friends here who came with me last year and also my sister! They got sponsorship through the Iowa State Computer Science department.
+
+This morning we had our welcome in the Baltimore Convention Center, it was super glamorous.
+
+Throughout the day we have seminars and sessions and later a career fair full of tech companies. It's an awesome way to network with people and really celebrate women in computing!
+
+So while you may be enjoying the lovely Midwest, I'll be here in the humid East for the next week!!
+
+SEE YA!

src/posts/hackisu.md

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+---
+layout: ../layouts/BlogPost.astro
+title: HackISU Hackathon!!
+slug: hackisu
+description: We had the first ever Iowa State hackathon!
+tags:
+  - events
+added: 2014-04-08T05:00:00.000Z
+---
+
+Hello my darling kumquats!
+
+I hope you're enjoying the spectacular weather outside.
+
+This past weekend, Iowa State held its first HackISU hackathon, the largest the campus has seen yet! We had around 150 student hackers come in for the weekend and make some incredible things.
+
+For those of you who are like, "WAIT. You make people hack into computers?" No. We don't. A hackathon is a span of time in which you simply make something (or "hack" it together). Hackers were given 24 hours to come up with the coolest hacks they could, and they certainly didn't disappoint!
+
+Throughout the event we had a bunch of food and swag to give out, sponsored by some awesome companies from all over the country.
+
+The event was organized by some groups on campus, the Computer Science/Software Engineering Club (I'm the president of that group, hollerrrr) and CyHack. It was such a successful event, and I was super proud of our team who put it all together.
+
+What kind of cool hacks did we see?? Well, there were some incredible ones!
+
+The winning team made what they called a "Hackulus Leap," which was a hacked-together Oculus Rift-esque virtual reality device controlled by your head, a tablet, a headpiece, and a Leap Motion device! We had everything from games to skydiving apps to lights that changed with music to productivity apps like Tweet shorteners.
+
+Isn't that awesome?? It's amazing what you can do in 24 hours. We had all kinds of majors too, not just programmers and hardware hackers! We had some economics majors, some mechanical engineers, designers, advertisers… everyone was welcome.
+
+HackISU will only get bigger every year, and I hope you join us next year!

src/posts/here-come-the-2013-mashups.md

@@ -20,6 +20,6 @@ So, I wanted to share with you my three favorite 2013 Mashups so far! I love mas
 
 [DJ Earworm's United State of Pop 2013 (Living the Fantasy)](https://soundcloud.com/dj_earworm/united-state-of-pop-2013-living-the-fantasy): I don't usually listen to DJ Earworm, but this is probably my favorite of his yearly mashups yet! It's really epic sounding group of 25 songs from this year.
 
-[#AnDyWuMUSICLAND Mashup 2013](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2jWmB5Uy0g): This one is SUPER fun. It might be because I like that he included a Les Miserables song in there… along with 64 others!! Something also cool about this one is that he lined up not only the songs, but the lyrics too [(here’s a link to them)](https://andywumusicland.tumblr.com/post/69081318879/andywumusicland-mashup-2013-best-60-pop-songs).
+[#AnDyWuMUSICLAND Mashup 2013](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2jWmB5Uy0g): This one is SUPER fun. It might be because I like that he included a Les Miserables song in there… along with 64 others!! Something also cool about this one is that he lined up not only the songs, but the lyrics too [(here's a link to them)](https://andywumusicland.tumblr.com/post/69081318879/andywumusicland-mashup-2013-best-60-pop-songs).
 
-So, I hope you enjoy the end of your 2013 school year, and I can’t wait to see you all again in 2014!
+So, I hope you enjoy the end of your 2013 school year, and I can't wait to see you all again in 2014!

src/posts/how-ace-an-interview.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 layout: "../layouts/BlogPost.astro"
 title: "How to Ace an Interview"
 slug: ace-interview
-description: "Interviews are scary, but they don't have to be.  When you're on the spot, it's best to be prepared.  Let's prepare you."
+description: "Interviews are scary, but they don't have to be. When you're on the spot, it's best to be prepared. Let's prepare you."
 added: "Mar 04 2014"
 tags: [advice]
 ---
@@ -13,8 +13,9 @@ So, I thought I'd give you some advice based on what I've learned.
 Right now.
 
 ## Study the usual interview questions, and fit in your own experiences.
-All you have to do here is go on the internet and search, “common interview questions.”
+
-Everything from “describe a time when you worked on a team” to “what was the most fun presentation you’ve ever had to plan?” is asked to everyone, engineers and business majors alike.
+All you have to do here is go on the internet and search, "common interview questions."
+Everything from "describe a time when you worked on a team" to "what was the most fun presentation you've ever had to plan?" is asked to everyone, engineers and business majors alike.
 Make sure you follow STAR: _Situation_ (what was the situation you were in), _Task_ (what was your job, or task, to tackle the situation), _Action_ (what were the actions to ultimately took), and _Results_ (what were the responses you received and the results you achieved)!
 Now, if you're thinking about technical questions (which I'm a computer science chick too, I get it), my only advice here is to talk a LOT.
 Too many engineers just go up to the white board and start coding then and there without explaining what they're doing.
@@ -25,23 +26,27 @@ The _thought process_ is what these companies are looking for, not just correct
 It's better to have a good thought process and bad code than good code and a bad thought process.
 
 ## Know your story well.
+
 Instead of reflecting all the time on interview questions and rehearsing answers, try reflecting on your school and career chronology until now!
-Think about how you got started in your field, struggles you overcame, what you’ve learned over the years, where and how you developed certain skills, what you’re most proud of, etc.
+Think about how you got started in your field, struggles you overcame, what you've learned over the years, where and how you developed certain skills, what you're most proud of, etc.
 When you know your story, you can answer almost any question about anything because of your personal experiences and what you know already about yourself.
 
 ## Follow the PIE.
+
 I mean this in both senses of the word. Pie is delicious.
 BUT, what I really mean is, the best interviewees are the ones who are _Positive, Interested, and Engaged_ in the interview conversations.
 If you keep worrying about the next question and saying things perfectly, you might forget to have your positive game face showing.
-Just remember to smile! If you look like you’re happy to be there, they’ll be more happy to interview you.
+Just remember to smile! If you look like you're happy to be there, they'll be more happy to interview you.
 
 ## Consider what the company (or organization or school, whatever) wants.
-When you’re at the career fair, ask companies what they look for, and what their culture is like.
+
-You don’t want to think, “oh yeah I’ll just keep practicing, if I know what I’m talking about and can show it, they’ll hire me.”
+When you're at the career fair, ask companies what they look for, and what their culture is like.
-Yes and no. You do want to show them that you know what you’re talking about. But, they also want to feel that you are likable, and that you’ll fit in at the company!
+You don't want to think, "oh yeah I'll just keep practicing, if I know what I'm talking about and can show it, they'll hire me."
+Yes and no. You do want to show them that you know what you're talking about. But, they also want to feel that you are likable, and that you'll fit in at the company!
 Focus more on demonstrating aptitude while being likable rather than just spitting out perfectly crafted answers.
-Laugh with them, relax a bit, and let them see your personality! I mean, I like you, so why wouldn’t they?
+Laugh with them, relax a bit, and let them see your personality! I mean, I like you, so why wouldn't they?
-You personality is one of your skill sets that people often don’t count. Believe me, it counts for a lot.
+You personality is one of your skill sets that people often don't count. Believe me, it counts for a lot.
 
 ## Breathe.
-You’re going to rock this! Just know that if it doesn't work out, it's not the end of the world, and if it does, that's even better. Have FUN and good luck!
+
+You're going to rock this! Just know that if it doesn't work out, it's not the end of the world, and if it does, that's even better. Have FUN and good luck!

src/posts/how-to-ask-for-help.md

@@ -9,34 +9,34 @@ tags: [advice]
 
 Hey cutie. Your laugh makes my morning, and your smile makes my afternoon.
 
-So, I’ve helped as a peer mentor, as an impromptu tutor, as a friend, and just as an upperclassman with a lot of homework problems. From math to science to computing to whatever, you’ll often run into something that you just can’t figure out, and you need to ask for help.
+So, I've helped as a peer mentor, as an impromptu tutor, as a friend, and just as an upperclassman with a lot of homework problems. From math to science to computing to whatever, you'll often run into something that you just can't figure out, and you need to ask for help.
 
-As both an asker and a helper, I’ve discovered the best techniques for asking for help, that will actually get you help.
+As both an asker and a helper, I've discovered the best techniques for asking for help, that will actually get you help.
 
