Sometimes I feel like rambling out into the void at no one in particular.

I don’t have anything specific to ramble about yet.

I guess let’s talk about note-taking?

Switching to Logseq from Workflowy

I’ve been using Workflowy for years and loved it, but recently moved to Logseq because I was not happy with Workflowy’s lack of end-to-end encryption, and my data being accessible by authorized users on Workflowy’s servers.

To be honest, there’s something about the UI of Workflowy that I find more intuitive in terms of creating and managing nodes and pages. Logseq feels more cluttered and clunky for me. I think this might be due to me being so used to it. I’ve used Workflowy for years and Logseq for just a few weeks. I have a feeling that I may also be able to fix up some of the nitpicks I have with existing or custom plugins.

One thing I do love is the whole plugin marketplace. I’me excited about contributing to some existing plugins and playing around with my own.

My Logseq process isn’t fully worked out yet, since I do want some kind of cross-device sync. I just haven’t bothered to set it up yet.

Go

Whenever I am in a bit of a rut, opening up Goland and writing some Go somehow puts me in a creative happy place. I’ve worked with all kinds of languages and liked things about all of them, but Go just really resonates with me somehow. I have always thought of programming languages as simply useful tools for different jobs, and never expected to feel such a clear positive bias toward one!

Company shenanigans

I’ve survived my first ever tax filing as a limited company. Skatteverket has been helpful. I got several blank forms in the mail for things that I thought I already submitted electronically and got worried that I missed something. I contacted Skatteverket about this online and got a call a few days later by an employee assuring me that all is good and they have everything they need from me.

I now feel like I have a solid financial buffer in the company and the whole process of accounting and keeping things rolling is now smooth and not intimidating. In general, I’ve heard people express the sentiment that starting a company in Sweden can be quite complicated. I think the most complicated part might be figuring out if it is worth starting an AB, knowing that it’s going to add some paperwork and management overhead. But once you figure that part out, the process itself is relatively smooth (or at least not as intimidating as some accounts might lead me to believe).

Moving back to Stockholm

My year in Gothenburg is coming to an end. I’ve really loved this city. In a few months it’ll be time to move back to Stockholm. I have to admit as much as I loved living here, I do miss my little hyresrätt back in Täby. It feels much more mine. So it isn’t really the city I miss, but having an apartment that I can call mine, with just my stuff in it, that nobody can decide to take away. However, moves are always extremely stressful for me. I hate organizing moving my entire life, even though I’ve done it so much over the years. I’m not looking forward to moving, but I’m looking forward to being back in my apartment.

I’m going to miss some of the social activities I’ve started doing in Gothenburg. For example, I’ve been a regular at an excellent short story book club. In general, in Gothenburg it’s much easier to be social for me. Life just seems more relaxed and a bit slower. People have a more patient vibe about them. I think I can find that in Stockholm too, though. Will see!

Therapy

After a couple of false starts over the years and thinking about it more than actually doing it, I’ve finally started therapy. For the first time I’m not doubting whether I’ve found the right person to work with or if the schedule will work or if it’s within my budget, so it’s nice to finally just do it. It feels a bit uncomfortable and self-centered to talk about myself so much though.

Fiction writing

I’ve got a dev editor for my latest WIP booked for the end of the month so the pressure is on! I’ve just got a last scene and epilogue to write for my WIP, but then I also need to go back and sprinkle in some story elements I’ve made notes on throughout the manuscript.

The manuscript is over 100,000 words though. Editing this thing is going to be an experience. Right now I see it as this misshapen lump of clay that is complete junk and should never see the light of day. It’s too long, drags and slumps in the middle, and is just… bad. But I know now that it always feels like that at this part of the process. It was good to get the words down, even if the initial output is a pile of junk. After all, I can’t edit and improve something that doesn’t exist yet. Now, it exists and I just have to make the lump of clay into something relatively presentable.

Editing technical content

I’ve been doing a lot of reviewing and editing of technical content lately and really love it, but it’s making me really appreciate the work my fiction editor does. It takes a lot of mental energy to edit someone else’s writing! In some ways it takes even more than writing technical content myself. Checking for accuracy, reviewig accompanying demo code, readability, style, voice, etc., all require significant brain power. I realized that switching between editing and coding at regular intervals helps my brain take a break and exercise different “focus muscles”.

Going back to Romania

I’d like to take a trip back to Romania to see my grandfather, uncle, and aunt again sometime. I’m hesitant to ask them if I can come too soon after my last visit, since last time they kept insisting on cooking for me and I don’t want to be a burden - they just escaped a war and are working full-time from a new place. They have enough to deal with. Next time I’m going to plan to invite them to the place I’m staying instead and cooking for them. And next time I’d love to bring Dimitrios so he can meet them, too. I just don’t want to be too much of a hassle and add additional mental burden to their plate by visiting again too soon.