Literally: New York!
Metaphorically: Everywhere, keeping my head up in a sea of uncertainty.
New York
Let’s start with the big one: I live in New York now! Not New York City. I’ve found that I constantly have to explain that New York is actually huge, and I’m six hours away from the Big Apple. What started as a joke with a couple of friends planning to move here turned into joining them for the adventure. After a five-day drive that was grueling at times and lovely at others, we made it to our new place.
The move disrupted many things in my life, killing off weaker habits and leaving me an odd wandering entity for a couple of months. Writing blog posts went from something I thought of from time to time to never crossing my mind.
Despite that, I think coming here was a great choice, especially looking at it through the lens of being temporary. I’m sure I don’t need to explain the benefits and joys of new experiences to you. For me, it has been nice to live somewhere that is actually so much different from home. Sure, the towns are what you’d expect of towns, and the people are the same at their core, but the layers stacked on top of that are so much different from what I’ve experienced on the West Coast.
I still look forward to moving back home. But for now, I’m enjoying having a cute coffee shop within walking distance, a stellar LGS for Magic, and an overabundance of snow.
I genuinely love this place. Always worth the walk.
Being Unemployed (Still)
I’m still unemployed! It’s something that should feel sour, but I’m trying to take it in stride. This past year has left me with many thoughts about the industry–some more realistic than others. One of which is a particular pain point for mid-level developers: we’re too experienced to be hired cheaply, but we’re not quite senior enough to be kept around.
I won’t lie, it’s maddening at times. I’ve spent months refining my portfolio and resume, applying to positions, and even considering pivots into more tech-adjacent roles. Nothing seems to help. This combination of AI hype, shifting business priorities, and belt-tightening across the line seems to be making it tougher than ever to get a job.
Regardless, I love programming. No amount of corporate bull can take that away from me. Yes, I’m frustrated, but I’m also motivated. Every day, I keep pushing for new opportunities and new skills. It’s keeping my passion alive.
Transcribel
Transcribel is a project that I think warrants its own post, and I may very well end up writing many of them for the project’s site itself. About half a year ago, my friend Jacob approached me with an idea for a product: AI-powered summarization of user-provided audio. It’s something that already exists, yes, but when has that ever stopped anyone? The idea excited me, especially as someone that records every single tabletop roleplaying game I run and is constantly poring over footage looking for that one single line someone said in the middle of a heated exchange.
The work has been great. Working with others has been even better. It gives this sense of responsibility that is easy to lose when working on solo projects. I’ve played a big part in the creation of the website’s UI as well as its backend in my dearly beloved Firebase. There have been genuine challenges and plenty of frustrations (I really shouldn’t get started on the state of web development, how do people deal with it).
I hope I can share even more in the future, as we approach releasing it to the public. There’s nothing quite as exciting and terrifying as having others interacting with something you made.
NaNoWriMo
The final thing I would like to talk about is another project that needs its own post (which I’ve already sort of started on as I write this). This year, I participated in the National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short. For the uninitiated, NaNoWriMo is a challenge that takes place over the month of November, where authors new and experienced try to write the first draft of a novel, aiming for a minimum of 50,000 words.
I closed out my writing session on November 30th at 51,712 words. It was a tremendous task, especially for someone that had largely given up writing stories and hadn’t been reading too much in the months leading up. The parts of my brain that engage with storytelling needed a good dusting off.
Don't talk to me about doing all of the work at the end.
I won’t get too into the details here, but there’s a lot to be said about the ups and downs of the month, which can be seen so clearly in the daily word count graph on the NaNoWriMo website. There were numerous awful days that I struggled to make up for as the month went on. Feelings of negativity hung on my shoulders after those days, but the overwhelming brightness of other days completely squelched them. On top of that, I cannot begin to explain the feeling of becoming a “winner” of NaNoWriMo.
My story is one of a young man running from his own life, lost in a sea of uncertainty (sound familiar?). So he does what any individual would when they don’t know what to do and don’t have the sense to seek help: they climb a Mountain. Surely such a task will bring meaning and accomplishment to their life. The Mountain is set in our time, in a world much like our own, with a small hint of magic seeping through the cracks (also like our own if you ask me).
Right now, I’ve only shared the story with a small handful of people close to me, but if you’re interested in reading it, please don’t hesitate to reach out and I’ll consider sending you the horribly messy first draft.
What’s Next?
We’re only a week into 2025, and I’m not one for strict New Year’s resolutions. After all, my life doesn’t adhere to the calendar, and I’m not a fan of trying to force it to. This year, I’m just going to focus on continuing with the things I value: staying healthy, honing my skills, and working on creative projects that spark joy.
NaNoWriMo proved to me that when I commit, I can pull off something amazing. So I plan to channel that energy into new projects: making games, playing my bass, experimenting with art, and yes, maybe writing a few more blog posts (no promises).
In the meantime, I’ll keep looking for the right job opportunity. Until then, I’m embracing the chance to grow in unexpected ways.
So here’s to a year of exploration and possibility. Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ll stick around for whatever comes next.