Definitely build things on your own. Start with some small projects to keep your morale up. Then increase the difficulty and scope of the projects you are building. The good part about building things is that it can be educational and fun. And yeah you should post your code to Github for extra points.
I am not pissed off at Ocean Marketing. In fact I love the put downs in their emails. Of course it was awful customer support. But damn. Mike K of Penny Arcade tries to flex his muscle saying he runs Pax. The Ocean Marketing rep did not give a damn, and took the piss out of him too. LMAO!
Ha ha. Acuman knows Chappie.