 ## First: Actually try something.
 
-People who you’re asking will be giving you help, not a solution.
+People who you're asking will be giving you help, not a solution.
-The first thing someone will probably ask you is “What have you tried?”
+The first thing someone will probably ask you is "What have you tried?"
-If your answer amounts to “not a lot”, they have a perfect excuse to flat out say, “then why should I help you?”
+If your answer amounts to "not a lot", they have a perfect excuse to flat out say, "then why should I help you?"
-If you try something, then you show that you’re at least moderately familiar with your problem, that you know what won’t work, and it’ll give the helper a guide for how they could explain something to you.
+If you try something, then you show that you're at least moderately familiar with your problem, that you know what won't work, and it'll give the helper a guide for how they could explain something to you.
-If you’re totally lost on what to try, search for your problem online to get some familiarity.
+If you're totally lost on what to try, search for your problem online to get some familiarity.
 
 ## Narrow down your problem.
 
-If you know that just one part of the problem is your issue (because you tried something), make sure you tell your helper (this sounds like I’m talking about some sort of designated buddy system... anyway...) what that small part is.
+If you know that just one part of the problem is your issue (because you tried something), make sure you tell your helper (this sounds like I'm talking about some sort of designated buddy system... anyway...) what that small part is.
-Now, don’t show them something so small that they can’t help you at all, but give them something fairly small to work with.
+Now, don't show them something so small that they can't help you at all, but give them something fairly small to work with.
-If it’s a coding problem, chances are they won’t want to go through 10,000 lines of code.
+If it's a coding problem, chances are they won't want to go through 10,000 lines of code.
-If it’s a math problem, they probably don’t need to see ALL of your steps getting to where you’re at. Et cetera.
+If it's a math problem, they probably don't need to see ALL of your steps getting to where you're at. Et cetera.
-I mean sure, be able to describe the larger context of your problem, but then focus on your problem area when you’re asking for help.
+I mean sure, be able to describe the larger context of your problem, but then focus on your problem area when you're asking for help.
 
-## Don’t be a lazy recipient.
+## Don't be a lazy recipient.
 
-When someone is helping you, they’re donating their time and effort into making sure you understand something.
+When someone is helping you, they're donating their time and effort into making sure you understand something.
-Don’t sit there on your phone while they look at your screen or read your paper.
+Don't sit there on your phone while they look at your screen or read your paper.
 Be an active learner, and talk through things with them. At the same time, be patient.
-Unless you’re paying them for their time, you’re not simply entitled to their help.
+Unless you're paying them for their time, you're not simply entitled to their help.
-I’m guilty of getting impatient if I don’t understand something right away.
+I'm guilty of getting impatient if I don't understand something right away.
-Let them explain how they think about the problem to you in their own way, chances are they might have a different idea than you do, and you’ll come to a mutual solution together.
+Let them explain how they think about the problem to you in their own way, chances are they might have a different idea than you do, and you'll come to a mutual solution together.
 Lovingly.
 
-Hopefully you’ll get the help you need on that nasty problem! I believe in you.
+Hopefully you'll get the help you need on that nasty problem! I believe in you.

src/posts/html-css-tutorial-part-2.md

@@ -142,9 +142,9 @@ So, you have some of the CSS basics down already. You're so smart. It's really a
 
 #### Classes
 
-Let's say that we have 8 `<p>` tags on our HTML page (hint: open style3.html in the **3 - Styles** folder).  
+Let's say that we have 8 `<p>` tags on our HTML page (hint: open style3.html in the **3 - Styles** folder).
-If we want to style each of these tags differently, we can use _classes_. A class is actually an HTML attribute that you can name whatever you want.  
+If we want to style each of these tags differently, we can use _classes_. A class is actually an HTML attribute that you can name whatever you want.
-Check out style3.html to see the classes I added to the `<p>` tags on the page. When you add a class, the user doesn't see it.  
+Check out style3.html to see the classes I added to the `<p>` tags on the page. When you add a class, the user doesn't see it.
 But, you can style specific classes to do what you want, instead of having all `<p>` tags be the same.
 
 How about we style one of the classes specifically? It's simple. Just take the class name you made up (I'll use the `poemtitle` class for my example) and add a period `.` in front of it to select it in CSS, like so:
@@ -154,8 +154,8 @@ How about we style one of the classes specifically? It's simple. Just take the c
 
     }
 
-And there you have it! Even though you might have different styles for your paragraphs, you can style the ones of class `poemtitle` individually.  
+And there you have it! Even though you might have different styles for your paragraphs, you can style the ones of class `poemtitle` individually.
-For this example, let's make all paragraphs with the font family Arial, the `poemtitle`s font weight `bolder`, the `author`s the color `#555555`, and the `poem`s in `italic`.  
+For this example, let's make all paragraphs with the font family Arial, the `poemtitle`s font weight `bolder`, the `author`s the color `#555555`, and the `poem`s in `italic`.
 Try doing it on your own if you can (just put your code in the given `<style>` tags), but you're welcome to cheat:
 
     p
@@ -259,7 +259,7 @@ Open up the **5 - Layout** folder, and use your editor to open `homepage.html`.
 
 Besides the `<div>` tags, everything here should look familiar. Each of the `<divs>` have a `class`, which means we should style those, right? Right.
 
-Within those `<style>` tags, let's add some pizzazz.  
+Within those `<style>` tags, let's add some pizzazz.
 First, let's throw in what we'll be styling: the `<html>` (it is unusual to style this, but I'll explain why we are later), `<body>`, and each of the 4 classes:
 
     html
@@ -320,18 +320,18 @@ This should be straightforward for you so far. The first thing we'll do is creat
 Whoa ho ho, slow down there. What the heck is with these `%` signs?? Well, what this means is that if, for example, a tag's `width` is `75%`, then it's width on the page will be 75% of it's _containing element._
 So when you see that the `.menu` class has a `width: 15%;`, it takes up 15% of its containing element's width, which is the `<body>` tag.
 
-Typically, the `height` property defaults to `0%` and the `width` property defaults to `100%`.  
+Typically, the `height` property defaults to `0%` and the `width` property defaults to `100%`.
 This is why we had to style the `height` properties of both `<html>` and `<body>`.
 If we had just made our `.menu` selector have a height of `100%`, we know that 100% of zero is just zero, so we wouldn't have a menu showing up!  
 When we made the `<body>` tag have `height: 100%`, it also would still be zero, because our `<html>` tag also had a height of 0 without the CSS helping it out.
-Now, if we had just said `height: 50px;` for `.menu`, we wouldn't need the `height` fixes for `<html>` and `<body>`, because it's given a set value, not a value dependent on others.  
+Now, if we had just said `height: 50px;` for `.menu`, we wouldn't need the `height` fixes for `<html>` and `<body>`, because it's given a set value, not a value dependent on others.
 Makes sense? I hope so. You're hot.
 
 Okay, so if you open `homepage.html` in the browser, you see nothing. That's okay. Let's change that by learning a few new CSS properties!
 
 ###### Background color
 
-One property that you will learn to know and love is `background-color`.  
+One property that you will learn to know and love is `background-color`.
 It does exactly what you would expect it to: it sets the background color of the element it is styling!  
 You can fill it in with HEX colors or RGB colors, just like we learned earlier, and the default color is white.
 
@@ -368,28 +368,28 @@ Let's add some backgrounds.
     	width: 100%;
     }
 
-Save in your editor and now refresh in that browser! WOW. COLOR. Now, our site definitely isn't perfect yet.  
+Save in your editor and now refresh in that browser! WOW. COLOR. Now, our site definitely isn't perfect yet.
 Let's throw some MORE new CSS properties at you!
 
 ###### Floating
 
 One property that you will probably use fairly often is `float`. This is one of those properties that you will learn to both love and hate.
 It's kind of magical.
-So, let's say that you want to have a picture in a paragraph. When you see a picture in a news article or even a paper you're writing, the picture is either on the left or the right.  
+So, let's say that you want to have a picture in a paragraph. When you see a picture in a news article or even a paper you're writing, the picture is either on the left or the right.
 It's the same in CSS! If you wanted to put a picture in a paragraph, you'd make the `<img>` tag inside a `<p>` tag have the properties `float: left;` or `float: right;`.
 So, what does this have to do with `<div>` tags? Why could you potentially hate it?
 
 I'll tell you.
 
-With CSS float, a given element can be pushed to the left or right, allowing other elements to wrap around it.  
+With CSS float, a given element can be pushed to the left or right, allowing other elements to wrap around it.
-An element with `float` affecting it will move as far to the left or right as it can.  
+An element with `float` affecting it will move as far to the left or right as it can.
 Usually this means all the way to the left or right of the containing element.
 
-Pretty simple, right? Right. Now, here's the cause for hate: sometimes, `float` just doesn't stop.  
+Pretty simple, right? Right. Now, here's the cause for hate: sometimes, `float` just doesn't stop.
 It has the potential to mess up your layouts and have things move around other things, and really just give you a headache.
 How do you stop that?
 
