July 2025

July 3rd, 2025

Got some data structures work done during the slow moments at work, and I’m finally starting to see why data management is such a big deal - especially all that sorting stuff! It’s actually pretty fascinating, and my brain is getting a good workout since I haven’t had to do real math in ages. Plot twist though: after getting used to C, I’m realizing I don’t like writing in Python. I guess I like structure in my languages!

July 4th, 2025

Alright, so I moved the AI Agent project back to my main computer instead of bouncing between that and my wife’s laptop. I’m learning that for projects like this, I really need to stick to one system rather than constantly pushing and pulling from GitHub - turns out having different setups on different machines just creates headaches I don’t need. But hey, I got off to a solid start on the project, and I’m genuinely enjoying figuring out how to integrate an AI model into actual software!

July 2025 Wrap-up

Where Did The Month Go? (Spoiler: Into A Beautifully Crafted Game)

Okay, wow. So this month flew by faster than my son crawling toward anything he shouldn’t touch, and I did not do a good job keeping up with my progress journal. But honestly, something else completely captured my attention this month… Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

This game was absolutely incredible - the best I’ve played in such a long time - and it completely hijacked my brain in the best possible way. The music, the combat, the gameplay, the story, how the entire game was crafted… it’s all phenomenal. And you know what? I don’t feel bad about getting lost in it at all! It’s been ages since I got so enthralled with something that I was perfectly okay with disappearing into it for hours.

Plot twist: it actually sparked this intense desire to dive into game development! Since I loved writing in C so much last month, I’m definitely going to explore that route once I finish boot.dev.

The Surprising Psychology of Taking Breaks

Here’s what really fascinated me: I was still chugging through coursework whenever work got slow (only have one chapter left in data structures!), but when I finished Clair Obscur and went back to the AI agent project, I was actually more excited to get back to programming than before.

The break from coding - just enjoying something purely for the sake of enjoying it - actually fueled my desire to get back to building things. That’s genuinely surprising to me! I always thought momentum meant never stopping, but apparently my brain needed that creative recharge. Mental note: sometimes the best thing you can do for your programming is… not programming.

Plans for August (AKA: Time to Actually Finish Things)

Now that I’m back in full programming mode, here’s the game plan: finish both the AI agent and data structures at the beginning of the month. Then - and this is the exciting part - I’m giving myself an entire month to focus solely on my personal project. No more splitting attention; just pure, focused building time.

Speaking of which, I actually decided to completely pivot my personal project! Instead of the recipe/meal planner I’d been planning, I’m building something totally different: a terminal-based journaling application called SilentMemoir. Why the change? Well, after months of keeping this coding journal, I realized how much I value the process of writing down thoughts and progress. Plus, building a CLI app means I can focus on the logic and functionality without getting bogged down in UI design (at least for now).

I’ll be documenting the entire build process, so if you want to follow along with the chaos, check out the repo link I’ll be posting soon. Fair warning: there will probably be a lot of “why isn’t this working?!” commits in the git history.

SilentMemoir

“Your thoughts, your space, your silence.”

My boot.dev personal project

Project Overview

SilentMemoir is a minimalist, terminal-based journaling app built with Textual, crafted for users who value quiet focus and keyboard-native interfaces. It offers a distraction-free space to write and reflect, presenting your journal entries in a clean, date-organized layout with rich Markdown rendering. Each entry is stored locally in a secure JSON file, with no need for internet access or external services.

SilentMemoir supports multiple journals allowing you to organize your writing into separate themes like work, travel, dreams, or daily reflections. On launch, you can choose or create a journal, and all the writing, searching, and browsing happens within that context. The app features a split-screen editor that shows a live Markdown preview as you type, allowing for expressive formatting without leaving the terminal. A fuzzy search interface makes it easy to rediscover thoughts from the past, filtering entries dynamically as you type. Designed for simplicity and speed, SilentMemoir is your private, offline writing companion always just a terminal away.

Link to the project here: https://github.com/pndaRN/SilentMemoir