Hello fellow classmates. My name is Carmen Chilson and I am a senior computer science major. It’s definitely not for everybody, but I think programming is tons of fun. I never switched my major in college, because I already knew I wanted to be a programmer when I was in high school. There is something extremely satisfying about being able to write my own computer applications. Currently I work at an educational video game company, where I get to program video games all day.
(Sample of code: Bobby Gammill)
When I was younger, I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. I would often write stories as a kid, though I never finished most of them. I love the fantasy genre, especially anything medieval, including sword and sorcery type novels with dragons and magic. In stories, I often root for the dragon, which is why I especially enjoy stories with a dragon protagonist, such as Saphira in the book Eragon.
I am a huge nerd, and many of my hobbies are nerdy hobbies. I enjoy playing tabletop board games such as Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder. I also like to play card games such as Magic the Gathering. I have 2 decks that I’ve build that I particularly like. One of them is a white soldier deck, and the other is a green black deathtouch deck (unless this is game you’ve played, these terms probably mean nothing to you). I also enjoy playing board games such as Battlestar Galactica, Arkham Horror, or Gauntlet of Fools to name a few. When I am not playing these games with friends, I often play video games by myself, basically, I just really like games.
I have other hobbies as well. I enjoy cooking and baking. What I especially like is trying new recipes and experimentally mixing new things together. Although I do often find recipes online, i will rarely follow recipes exactly. Instead I make my own modifications to them (often times because I don’t have all of the ingredients). There is a cooking channel that I keep seeing links to on Facebook. I've never tried any of their recipes, but it looks really good!
Anyways, that’s me in a nutshell. I am a computer science student who enjoyed reading/writing in the fantasy genre, loves games, and enjoys cooking. I would love to hear from anybody who shares these interests, so feel free to leave comments!
Hey Carmen! So I have never played Dungeons and Dragons, but it honestly sounds like a pretty fun game! not only does it sound fun but interesting, I find it very cool that you enjoy to play that game!
ReplyDeleteI also love the fact that you have never changed your major and knew exactly what you wanted to be in high school. Thats a very cool trait to have as most college students change their major over and over again! I am guilty of that, I have actually changed my major three times! I always applaud those who chose to work with technology for their career, I am not so tech savvy and nothing frustrates me more than technology, and thats why there are people like you in this world that I appreciate!
Hi! It is so awesome that you're a computer science major. I had to take Java last semester, and it was probably one of the harder classes. For the final project, I had to ask one of my computer science friends to help me and he was SO SO kind enough to sit with me for 4 hours straight to help me write it and explain it along the way, even though he said he could have done it in 30 minutes. We ended up staying up until 3 am, and I am so grateful for it.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I've never played D&D, but I have heard of it, and watched Sheldon and friends play it on Big Bang Theory, and it seems interesting. I would like to say I like to cook, but it's more like I like looking at cooking videos, save it, think I would do it, but never try. I plan to redeem that situation this semester though, since it's not as busy. (If you haven't you should check out a page on Facebook called Tasty... some of their recipes look VERY good).
I can relate to the 3 AM thing. I have definitely stayed up later than that trying to finish up CS projects.
DeleteHi Carmen, here I am finally getting around to your Introduction! It sounds like this class can be such a good place for you to experiment with writing, especially writing with some gaming dynamics. And listen, there is a student who took this class, actually he took both classes, way back when I first started teaching online, and now he has his own game company, with several VERY successful Kickstarters that he has run. If you are curious, here is his company: Foxtrot Games. His name is Randy Hoyt, and he is easy to connect with at Twitter @randyhoyt ... I follow him there, so I know he participates in game developer Twitter chats if you are into Twitter, and he is just an all-around great guy. I am sure the two of you would have a lot in common!
ReplyDeleteAre you interested in doing a dragon project for this class??? I think that would be excellent! There are some dragons lurking in the UnTextbook of course! Plus thousands more dragons in thousand more stories out there in the world.
And thanks again for news about the game developers; I hope that John Stewart will be able to come: the game he and Keegan are building for the Center for Teaching Excellence is like nothing I've seen before, and they are both really talented. I am really excited to think about the gaming energy on campus. I also shared the information with a student in Myth-Folklore, Grayson, who is a serious writer and wants to get into writing for games also.
Whoops, I meant to say Grayson in Indian Epics; if you want to connect with him, you'll find him in the directory for that class. :-)
DeleteThat is a really impressive major! I would not have then patience to write codes I know it can be a tedious process. I love playing games too but more like the classics like Scrabble and Pictionary. I hope you have a great semester and happy almost graduation!
ReplyDeleteOne of my best friends is a programmer as well (but she doesn't go to OU). I'll never understand it, but she seems to love it just like you do! I love to cook and bake too! My roommate is vegan, so we have a lot of fun changing up recipes to be vegan or just looking through vegan blogs and cookbooks for inspiration.