-With the `clear` property! On the element(s) after any floated elements, make sure that they have `clear: both;` on them (we say `both` because it turns off both `left` and `right` floating).  
+With the `clear` property! On the element(s) after any floated elements, make sure that they have `clear: both;` on them (we say `both` because it turns off both `left` and `right` floating).
 Let's add `float: left;` to the `.menu` and `.content` sections, and `clear: both;` to the `.footer`:
 
     html
@@ -428,7 +428,7 @@ Let's add `float: left;` to the `.menu` and `.content` sections, and `clear: bot
 
 Now if you refresh your browser, things are starting to look a bit more sexy. Like you.
 
-Let's add more delight to this! So let's think, what if you're on your website, but you want to see the footer.  
+Let's add more delight to this! So let's think, what if you're on your website, but you want to see the footer.
 You scroll down. What if, though, you want to see the header again? You'd have to scroll back up.
 
 That's exhausting.
@@ -497,8 +497,8 @@ So, let's get rid of our `float` on `.menu` and `.content`, and the `clear` on t
     	width: 100%;
     }
 
-We are starting to look really hot now.  
+We are starting to look really hot now.
-If you refresh your page in the browser though, you'll notice that there's a little space to the left of our header and footer.  
+If you refresh your page in the browser though, you'll notice that there's a little space to the left of our header and footer.
 Why the heck is that happening?
 
 I'll tell you.
@@ -509,7 +509,7 @@ I'll tell you.
 
 I made the diagram above to show you what the heck you'll be working with.
 
-First, let's look at the CSS property `margin`. Like you can see above, `margin` is the space _outside_ the content's border.  
+First, let's look at the CSS property `margin`. Like you can see above, `margin` is the space _outside_ the content's border.
 Think of it as the 1 inch margins when you write a paper, or the margins of the pages of a book.
 
 The HTML `<body>` tag actually has a natural margin, which is why our header and footer have the space on their sides. S
@@ -639,20 +639,20 @@ The same goes for `padding`, you can also do `padding: 5px 10px 15px 0px;`, etc.
     	width: 100%;
     }
 
-Now, with all that you've learned so far, you should probably make this a really great, functional website.  
+Now, with all that you've learned so far, you should probably make this a really great, functional website.
 I'll teach you just one more thing, and then I'll set you free like a bird or something.
 
 ###### Z-Index
 
 The property `z-index` isn't one that you'll run into super often, but it's something that will help you in the long run.
 
-Now, if you think of your screen as a stack of layers, like a stack of paper on the screen.  
+Now, if you think of your screen as a stack of layers, like a stack of paper on the screen.
 Layer 1 is the lowest layer, and the higher the number, the higher the layer.
 
-The numbers in `z-index` are the same. If an element has `z-index: 0;`, then it is a bottom layer.  
+The numbers in `z-index` are the same. If an element has `z-index: 0;`, then it is a bottom layer.
 If you have an element with a `z-index: 5;`, it's going to be on the 5th layer.
 
-When you create a page and you don't add `z-index` to anything, the layers are just in order.  
+When you create a page and you don't add `z-index` to anything, the layers are just in order.
 So in our example, the `.header` was created first, so it's on the lowest layer, and the `.footer` was created last so it is on the top layer.
 
 We don't want that. What if your `.content` had a ton of information and you had to scroll the page?  
@@ -730,7 +730,7 @@ Duh.
 
 ### The `<link>` Tag, Comments, and other Developer Joys
 
-Let's just say you want to reuse your styles across your website on every page. It makes sense.  
+Let's just say you want to reuse your styles across your website on every page. It makes sense.
 It'd be kind of annoying to have drastic changes on every page.
 
 #### The `<link>` tag
@@ -743,8 +743,8 @@ You write the `<link>` tag like this:
 
     <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="main.css">
 
-Let's take a look at those attributes. The `rel` attribute is for _relationship_.  
+Let's take a look at those attributes. The `rel` attribute is for _relationship_.
-It specifies the relationship between the current document and the linked document, which will almost always be `stylesheet`.  
+It specifies the relationship between the current document and the linked document, which will almost always be `stylesheet`.
 I've never actually seen it in action with anything other than `stylesheet`, but if you really want to know other values you can look it up.
 The `type` attribute will also pretty much always be `text/css`. If it's ever anything else when you want to use it with CSS, I will be quite surprised.
 And finally, `href`. You remember this one, I hope! It's just like our `<a>` tag. It is the URL of the stylesheet.
@@ -778,11 +778,11 @@ A comment in CSS is similar to HTML in that it has a beginning and end part, but
 
     /* This is a comment in CSS! */
 
-Just like in the HTML comments, you have a beginning `/*` and an end `*/`.  
+Just like in the HTML comments, you have a beginning `/*` and an end `*/`.
 If you open up main.css in the **7 - Project** folder, you can see the comments I wrote in there!  
 And again, you can have single-line comments, and multi-line ones too.
 
-Comments are great for keeping track of what you're doing, especially if a project you're working on spans over a period of time.  
+Comments are great for keeping track of what you're doing, especially if a project you're working on spans over a period of time.
 You can make notes for yourself to check later, or you could just tell someone who is reading your code that they are attractive.
 
 #### Other Developer Joys

src/posts/html-css-tutorial.md

@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ HTML, short for _HyperText Markup Language_, consists of these things called tag
 For example, `<html>` is one tag and the closing tag for it is `</html>`, same with `<head>` and `</head>` and `<body>` and `</body>`, and so on. You get it.
 The opening and closing tags together are an _element_ (which also includes everything written in it). For example, `<title>My Website</title>` is one element. The text inside an element, in the title case, `My Website`, is called the _content_ of an element.
 
-Tags organize your page and tell the browser what your page consists of. There's tons of tags out there, some that you may never use.  
+Tags organize your page and tell the browser what your page consists of. There's tons of tags out there, some that you may never use.
 Here's some lists of tags if you really care to see all of them at this point:
 
 - [HTML Dog Tag List](http://www.htmldog.com/reference/htmltags/)
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ So, you can reference the links that I showed you before if you want to check ou
 
 #### Images
 
-`<img>`. Let's just say you want to put an image on your website. This is probably a good tag to know.  
+`<img>`. Let's just say you want to put an image on your website. This is probably a good tag to know.
 Add the following to page1.html:
 
     <img src="https://i.imgur.com/B9q0A.gif" />
@@ -373,7 +373,7 @@ Whoa. That's a lot of crap in there. Let's break it down.
 The first part of the declaration is obvious, `border`. This is the property that we're editing. Man, this is easy.
 
 Next, we have 3 parts in the value section. The first part is `5px`. Firstly, `px` stands for _pixels_. We used this above for our width and heights as well. You always have to include the units (just like in 5th grade math) in your styling, and our units here are pixels. Now, that whole first part, `5px`, is the border's thickness. You guessed it: it's 5 pixels thick. Gosh you're smart.
-The next part is the _border style_. You can plug in several words here, as indicated [on this webpage](http://www.w3schools.com/css/css_border.asp). We used `solid`, but you can also say `dotted`, `dashed`, or `double`. There are some other words you can use, but those depend on the color of the border.  
+The next part is the _border style_. You can plug in several words here, as indicated [on this webpage](http://www.w3schools.com/css/css_border.asp). We used `solid`, but you can also say `dotted`, `dashed`, or `double`. There are some other words you can use, but those depend on the color of the border.
 Color? What? OH YEAH. That's the third part of the border style. You can stick in any color for that, but in this example, we have `black`.
 
