Does Anyone Else Feel Like They're Allergic to Certain Types Of Code?

I am having the same problem - branding myself has been the biggest challenge. I can code html/css ok but I jumped into wordpress and just made some decisions http://www.strobotronics.com/wp/portfolio. You can skip to the last paragraph - I'm mostly venting here....

SO far so good, very basic - will end up with a grid of images thanks to the free portfolio press theme (I did a tutorial for making a theme from scratch but I'm not 100% on the way pages get separated out) I mean, the idea of putting all your functions in a "functions.php" file is great, but how do I troubleshoot when my jquery tabs don't work? Frustrating. I can do it in regular html.

I want to be focusing on javascript, animating with greensock,

I finally "got" Flash - after years of being hung up on basic stuff - and the fact that the language has gone through so many changes. The way I describe it to myself is that all the objects get invited to the party - they all need name tags (on the stage) and they can't just be on the guest list ( in the library). Fine - but also, if they aren't there at the start of the party, then they STILL AREN'T RECOGNIZED. That last fact drove me nuts. I solved it by placing the symbols ( "movie clip" objects) on the stage on frame 1 in the timeline (itself an object). EVERYTHING IS NESTED too, so "scope" is an issue as with all object oriented languages....or so I hear. Yeah I love it, but c'mon, I got into it to make stuff move and be "interactive", not to write my own language.

HTML/CSS is the same way - you have to know the logic of "block level" vs "inline" layout - and how floats work (left right and "clear"). you have to know that padding adn margins change the "block level" element dimensions. It would be cool to make a FAQ of these general concepts - it makes the granular stuff like how to style links just another thing to look up (pseudo classes). JUST DO THE BASIC TUTORIALS EVEN IF ITS FOR ONE MINUTE A DAY.

I get "past it" - by being paid, taking on projects that require it (recently coded an email using skills I started learning in 1998 and treehouse's tutorial), and by endlessly ramming my head into the wall (not literally). I am stubborn. I also am taking a long time to figure it out. I will get there but I'm more of a visual guy, love looking at clouds - I guess I'm a space cadet. But I'm great at organizing shapes and patterns....should I be learning Adobe's proprietary Indesign better? Maybe.

Short answer - hire someone to kick your ass ;)

Hits home like a MF for me. I HATE front-end design. I can't stand it. I have no idea why, but I just don't like it, even though it's obviously an immensely important part of any web development. I think it's the electrical engineer in me. I like working on the back-end part of a project. I like making the wheels turn, but don't come to me asking me to design the wheels or the environment they're in.

I like to see stuff move - but animating requires coding and I don't mind coding if it means stuff will move.