(This is a now page inspired by Derek Sivers)
Work
- I’m on a Career Break, but now in exploit rather than explore mode. I know what I want and i’m going after it.
- For the past ~6 months i’ve been teaching myself fullstack software development in anticipation for a 3-month intensive in-person software engineering bootcamp in New York — Fractal Bootcamp. It starts on the 23rd September.
- The reason I chose this program is primarily because the prerequisite level of knowledge it assumes before starting is probably close to the end-stage of many typical bootcamps. For instance, I have made my way through most of Fullstack Open as pre-course material and i’m pretty confident building and deploying fullstack CRUD apps with React/Express.
- It feels more like a dev accelerator? where you hit the ground running with externships in the first couple of weeks and an intense set of expectations for performance and output. Here’s a look at the syllabus and daily schedule if you’re interested.
- As above, i’m about to move to East Williamsburg, Brooklyn for 3 months. Which is a huge life transition and an emotional rollercoaster as i’m going to miss the heck out of my partner and my dog. But we’re gonna make it work. I think it’s going to be an amazing time and I am going into it with a specific vision for what I want out of it. For the first time in a long time I have a vision for my life and i’m going after it.
- I’m going to figure out how to get a job, after the bootcamp, at the only company I want to work for right now — Ferocia. See Why I want to work at Ferocia.
Life
- The weather has warmed up. I’m swimming a lot. And I’m getting better every week. I started taking adult swimming lessons (something I used to feel shame/fear at the thought of doing — but i’m doing it now and it’s making a big difference).
- See What I Talk About When I Talk About Swimming for more context.
- I started Muay Thai classes recently and it’s been an incredibly transformative experience. The level of cardio fitness I need for it is insane and absolutely kicks my ass. I love it and I hate it. I love the act of kickboxing. I love pushing myself to my limits and beyond. I hate the cardio conditioning; it’s unlike anything i’ve ever done before in it’s intensity.
- Key takeaway: most of the time when you think you’re done and you can’t go on; that’s a mental wall. You can still keep going. Usually through several iterations of this until it’s actually time to stop.
- I started running in the morning and I love it. The lesson above proves true every time I go. Same for swimming.
- Actually in a lot of ways it’s the same for programming as well. Whenever I think I cant’ figure out the bug despite slamming my head against it for ages, it’s always been a perspective problem. It’s not that i’m incapable of figuring it out, i’m just stuck in a particular framing of the problem that I need to break out of. Don’t give up. Take a breather, push through the discomfort and keep trying.
- Deep emotional work is starting to sow beautiful seeds. A combination of meditation, various types of inner work over the past year and constantly proving to myself that I can do difficult things I thought I couldn’t do has resulted in me becoming a very different person than the one I was a year ago. I’m happier, more confident and better able to have difficult conversations that I used to shy away from or ignore.