 Let's mix it up a bit with different borders for you to check out. I'm just going to keep using the same image, you can replace it with whatever. Stick this in the `<body>` tags of style1.html and check it out, and play with the values yourself!
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@ Play with this one now:
 
     <p style="font-family: Arial; font-style: italic">This text is magnificent.</p>
 
-Browser time. You've now got some text in the font Arial, and it's italic! WOOO HOOOOOO.  
+Browser time. You've now got some text in the font Arial, and it's italic! WOOO HOOOOOO.
 The properties we used here are `font-family` and `font-style`. For the former, you can choose a lot of fonts, but you have to be careful. Not every computer has the same fonts. This is just my personal opinion: don't put something here besides Arial unless you've done some JavaScript magic. And because I'm assuming you don't know JavaScript, don't use this unless you're changing this to Arial. At least not yet. :)
 And for `font-style`, it can be `normal`, `oblique`, and `italic`. You can play with those now, it's pretty straightforward.
 

src/posts/inspirational-quotes-to-get-you-through-the-day.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+---
+layout: ../layouts/BlogPost.astro
+title: Inspirational quotes to get you through the day
+slug: inspirational-quotes
+description: These are some great quotes that have really helped me out!
+tags:
+  - advice
+added: 2013-12-12T06:00:00.000Z
+---
+
+Hey. You're looking ravishing as always.
+
+Sometimes when I'm working hard over several hours on homework, it's hard to stay motivated to keep going. It's then that I try to listen to advice that people have given me to keep me working.
+
+Here's some of that advice, for you.
+
+"The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle."
+Steve Jobs
+
+"No matter what you do, you'll make it through. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. The thing they don't tell you is that it nearly kills you."
+Tyler Arnold
+
+"Life's too short to be stuck in a job you hate."
+Kathryn Minshew
+
+"If you really want to know where your destiny lies, look at where you apply your time. Time is the most valuable asset you don't own. You may or may not realize it yet, but how you use or don't use your time is going to be the best indication of where your future is going to take you… Don't follow your passions, follow your effort. It will lead you to your passions and to success, however you define it."
+Mark Cuban
+
+"Do what you say you're going to do."
+Danielle LaPorte
+
+"Work hard and be nice to people."
+Marie Burns
+
+"In chaos, there is opportunity. Most major career accelerations happen when someone steps into a mess and makes a difference."
+Kristi Hedges
+
+"You can do this. You wouldn't be given all the work in front of you if you couldn't do it. Also I think you're hot."
+Cassidy Williams

src/posts/l4-digital-first-impressions.md

@@ -11,13 +11,13 @@ Hello, world!
 
 This week was my first at L4 Digital. I came in as a new Seattleite, nervous and excited to see what this new gig would be like, and boy, was I impressed!
 
-On Monday, I officially joined and started setting up my computer and meeting people.  It was all sorts of HR-type stuff, filling out forms and getting an office tour.  The office is wonderful.  The building dates back to 1893, and inside there's classic elements like exposed brick and beamed ceilings surrounding the glass conference rooms and seas of monitors and gadgets.  One of the rooms is dedicated entirely to foosball (there was a team of people who even built a live scoreboard with bluetooth button score tracking and a Slack integration for it), and there's another room with various video games and a 3D printer that anyone can use!  One thing that I also really appreciated was L4's "phone museum" that is chock-full of old and new devices.  The Director of Engineering, Ben, told me about how difficult it was to program for those old Palm Pilots and Samsung flip phones.  I can only imagine!
+On Monday, I officially joined and started setting up my computer and meeting people. It was all sorts of HR-type stuff, filling out forms and getting an office tour. The office is wonderful. The building dates back to 1893, and inside there's classic elements like exposed brick and beamed ceilings surrounding the glass conference rooms and seas of monitors and gadgets. One of the rooms is dedicated entirely to foosball (there was a team of people who even built a live scoreboard with bluetooth button score tracking and a Slack integration for it), and there's another room with various video games and a 3D printer that anyone can use! One thing that I also really appreciated was L4's "phone museum" that is chock-full of old and new devices. The Director of Engineering, Ben, told me about how difficult it was to program for those old Palm Pilots and Samsung flip phones. I can only imagine!
 
-On Tuesday and Wednesday, I got more integrated into the team.  I was put on a project and started configuring my computer for some exciting dev work.  While doing so I ended up open sourcing my vim configuration files, so anyone can get up and running with vim quickly:
+On Tuesday and Wednesday, I got more integrated into the team. I was put on a project and started configuring my computer for some exciting dev work. While doing so I ended up open sourcing my vim configuration files, so anyone can get up and running with vim quickly:
 https://github.com/cassidoo/vim-up
 
-Now Thursday was a special day (not that all days at L4 aren't).  Every first Thursday of the month, L4 has what they call "First Thursdays", which involves a company-wide meeting of updates, project demos, and introductions.  We talked about our new parent company, Globant, as well as a bunch of fun and interesting internal projects.  L4 has something called "L4ge" where people can work on projects with people outside of their teams.  Some of those projects included an Alexa receptionist, and a full-on classic arcade cabinet!  After the meeting, everyone headed to a company happy hour nearby, where I got to meet more coworkers and be social with everyone.
+Now Thursday was a special day (not that all days at L4 aren't). Every first Thursday of the month, L4 has what they call "First Thursdays", which involves a company-wide meeting of updates, project demos, and introductions. We talked about our new parent company, Globant, as well as a bunch of fun and interesting internal projects. L4 has something called "L4ge" where people can work on projects with people outside of their teams. Some of those projects included an Alexa receptionist, and a full-on classic arcade cabinet! After the meeting, everyone headed to a company happy hour nearby, where I got to meet more coworkers and be social with everyone.
 
-Finally, Friday, I got to dive into code!  My machine was finally all set up, so I made my first pull requests in the codebase.  I also got to play some Super Smash Brothers, watch a pushup contest (I politely declined participating when the first person did over 50 of them), join a book club, learn how to use the 3D printer, and try out some of the great office snacks.  Not bad for a Friday.
+Finally, Friday, I got to dive into code! My machine was finally all set up, so I made my first pull requests in the codebase. I also got to play some Super Smash Brothers, watch a pushup contest (I politely declined participating when the first person did over 50 of them), join a book club, learn how to use the 3D printer, and try out some of the great office snacks. Not bad for a Friday.
 
-So, the first week is up!  L4 has made a great first impression on me.  I'm so excited to be a part of a creative, exciting group of people.  Everyone has such a diverse set of interests, and they really emphasize celebrating those here.  I know I made the right choice joining a team like L4, and I'm eagerly anticipating Monday!
+So, the first week is up! L4 has made a great first impression on me. I'm so excited to be a part of a creative, exciting group of people. Everyone has such a diverse set of interests, and they really emphasize celebrating those here. I know I made the right choice joining a team like L4, and I'm eagerly anticipating Monday!

src/posts/linkedin-profile-things.md

@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+---
+layout: ../layouts/BlogPost.astro
+title: Things you should have on your LinkedIn profile
+slug: linkedin-profile-things
+description: People should know what you're about!
+tags:
+  - advice
+added: 2013-11-26T06:00:00.000Z
+---
+
+Hello friends!
+
+Now I know what you're thinking. "I'm attractive, and that'll get me a job after college. Why do I need a LinkedIn?"
+
+Well, the harsh reality is, the world thinks you're beautiful, but that's the least interesting thing about you. It wants to see your work ethic, your personality, and your LinkedIn profile.
+
+So let's give the world what it wants.
+
+Firstly, you'll want your professional name on there. No nicknames. As much as I want to put my common name (Cassie "The Rock" Danger Girl) on there, I know that Cassidy will have to do, and it will have to for you too.
+
+Secondly, you'll want a professional photo. I know that selfie of you with 50 grapes in your mouth is impressive, but typically companies don't put that in job descriptions. So, get someone to take a photo of you where you're looking sharp!
+
+Manage your endorsements! If you want more people to endorse you for the fact that you know Spanish, ask them to. They affect how you appear in LinkedIn search results. The average number of endorsements per LinkedIn user is 5, but it's much easier than you think to get more. I recommend trying to get 12 for as many skills as possible. That's the maximum number of pictures that show per skill, so it looks more impressive on your profile visually.
+
+Build credibility with some recommendations! A few recommendations from respected people like a professor, mentor, coworker, or boss can really help you out and establish your credibility. You might have to ask for them, but it's worth it!
+
+Join relevant groups. There's a ton of groups on LinkedIn for people from different companies, events, schools, interests, etc. 81% of LinkedIn users belong to at least one group. When you have those showing up on your profile, it can really show potential employers what your interests are and which organizations you're a part of. Plus, you can use group messaging to contact other group members about potential opportunities.
+
+And finally, show your stuff! Post your projects, classwork, test scores, patents, certifications, volunteer activities, extracurriculars, anything that will help you become more marketable! Add pictures, videos, and descriptions to really show what you did.
+
+Your LinkedIn profile is your public facing profile to employers all over the country. Help them help you find a job, internship, co-op, or work study!
+
+Talk to you soon, my lovelies \<3

