The Elixir Year: Month 5 Review
This post is the 5th entry in The Elixir Year Series.
I GOT INTO THE RECURSE CENTER!!!!
Last month kicked off with a MASSIVE win - I'll be spending 3 months later this year in Brooklyn at the Recurse Center! I've hoped to make this happen since mid-December and 4.5 months of aspirations have finally settled into reality. I'm so relieved and just the right amount of nervous, there's a lot left to do before I'm ready to depart. Finding housing is going to be a challenge, but one I'm equipped to handle.
Regarding Elixir, my application/interview was the only code I wrote in May. I also picked up a virtual ticket to Elixir Conf US for $99, but spent the rest of the month taking a break from technical pursuits.
I'm a business owner!
I filed articles of organization back in April, but it took a while for NC to confirm everything, so May 2nd is my business' birthday. Introducing - actually trying llc! I don't have a website or anything to show for it yet, just figuring out how to do all the legal stuff (with the help of Claude) is worthy of celebration. Another big win was getting all my business banking setup through Chase; a new checking, savings, and credit card are ready to go for burning on fly.io and The Pragmatic Bookshelf books ;)
Family & Friends
I got to spend a lot of time with friends & family last month, by far the best part of my month. Here's a few photos of my favorite memories:
Mother's Day Visit
I flew in my mom to visit on Mother's Day for a week so she can meet my partner and friends. This was her first visit to Raleigh and I really wanted to show her the best parts of the city and life I've built here. I'm happy to report that it was a smashing success. We spent a lot of time cooking traditional Romanian food, walking in the woods, ice skating, and even rode a mechanical bull in Cary at a Cowboy Bar.
A Wonderful Wedding
Some dearly beloved friends of ours got married in May and threw a 4 day party at a posh airbnb. The wedding party was 17 people and we all bonded beautifully. The ceremony was done in the backyard, with the first 2 days devoted to chilling, grilling, and lounging. Never had such an experience before, would do again.
A Cozy Camping Festival
To close out the month, we were invited to a birthday celebration at small venue in Asheville. Great friends of mine drove from CO to make this, and towed an entire sound system with them. It was a camping music festival for ~50 people, complete with DJ sets, bonfires, and lots of time to sit under the shade and connect.
Getting back to development
June will be spent getting back to learning elixir; particularly building my first product. After half a year doing tutorials and building toy projects, I'm really excited to make something that will have a real world use case, and hopefully customers. 🤞