ReplyDeleteCarmen, much like you I too had my major already chosen in High School and have never changed my passion since. My interest in Chemistry started all with one inspirational teacher at Norman North here in Norman; I have loved it ever since. I also really enjoy cooking myself too. I am always cooking stuff off the top of my head experimenting with different spices and flavors much like I would do with different reactions in my Chemistry research. I think I enjoy cooking so much because it does in fact remind me of doing chemistry in the lab.
ReplyDeleteHi Carmen! I have loved getting to take a look at your stories! It's easy to tell that you have a creative mind, andI'm sure that that serves you well in both your hobbies and in your academics! I'm very jealous of your ability to cook and improvise. Usually when I try, it ends up in a tiny disaster and lots of ramen noodles!
ReplyDeleteHello Carmen! It's nice to meet you. It's super cool that you are a computer science major. I have actually considered programming but I'm not sure if I would enjoy/be good at it but it sounds interesting to me. It seems like you have a really great imagination which I envy! It's nice to hear that you really enjoy the work that you do.
ReplyDeleteAs far as cooking goes, I always say I am going to cook and I save a bunch of recipes but I hardly ever actually get to cook much. Also, when I do, it doesn't really turn out all that great. I guess I just need to practice more.
Hey Carmen, nice to meet you!!! I'm like you and like to play games as well. However, I like to play dominoes, cards, and do lots of puzzles. And like you as well, I love to cook! I have been trying out new recipes and seeing what all I can make. I recently just got a crock pot so it has opened so many new opportunities. Nice to meet you and game on!!
ReplyDeleteHi Carmen! I think it’s so cool that you enjoy writing programs and have known that you’ve wanted to be a computer science programmer since you were in high school! I remember taking a intro level programming class my junior year of high school and thinking it was extremely difficult! I also love cooking and know exactly what channel you’re talking about on Facebook… the food looks so delicious I immediately want to try it after watching the videos!
ReplyDeleteI think it is so cool that you discovered your passions so early on in life. I wish I would have known what I wanted my major to be when I was younger or even just in high school; it would have been so much nicer to start off in what I wanted to do instead of switching my major multiple times like I did. Its also pretty impressive that you attend school and have already have a job in the field you are studying... That's pretty rare for college kids I feel like. I also really love playing board games, but more like Sorry and Life with my family! Or dominos, we love dominos,
ReplyDeleteHey Carmen! My roommate/teammate/bestfriend is a computer science major as well! She agrees that is not for everyone but she enjoys coding and programming as well! I also enjoy cooking as well! However, I am not a talented baker at all! For some reason I always mess up my desserts! Good luck with the rest of your semester and with your computer science class! I know they are really challenging!
ReplyDeleteHey Carmen! I think it is awesome that you like to do computer programming and design your own applications. I bet that is really cool to see when you are done making them. I haven't played a lot of the games you have mentioned but I do love playing most types of boardgames. I really like to read and I even took a science fiction literature class in high school. One of my favorite books I read in that class was Ender's Game if you have heard of that series. They ended up making a movie out of it so that was cool to see! Goodluck with your job and making video games to educate people. I enjoyed getting to know you a little bit!
ReplyDeleteHi Carmen!
ReplyDeleteI think its awesome that you are already getting to work in the field that you love! I've known what I've wanted to do since high school as well, and its great to not have to search to find what you're really passionate about. I also really like to bake. I haven't gotten into cooking as much yet, but I'm sure I will eventually. Maybe I will try the recipe you put up on this page!
Hey Carmen! Computer programming sounds so interesting, as well as app design! I think it would be so cool to be able to design apps. It's really awesome that you get to help program video games. That would be a really fun job! Cooking and baking are really great hobbies. I really want to be able to cook well, but it can be hard and time consuming as a college student! It was great to read your about me and learn a little bit about your life!
ReplyDeleteHey Carmen,
ReplyDeleteIt was great to get to read your Introduction and get to know you through it. I think it is cool that you want to be a Computer Scientist and work with computer programming as well as app design. It is awesome that you are already getting to work in the career field that you want to be in. What are some of your favorite things to cook and bake?
Good luck the rest of the semester!
Hey Carmen! So I'm cheating, because I'm supposed to be reconnecting with people, but then it occurred to me that I'd been to your blog and seen that you had Terry Pratchett quotes in your sidebar, and I couldn't let the class go by without telling you that he's one of my favorite authors! I also love Eragon, although in my opinion the movie isn't really worth talking about. I quite honestly know little to nothing about computer programming or Dungeons and Dragons, but I love to bake--especially experimentally, because I usually have nothing in my fridge that would normally make sense to put together. Lol. Anyway, I know you're done posting now but good luck with the rest of your semester!
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you Carmen! I am surprised I haven’t already met everyone in this class already, but I am glad I got to learn a little about you. I really like the setup of your blog and like how you put quotes on the side of it. It really lets us get to know you. That is so neat about you being a computer science degree! Good luck with the end of the semester!
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