src/posts/microsoft-rock-star.md

@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+---
+layout: ../layouts/BlogPost.astro
+title: This is how a rock star feels
+slug: microsoft-rock-star
+description: I had an incredible day!!
+tags:
+  - events
+added: 2012-07-20T05:00:00.000Z
+---
+
+SO, the other day, I had pretty much one of the best days ever.
+
+I work at Microsoft this summer, in their advertising division. There was an email sent out to everyone asking for a trumpet player.
+
+I am a trumpet player.
+
+So, I replied. They immediately rented me one (I was the only one who replied) and said I'd be playing at this meeting for the end of the fiscal year (it was horse-race themed).
+
+A week later, my team (we call ourselves The Dream Team) and I went to the meeting.
+
+But it wasn't just any meeting.
+
+It was a 2000-person, division-wide conference.
+
+Cue nerves.
+
+So, I went to the back of the room and was told when I would be playing and how the event would work (basically I did introduction music).
+
+And then several fast, nerve-wracking minutes later, it began. I got to the front where they had roses and fake grass (for the theme) and I blasted the horn to start the event!
+
+AND HOORAH, I DIDN'T MESS UP!!
+
+It was glorious. There was applause and free food.
+
+After my introduction, they had a Microsoft-themed trivia contest for all 2000 people. They had everyone stand up and watch the big screen state the multiple choice question, and then answer it by raising hands for each option. If you got it wrong, you sat down. If you got it right, you stayed standing.
+
+I was doing surprisingly well, some answers I knew, some were complete guesses. Eventually I turned around (I was in the front row because of the introduction), and only 4 of us were left standing. They called us up to the stage and had us introduce ourselves. I was the only intern who had made it that far!
+
+They continued to challenge us, not just with Microsoft questions, but also with Kentucky Derby questions (thank goodness it was the ONE year I watched it!) and other general trivia.
+
+And then, there were two, myself and one other person.
+
+We were neck-in-neck for several questions. They actually ran out of them on the PowerPoint and were just coming up with some for us.
+
+AND THEN, GUESS WHO WON??? (me!)
+
+So yeah that was utterly STUPENDOUS. I got a money prize plus a big bouquet of flowers! It was so fun. My friends texted me saying, "This is how a rock star feels. Soak it in." They had to be right.
+
+Throughout the rest of the event I played the horn again a few times and enjoyed the free food.
+
+At the end, everyone got free Microsoft advertising jackets! They are SWEET. Here's the Dream Team and I together sporting them together with the flowers and decor behind us.
+
+![Jackets and poses!](/assets/dream-team.jpeg)
+
+All in all, it was a fantastic day!!!

src/posts/my-major.md

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+---
+layout: ../layouts/BlogPost.astro
+title: System.out.print("My Major");
+slug: my-major
+description: I'm studying computer science!
+tags:
+  - work
+added: 2011-03-22T05:00:00.000Z
+---
+
+Well howdy! As the weather is warming up, so are my coding skills. That's right, I'm a computer science major. I'm one of those rare cases who chose their major in middle school and I've been loving it since.
+
+Many people don't know everything you can do with computer science. You can go into Information Assurance, Computer Graphics, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Software Engineering, and so much more! I'm not entirely sure which branch I'm headed into yet, because all sound so interesting! My classes for computer science are fun. I'm in ComS 228 at Iowa State now, and we're learning the nitty gritty bits of the programming language Java. One of our recent projects in the class involved coding the game Tetris. Not only was making the game fun, but then we were able to play it to our heart's content!
+
+My second test of the semester is on Thursday! I have some more studying to do, but at least I like what I'm doing!

src/posts/my-talk-at-tedxdesmoines.md

@@ -11,11 +11,11 @@ tags: [advice, events]
 
 Hello friends!
 
-So, I don’t know if a lot of you have ever watched a TED talk before, but they usually have some interesting food for thought.
+So, I don't know if a lot of you have ever watched a TED talk before, but they usually have some interesting food for thought.
 
-WELL, I gave a talk at TEDxDesMoines last December, and I thought I’d share it with you all!
+WELL, I gave a talk at TEDxDesMoines last December, and I thought I'd share it with you all!
 
-It’s just about my growing up as a woman in STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math), and about following your passions.
+It's just about my growing up as a woman in STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math), and about following your passions.
 
 I hope it gives you some inspiration to go after what you want.
 

src/posts/networking-as-a-student.md

@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+---
+layout: ../layouts/BlogPost.astro
+title: Networking as a college student
+slug: networking-as-a-student
+description: Networking is one of the most important skills you can develop!
+tags:
+  - advice
+added: 2013-09-16T05:00:00.000Z
+---
+
+Hey friends!
+
+So, an important thing that you'll have to do in college is networking. Let's face it, knowing people in the business you're going into is essential.
+
+But how do you meet said people? How can you connect with strangers?
+
+I'll tell you.
+
+- **Build your online profile.** Many people say, "oh, I can get a LinkedIn when I start looking for a full time job."  NO. Start now. Add all of your projects, skills, and experience (if any) to show you off. You can even generate a resume from your LinkedIn profile, how great is that? The next step here is actually connecting with people. Join groups you're interested in, follow companies, and add people from whom you want to ask questions. Soon you'll have your own network going there for people to introduce you to others and as a public profile for potential employers. Take it a step further and build your own personal website. There's all kinds of free site makers out there, or if you're really ambitious, you can make your own from scratch! If you want some inspiration, [check out mine](https://cassidoo.co/). I bet you can make yours better. 😉
+- **Join professional organizations.** There's groups across campus like this. All you need to do is go to a couple meetings, and you can start to meet the alumni from the group and talk with companies that present! Myself, being a computer science major, lead the Computer Science/Software Engineering Club on campus, and we literally have companies emailing us every day asking to speak and/or hire our members. You can't lose!
+- **Get internships and work experience.** Iowa State, for example, has some career fairs every semester, and also a whole online career management system (cleverly named CyHire), just for students to get some work experience under their belts. You can get internships in other ways too! For my first internship, I went to the career fair. My second one, I talked with my adviser and some professors in our department a lot, and when a company called them for recommendations, my adviser and professors recommended me! And for my third summer one, I went to a professional conference to their career area and interviewed on the spot. There's all kinds of different ways to get the work, if you put your mind to it! The people you meet at your jobs are essential for your future recommendations, introductions, and opportunities later down the road.
+- **Get a mentor.** Mentors are an amazing resource that often go untapped. They are great people that have been in your shoes before, and can give you all kinds of great advice and introduce you to future connections! You don't even have to go up to someone and say, "hey, be my mentor plz."  Just start asking them questions. Build a relationship. The word, "mentor" never has to escape your mouths if you let the relationship form naturally. My mentors that I have now are incredible. From scholarships to connections with companies to just general life advice, I feel like I can go to them for anything and they magically have the solution for me, and I love them for it!
+- **Participate.** You're in your major because you like it, right? I hope so. So, prove it! Go out there and participate and do something with it. When you do so, you can meet people from all over who have similar interests and could potentially help you out in the long run. From conferences to competitions to events to clubs to meetings, participate in them! You'd be surprised how many people you'll get to know.
+- **Ask questions.** I can't emphasize this enough. It seems like a silly thing to advise you to do, but hear me out. Just ask. The worst thing someone can say is no. You want to know if an employer has an extra opening? Ask. You want to see if someone knows about scholarships for students in your major? Ask. You want an extension on a deadline? Just ask! One of my mom's favorite phrases is, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease." If you're not asking for what you want, how will you ever get it?
+
+I hope this helped you out in some way! Networking is an amazing skill that just takes a bit of practice. When used right, you can do great things with it.

src/posts/pi-day-2013.md

@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+---
+layout: ../layouts/BlogPost.astro
+title: Happy Pi Day!
+slug: pi-day-2013
+description: It's the mathiest day of the year!
+tags:
+  - events
+added: 2013-03-14T05:00:00.000Z
+---
+
+HAPPY PI DAY.
+For those of you who don't know what Pi Day is, there's the number 3.14159265358979…etc. which is a very significant number in all of our lives, and today, 3/14, CELEBRATES IT.
+
+I've been celebrating Pi Day for many years now! I once memorized over 600 digits of pi to become 65th in the world and 18th for memorizing pi that year. I can still remember quite a few, but I'm out of practice.
+
+ANYWAY, enjoy a slice of pie today, wear your favorite pi clothes (I am), and have a GREAT Pi Day!
+
+Here's my outfit for the day if you need some inspiration:
+
+![Pi outfit](/assets/pi-outfit.jpeg)

src/posts/positives-from-negatives.md

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ tags:
 added: 2015-01-20T06:00:00.000Z
 ---
 
-There's this great poem that my mother shared with me recently, called “If" by Rudyard Kipling.
+There's this great poem that my mother shared with me recently, called "If" by Rudyard Kipling.
 
 > If you can keep your head when all about you
 > Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ This struck me as such a wise way of thinking and has really influenced me recen
 
 Anyway, over the past several months, I've been bothered online with fake profiles made of/about me across several networks, and I've been sent anonymous messages to my personal phone and email. I had tried tracking them down and trying to figure out why without success.
 
-It all culminated this past weekend at the hackathon [MHacks](https://www.mhacks.org/), in which someone in these anonymous messages finally gave me an answer and said, “Some people are upset at you for your feminist influence."
+It all culminated this past weekend at the hackathon [MHacks](https://www.mhacks.org/), in which someone in these anonymous messages finally gave me an answer and said, "Some people are upset at you for your feminist influence."
 
