HIATUS
May 19, 2023
Two years since my last post. Three years after COVID.
What now? Career wise, ever since the pandemic started, I changed my work/life approach. I’ve spent more time and energy outside of my 9-6. Basically, poured more of my energy outside of my craft as a software engineer. Was I slacking at work? No, I was still doing my job, kept it professional. Showed up for work and did what I can within my work schedule. The days of staying up 1-2 hours after shift was non-existent. That’s one of the benefits with remote work, it kept me intentional and minimized procrastination. That doesn’t mean I was always productive, just means i was able to manage my time much better. Plus, without having to commute anymore, it opened up more time to do more “fun” stuff.
One of the key lessons I learned from COVID is that it reminded me that life is short, and that there are more important things than a successful career. I got to more stuff outside of work. It was a also my lowest in terms of upskilling. I didn’t buy into the whole, “if you haven’t done A,B,C skills after this pandemic, then you suck” attitude that people kept on preaching in the internet. Instead, I pursued new stuff, more outdoorsy, active lifestyle, more cycling! cycling gave me the mobility I needed during the pandemic, it was my outlet to destress, my mode of transport for grocery runs, it was also a way for me to discover the beauty of the Philippines again. I got to cycling in new places, that I never even imagined before. To name a few, Tagaytay, Taal , Pangasinan, Clark, Zambales, and Sierra Madre. I got to travel more through cycling, gained a lot of friends, a lot of Strava Segment PRs, and most importantly fun memories. The pandemic reminded me of what makes life meaningful, and personally it’s about having fun with the journey.
What now? I feel like I’m ready to have fun again, have fun with technology, learning new things that I’m interested in. Particularly, real-time applications. I‘ve been procrastinating with learning Elixir, Phoenix for quite some time, and I’m happy to get the wheels rolling. I was able to do a demo project showcasing Phoenix Live view. I’m proud of the progress I’ve made so far, here’s to celebrating small wins.
Written by Julian Macmang