I'm not the best at writing but I keep doing it anyway.
That's what I look like right about now. I've cut off the hair I've grown and trimmed over six years to what might as well be a buzz cut. I've also got a nose ring with one of my favorite colors in it. I like it! I'm going to make it a habit to include a photo of myself at the time of writing, so these letters are a bit more personal. The mic is part of a later entry—stay tuned (or dialed in)!
My hobby-turned-cursed-career requires me to be a very good typist. I haven't done a word test in some time. Provided that the words are a few syllables (like 4 or so), I can type nearly as fast as I can speak—which as fast as a New Yorker with an expired MetroCard can speak. This means outside of writing software, I'm asking verbose questions, giving (as) detailed (as possible) answers and making use of parentheses as a way to show the change of tone in my voice instead of using footnotes—because they're weird to me. I'm nowhere near the quality of content and prose that Dan Hon cranks out nearly daily, but that's very okay for me—you'd probably expect me to keep that level of quality.
What I do want to get better at is making things that reflect what I believe in. Sure, apps are one way, but those things remain stuck in glass, plastic and electrified stone. There's more depth to the things I want to do. That led me to wondering if I should go to school for electrical engineering, the things I want to work on (more in the next issue) are things I'd need to make with my hands. There are things like the Analogue Pocket that allow me to get that 'retro' (oh my god, am I aging myself?) gaming vibe but also being able to make games for it as well—which is amazing to me. But it doesn't quite scratch the idea (we'll find out when it ships). I want to make something and be happy that it can do something. Is it a sign of a need of a change that I feel that software doesn't give me that same spark of joy anymore? I don't know. I am working on a few projects but they're so low-level and need so much design work that they wouldn't be interesting to anyone as of yet (at least I don't think so—without a bit of explaining).
What's something you made (or want to make) recently that you feel stuck on? Reply to this e-mail and let me know. Maybe we can help each other!