 At first, I admit, I was upset. Yes, I had called people out for saying inappropriate things towards women, and I would share articles that were pro-women-in-tech. But I simply couldn't understand why a group would be so bothered by those things, that they had to try and make me feel unsafe and vulnerable.
 
@@ -45,29 +45,29 @@ The hackathon community's response to the negativity over the weekend has been w
 
 There's always going to be trolls on the internet who aren't happy about something you're doing or saying. Unfortunately, this is especially true for women. But that doesn't mean you stop.
 
-“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good \[people] do nothing."
+"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good \[people] do nothing."
 — Edmund Burke
 
-This weekend further opened my eyes to the needs of the community. Female (and other minority) role models have been silenced for long enough. It's time to encourage them and finally make tech more inclusive. I don't expect changes to happen overnight. Like one of my brilliant mentors Rane Johnson-Stempson told me, “Life is a marathon, not a sprint."
+This weekend further opened my eyes to the needs of the community. Female (and other minority) role models have been silenced for long enough. It's time to encourage them and finally make tech more inclusive. I don't expect changes to happen overnight. Like one of my brilliant mentors Rane Johnson-Stempson told me, "Life is a marathon, not a sprint."
 
-***
+---
 
 ### Here's some steps that you can take right now.
 
-Support a diversity organization or community. When I say, “support," I don't necessarily mean monetarily. You could volunteer for the group, join them at an event, or simply tweet about what they're doing. There's so many of them out there. A few of my favorites include:
+Support a diversity organization or community. When I say, "support," I don't necessarily mean monetarily. You could volunteer for the group, join them at an event, or simply tweet about what they're doing. There's so many of them out there. A few of my favorites include:
 
-* The National Center for Women & IT ([ncwit.org/](https://www.ncwit.org/))
+- The National Center for Women & IT ([ncwit.org/](https://www.ncwit.org/))
-* The Anita Borg Institute ([anitaborg.org/](https://anitaborg.org/))
+- The Anita Borg Institute ([anitaborg.org/](https://anitaborg.org/))
-* Girls Who Code ([girlswhocode.com/](https://girlswhocode.com/))
+- Girls Who Code ([girlswhocode.com/](https://girlswhocode.com/))
-* CODE2040 ([code2040.org/](https://www.code2040.org/))
+- CODE2040 ([code2040.org/](https://www.code2040.org/))
-* Black Girls Code ([blackgirlscode.com/](https://www.blackgirlscode.com/))
+- Black Girls Code ([blackgirlscode.com/](https://www.blackgirlscode.com/))
-* ProjectCSGIRLS ([projectcsgirls.com/](https://www.projectcsgirls.com/))
+- ProjectCSGIRLS ([projectcsgirls.com/](https://www.projectcsgirls.com/))
 
 Tell someone that they're doing a good job. Sure, this is a small, simple task. But all of us can think of someone that is working in this field who is supportive and positive. A simple note of encouragement can go very far.
 
 And finally, don't stop talking. Make people aware of the negatives, and shower them with the positives. Call people out when they're in the wrong, and help them be in the right.
 If someone is telling you to take down a feminist post, or to shut up about issues in the workplace, or to keep quiet about something inappropriate happening around you: Don't.
 
-“The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do." — Walter Bagehot
+"The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do." — Walter Bagehot
 
 Let's build a better community right now. It starts with you!

src/posts/post-white-house.md

@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+---
+layout: ../layouts/BlogPost.astro
+title: I went to the White House!
+slug: post-white-house
+description: My sister and I were so thrilled to be included in such a cool event!
+tags:
+  - events
+added: 2013-02-05T06:00:00.000Z
+---
+
+So, last week I told you I went to the White House for an event with my sister. NOW I AM BACK.![](/assets/whitehousecc.jpeg)
+
+As a refresher (or if you didn't read [my previous post](https://blog.cassidoo.co/post/white-house-invite)), we were invited to speak at the White House Tech Inclusion Summit! We were 2 of 10 girls in computer science picked to attend across the U.S. It was an awesome event, we got to meet a lot of cool people in technology and in the government and we spoke about women in technology and computer science education.
+
+We also got to sight-see a little bit and eat with some important people from Microsoft and the National Center for Women & IT. It was a blast overall, and an incredibly impressive and motivating experience!\
+![](/assets/whitehousecc2.jpeg)
+
+Anyway, that's the update from this end. If you are a high schooler reading this and you don't know what to major in, seriously consider computer science. You get to go amazing events like this one, and you'll truly express your creativity in a fun and unique way!

src/posts/questions-for-your-boss.md

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+---
+layout: ../layouts/BlogPost.astro
+title: 5 Questions to Ask Your Boss
+slug: questions-for-your-boss
+description: The squeaky wheel gets the grease!
+tags:
+  - work
+  - advice
+added: 2013-09-30T05:00:00.000Z
+---
+
+A lot of you are working a lot. When you get a job, it's always important to have good communication established with your boss. You should ask them these questions, not just as a student, but also in your future internships and full-time roles!
+
+1. **What's the most important achievement you hope to accomplish in your current role?**
+   In asking this question, you can see what your boss/manager's short-term motivations are, which will give you a better idea about what your goals and motivations should be. If yours match theirs, you'll be better positioned for success to them.
+
+2. **What is the most important thing you care about?**
+   Chances are, your manager/boss reports to someone too. Unless your boss is the CEO. In that case, nice work, you're pretty high up, bro. Anyway. asking this question will help you learn more about what higher-ups in your organization expect. Knowing these goals will help you better understand your own work, because you can see how you fit in the organization better.
+
+3. **What can I do to make you more successful today/this week/this month/etc.?**
+   You should always be trying to make your boss successful, because in turn you're making yourself successful. When you get a direct answer to this question, you'll know where to focus your energy at work, because you'll know exactly what take priority. Plus your boss will like you.
+
+4. **How would you like to receive feedback and communication from me?**
+   Does your boss want you to respond to emails on weekends? Do they prefer phone, or email, or face-to-face? When you know how to deliver feedback, you'll be more prepared to ask what you need, from deadline updates to project requests. If you get the insight, you'll have a better sense of what to expect, and how you can handle it.
+
+5. **Why did you hire me?**
+   Especially when you start a job, you should ask this. You are often so excited to get the job that you forget to ask things like this, but it's important, and here's why: You know what they expect you to deliver. If they say, "you seem organized," you know that they want you to produce organized work. If they say, "you seemed well qualified with your Excel skills," then you know they want you to focus your work on spreadsheets. When you focus your work well based on their expectations, you'll be up for bigger and better jobs later on.
+
+So, I hope this was helpful to you! Good luck at your job, you're going to kill it. :)

src/posts/remembering-names.md

@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+---
+layout: ../layouts/BlogPost.astro
+title: Tips for remembering names
+slug: remembering-names
+description: Because we've all panicked about this at some point or another.
+tags:
+  - advice
+added: 2013-10-07T05:00:00.000Z
+---
+
+Sup Tootsie Pop. You're so pretty. I love what you've done with your hair.
+
+So, when I'm at a meeting or in a club, and someone approaches me, here's how the conversation usually goes:
+"Oh hey Cassidy, how has your semester been?"
+\*terror\* "Oh hey…you. It's been great! How has…your stuff been?"
+
+Then I stress eat or something while I listen to their interactions and hope they introduce themselves to someone.
+
+"There must be a better way," I whisper to myself, and a single tear slides down my cheek.
+
+There IS a better way to try and remember names.
+
+First of all, really focus. This sounds obvious, but think about it. When you meet someone, you're often thinking about how you'll respond next or what you look like or what they're looking like. Stop thinking about that. Repeat their name in your head, and repeat it when they first say it. I guarantee it helps.
+
+You can remember names based on your learning style too.\\
+
+**If you're a visual learner**, look for a name tag or at their business card. If you're in a more casual setting, ask them how they spell it. If you spell it in your head, you can better "see" their name and remember it.\\
+
+**If you're an auditory learner**, repeat their name as often as you can (naturally). "Cassidy, what's your major?" "Joel, did you go to the game last week?" "It's so good to meet you, Shirley!" If you don't overdo it, they'll appreciate it as much as you do that you remember their name. If that doesn't work, just ask them to repeat their name at the end of the conversation, like, "it was great meeting you! Remind me of your name again?" Boo yah. I mean don't do that after a 3 hour conversation, but after a few minutes it's totally acceptable.\\
+
+And if you're **a hands-on learner**, you have to play with the name to remember it better. If you can't write it down right away, come up with something in your head that'll help you remember, like "Riley from Friley," or "Jungle Jim," or "Hannah Banana." You interact with the name this way, and it'll help you remember much better.
+
+There's always cop-out ways to find out too, like introducing a friend of yours to the person and hope they introduce themselves to your friend, or ask a buddy that might know. Those ways totally work too.
+
+Good luck meeting people, my cream puff.
+I definitely don't remember your name, and so my defense here is using complimentary nicknames to distract you.
+Whoops.

src/posts/startup-weekend-ames.md

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+---
+layout: ../layouts/BlogPost.astro
+title: Startup Weekend Ames
+slug: startup-weekend-ames
+description: We built some fun things at Startup Weekend!
+tags:
+  - events
+added: 2013-04-17T05:00:00.000Z
+---
+
+Have you ever thought about starting your own business?\
+
+Well, this past weekend, Ames participated in [Startup Weekend](https://www.techstars.com/communities/startup-weekend) for the first time. Startup Weekend is an organization in which you spend Friday evening, plus all of Saturday and Sunday to try and build your own business or product from the ground up.
+
+I participated with some of my friends and it was a blast! We worked hard all weekend on a phone app called "Finddit" that helps you find where you last left your car or bike or anything, plus you can share marked locations with friends (like if you're tailgating and want to show where your tent is, or where a booth at the career fair is, etc.).
+
+![Cassidy focusing super hard](/assets/sw-team.jpeg)
+
+We pitched it in front of everyone there and got a lot of good feedback!
+
+![Finddit pitch](/assets/sw-pitch.jpeg)
+
+You should try something like this when you get the opportunity so you can get fabulous prizes and experience!

src/posts/the-laptop-you-need-for-college.md

@@ -2,50 +2,51 @@
 layout: "../layouts/BlogPost.astro"
 title: "The laptop you need for college"
 slug: college-laptop
-description: "Too often people go for the biggest and best laptop out there, when there are reasonable, affordable options.  Let's talk about it."
+description: "Too often people go for the biggest and best laptop out there, when there are reasonable, affordable options. Let's talk about it."
 added: "Apr 14 2014"
 tags: [advice]
 ---
 
 Hello, cutie patootie. Your arms are so strong.
 
-Now, let’s talk laptops.
+Now, let's talk laptops.
 
-Chances are, you’ll want one in college. They’re not absolutely necessary, but boy, are they convenient.
+Chances are, you'll want one in college. They're not absolutely necessary, but boy, are they convenient.
 
 When I was about to go to college, I wanted the BEST MACHINE EVER. I was going to be the most hardcore computer science student in the world with the most attractive, powerful laptop that would carry me for the next four years and beyond. I dropped almost $2000 on what I thought was the coolest laptop in the world.
 
 And you know what? It was cool. I loved that thing.
 
-But it didn’t last.
+But it didn't last.
 
 By the middle of my junior year, I was using a different laptop, that was actually less powerful than the one I had bought. But it worked well for what I wanted.
 
-So, moral of the story, don’t spend too much on the best, state-of-the-art laptop you can when you go to college. Every single one of my friends is on a different machine than the one they started with.
+So, moral of the story, don't spend too much on the best, state-of-the-art laptop you can when you go to college. Every single one of my friends is on a different machine than the one they started with.
 
 ## So, what laptop SHOULD you buy?
 
 Well, that depends on what you want to do, and what you like!
 
-I’ll give you some general guidelines that should help you. I won’t tell you straight up which laptop would be perfect for you, because everyone’s different (this is like Harry Potter getting a wand, oh boy oh boy), but these ideas should help you out.
+I'll give you some general guidelines that should help you. I won't tell you straight up which laptop would be perfect for you, because everyone's different (this is like Harry Potter getting a wand, oh boy oh boy), but these ideas should help you out.
 
-_Disclaimer:_ I’m biased.
+_Disclaimer:_ I'm biased.
-Also I’m going to talk about computers that aren’t as expensive, which means I probably won’t mention Macs much. But hey, Macs are good computers. They just cost an arm and a leg.
+Also I'm going to talk about computers that aren't as expensive, which means I probably won't mention Macs much. But hey, Macs are good computers. They just cost an arm and a leg.
 
 ### For non-technical majors:
 
-I’m looking at you, you lovely people who write a lot of papers and proposals for your business classes and your education classes and your sociology classes. Hi. You could probably get away with something not too powerful, but still easy to use and efficient. A Chromebook might be good, if you’re okay with using something like GoogleDocs for all of your files. A Microsoft Surface might also be an awesome solution for you, because it’s lightweight and still has all of Microsoft Office and other cool applications. If you want a more traditional laptop with Windows on it, I recommend the Lenovo ThinkPad E Series and L Series, as well as the Toshiba Satellite laptops. From what I’ve seen, those computers are super functional and fast for what you need, and won’t destroy your budget.
+I'm looking at you, you lovely people who write a lot of papers and proposals for your business classes and your education classes and your sociology classes. Hi. You could probably get away with something not too powerful, but still easy to use and efficient. A Chromebook might be good, if you're okay with using something like GoogleDocs for all of your files. A Microsoft Surface might also be an awesome solution for you, because it's lightweight and still has all of Microsoft Office and other cool applications. If you want a more traditional laptop with Windows on it, I recommend the Lenovo ThinkPad E Series and L Series, as well as the Toshiba Satellite laptops. From what I've seen, those computers are super functional and fast for what you need, and won't destroy your budget.
 
 ### For engineers, 3D-modelers, and drafters:
 
-Hey, CAD-users. You’re going to need something with some pretty solid graphics and memory to handle all the things you’re making. You should have at least a 2.8 GHz CPU/Processor Speed for an i3 processor, or 1.8 GHz for an i5 or i7 processor, a 500 GB Hard-disk drive, and 4-6 GB RAM. I don’t think you’ll need as high as an i7 processor, but that’s just speaking from experience. You might be making something that is greater than I could ever imagine. Anyway, the machines that might just rock your boat are the HP Envy laptops, Asus K-Series laptops, and the Lenovo T Series laptops. These are some pretty powerful machines that’ll get the job done.
+Hey, CAD-users. You're going to need something with some pretty solid graphics and memory to handle all the things you're making. You should have at least a 2.8 GHz CPU/Processor Speed for an i3 processor, or 1.8 GHz for an i5 or i7 processor, a 500 GB Hard-disk drive, and 4-6 GB RAM. I don't think you'll need as high as an i7 processor, but that's just speaking from experience. You might be making something that is greater than I could ever imagine. Anyway, the machines that might just rock your boat are the HP Envy laptops, Asus K-Series laptops, and the Lenovo T Series laptops. These are some pretty powerful machines that'll get the job done.
 
-_For design majors:_ Hey, artsy fartsy. For you, I’m going to recommend a Mac. The entire Design college at my school uses Macs. They will want you to have a Mac, even if you’ve already bought a PC. So, get one. Sorry there’s not much of an option here. But hey, it makes your choice easy. If you do get a PC, get one with a really good graphics card.
+_For design majors:_ Hey, artsy fartsy. For you, I'm going to recommend a Mac. The entire Design college at my school uses Macs. They will want you to have a Mac, even if you've already bought a PC. So, get one. Sorry there's not much of an option here. But hey, it makes your choice easy. If you do get a PC, get one with a really good graphics card.
 
 ### For programmers and scientific majors:
-Haaaayyyy hollerrrr. I’m one of you. For you, you will need the extra RAM, at least 6-8GB, I’d say. You’re going to be sticking a lot of data on your computer. I’d also go with an i5 processor. You won’t be using THAT much power, unless you’re doing some extreme OpenGL programming (which if you are, you’re brave, and should look at the engineering bullet above). I recommend an ultrabook for you. It’ll give you the power and portability you need. I have an i5 Samsung ultrabook, and I really like it. Lenovo has some sexy ultrabooks too. If you’re in the field more often (like for biological, animal, or agricultural sciences), I recommend something more like a Toshiba. They’re really hardcore and can take a hit if you bring it outside.
+
+Haaaayyyy hollerrrr. I'm one of you. For you, you will need the extra RAM, at least 6-8GB, I'd say. You're going to be sticking a lot of data on your computer. I'd also go with an i5 processor. You won't be using THAT much power, unless you're doing some extreme OpenGL programming (which if you are, you're brave, and should look at the engineering bullet above). I recommend an ultrabook for you. It'll give you the power and portability you need. I have an i5 Samsung ultrabook, and I really like it. Lenovo has some sexy ultrabooks too. If you're in the field more often (like for biological, animal, or agricultural sciences), I recommend something more like a Toshiba. They're really hardcore and can take a hit if you bring it outside.
 Boom.
 
-So, there you have it. Now, you might disagree with my laptop opinions here. Again, everyone’s different. But, these guidelines should give you a general idea of what could be best for you. And again, don’t drop too much cash on a computer. Technology is moving fast, and you might end up getting a new one before you even graduate.
+So, there you have it. Now, you might disagree with my laptop opinions here. Again, everyone's different. But, these guidelines should give you a general idea of what could be best for you. And again, don't drop too much cash on a computer. Technology is moving fast, and you might end up getting a new one before you even graduate.
 
 ## Good luck!

src/posts/things-on-your-linkedin.md

@@ -9,21 +9,21 @@ tags: [advice]
 
 Hello friends!
 
-Now I know what you’re thinking. “I’m attractive, and that’ll get me a job. Why do I need a LinkedIn?”
+Now I know what you're thinking. "I'm attractive, and that'll get me a job. Why do I need a LinkedIn?"
 
-Well, the harsh reality is, the world thinks you’re beautiful, but that’s the least interesting thing about you. It wants to see your work ethic, your personality, and your LinkedIn profile.
+Well, the harsh reality is, the world thinks you're beautiful, but that's the least interesting thing about you. It wants to see your work ethic, your personality, and your LinkedIn profile.
 
-So let’s give the world what it wants.
+So let's give the world what it wants.
 
-Firstly, you’ll want your professional name on there. No nicknames. As much as I want to put my common name (Cassie “The Rock” Danger Girl) on there, I know that Cassidy will have to do, and it will have to for you too. Only if your name isn’t Cassidy you should probably put your own name on there.
+Firstly, you'll want your professional name on there. No nicknames. As much as I want to put my common name (Cassie "The Rock" Danger Girl) on there, I know that Cassidy will have to do, and it will have to for you too. Only if your name isn't Cassidy you should probably put your own name on there.
 
-Secondly, you’ll want a professional photo. I know that selfie of you with 50 grapes in your mouth is impressive, but typically companies don’t put that in job descriptions. So, get someone to take a photo of you where you’re looking sharp!
+Secondly, you'll want a professional photo. I know that selfie of you with 50 grapes in your mouth is impressive, but typically companies don't put that in job descriptions. So, get someone to take a photo of you where you're looking sharp!
 
-Manage your endorsements! If you want more people to endorse you for the fact that you know Spanish, ask them to. They affect how you appear in LinkedIn search results. The average number of endorsements per LinkedIn user is 5, but it’s much easier than you think to get more. I recommend trying to get 12 for as many skills as possible. That’s the maximum number of pictures that show per skill, so it looks more impressive on your profile visually.
+Manage your endorsements! If you want more people to endorse you for the fact that you know Spanish, ask them to. They affect how you appear in LinkedIn search results. The average number of endorsements per LinkedIn user is 5, but it's much easier than you think to get more. I recommend trying to get 12 for as many skills as possible. That's the maximum number of pictures that show per skill, so it looks more impressive on your profile visually.
 
-Build credibility with some recommendations! A few recommendations from respected people like a professor, mentor, coworker, or boss can really help you out and establish your credibility. You might have to ask for them, but it’s worth it!
+Build credibility with some recommendations! A few recommendations from respected people like a professor, mentor, coworker, or boss can really help you out and establish your credibility. You might have to ask for them, but it's worth it!
 
-Join relevant groups. There’s a ton of groups on LinkedIn for people from different companies, events, schools, interests, etc. 81% of LinkedIn users belong to at least one group. When you have those showing up on your profile, it can really show potential employers what your interests are and which organizations you’re a part of. Plus, you can use group messaging to contact other group members about potential opportunities.
+Join relevant groups. There's a ton of groups on LinkedIn for people from different companies, events, schools, interests, etc. 81% of LinkedIn users belong to at least one group. When you have those showing up on your profile, it can really show potential employers what your interests are and which organizations you're a part of. Plus, you can use group messaging to contact other group members about potential opportunities.
 
 And finally, show your stuff! Post your projects, classwork, test scores, patents, certifications, volunteer activities, extracurriculars, anything that will help you become more marketable! Add pictures, videos, and descriptions to really show what you did.
 

src/posts/valentines-hackathon.md

@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+---
+layout: ../layouts/BlogPost.astro
+title: My "romantic" Valentine's Day plans!
+slug: valentines-hackathon
+description: "Don't be fooled, I'm coding on Valentine's Day."
+tags:
+  - events
+added: 2014-02-14T06:00:00.000Z
+---
+
+Hey cutie pie. I'd totes ask you about your Valentine's Day plans but you're so hot that you probably have people lining up out your window. So I won't.
+
+So, remember [my weekend at PennApps](https://blog.cassidoo.co/post/weekend-at-pennapps) last fall? Well, it's happening again!
+
+Starting Valentine's Day, for 48 hours straight, myself and 1,200 other hackers will throw together whatever technologies we can to get something new and exciting happening by the end of the weekend!
+
+So, this Valentine's Day will be dedicated to my computer, to which I've had the longest loving relationship of my life.
+
+It's the relationship I've spent more time on than any other.
+
+When things go wrong, I become enraged and attack inanimate objects, but I'm always willing to spend hours making things right.
+
+I can turn it on in a snap. Come to think of it, I can turn it off in a snap.
+
+It loves me back (there's a reason why U and I are next to each other on the keyboard).
+
+Anyway, this is getting weird.
+
+I'm coding on Valentine's Day.
+
+I hope you have fun. \<3

src/posts/weekend-at-pennapps.md

@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+---
+layout: ../layouts/BlogPost.astro
+title: A Weekend at PennApps
+slug: weekend-at-pennapps
+description: I went to PennApps to hack some apps and take some names!
+tags:
+  - events
+added: 2013-09-10T05:00:00.000Z
+---
+
+This past weekend I had the incredible opportunity to participate in PennApps, the largest student hackathon in the country, at University of Pennsylvania. It was AWESOME.
+
+To those of you who don't know what a hackathon is, basically you're given a certain amount of time to make something. In our case, we had Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to build a working software application using technologies from companies like Venmo, Google, Twilio, Microsoft, Apple, SoundCloud, Dropbox, and more.
+
+My team consisted of all Iowa State students; we were the first Iowa State team to ever be accepted and attend the hackathon!
+
+Once we got on campus, we registered and got assigned tables for the weekend. There were tons of companies there who had technical mentors nearby for us to ask questions, and one company even took over a classroom and built a whole lounge for us to hang out on breaks! And then, CODING. Throughout the weekend we were fed and worked from way before dawn til way past dusk. One thing about weekend hackathons: you usually don't get your normal sleep hours (I'm definitely still recovering). 😉
+
+My team made a universal uploader for SoundCloud, [you can check out our demo here](https://youtu.be/C4NkIiGN6EU)! I made the user interface (the look and feel of the application), and my genius team members built out the backend for us to be able to upload to SoundCloud from SkyDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, and more!
+
+After hours upon hours of grueling, but fun work, we demoed in the gigantic gym on campus (funnily enough I slept on that gym floor for a couple hours Friday night…).
+
+Our team was among 200 talented teams (over 1000 students) who had made everything from new texting apps to bitcoin exchangers to games to gyroscope extensions. It was awesome to see all the creativity flowing and the fast-paced energy around us.
+
+All in all, we didn't win, which is totally okay. We made an application I'm proud of, I got to see a lot of old friends from previous internships and events, we networked with companies, and we learned a ton!! I loved representing Iowa State there, it was fun hearing all the different places people had come from.
+
+Now, time for a shameless plug: Iowa State is going to start hosting hackathons! We're starting small (only Iowa State students and not for a whole weekend), and the club Digital Women will be hosting it in October. I'm helping plan it, and it'll be so fun! If you're at all interested in something like I've just said, don't worry about how experienced you are or anything. You'll be great!
+
+And now, I'm going to catch some zzz's…:)
+
+PeAcE oUt GiRl ScOuT

src/posts/white-house-invite.md

@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+---
+layout: ../layouts/BlogPost.astro
+title: What's a house that's white in Washington D.C.?
+slug: white-house-invite
+description: My sister and I got some exciting news!
+tags:
+  - personal
+  - events
+added: 2013-01-28T06:00:00.000Z
+---
+
+Hello my friends!
+
+I hope you all had a splendid weekend, I sure did! I am here to tell you some thrilling news:  My sister and I are going to speak at the White House!!!
+
+We were told that we were invited early last week and of course we just had to say yes. We're not sure of all of the details of the event, but we know that we will be speaking about women in technology and computer science education, and that only six girls were chosen to go! It's super duper exciting, especially because we'll be able to represent the state of Iowa and Iowa State for the first time at such an event.
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+We're going this week, so plenty of pictures are to come! Have an AWESOME day!!