I woke up this morning and decided to start a weekly wrap-up every Monday. There’s something clarifying about pausing to take additional notes:
It helps me regain a sense of control and gives me a place to capture thoughts that don’t quite warrant a full blog post but might be useful for you (or for future me when I’m mining ideas).
So, what happened this past week?
Vibe Coding the Note-Taking App
This one hit a wall. I’m wrestling with layouts, design choices, and workflows that refuse to click into place. It’s that frustrating feeling where you need to step back to see the bigger picture, but stepping back feels like giving up.
Think of it as writer’s block, but for development. I know exactly what I want, I just can’t figure out how to translate that vision into a functioning app without breaking what’s already working.
Read also: Language Learning App Update #1: It’s Taking Shape
Case in point: I tried adding new features this week and the whole thing imploded. Parts of my application literally vanished into thin air.
I’m still not sure if it’s me fumbling with prompts in Lovable, or if the platform itself is messing with the logic behind the scenes.
I’ll pick this back up next week with fresh eyes.
Learning Chinese: Progress Ahead
The bright spot: I’ve never felt better in my newbie journey with Chinese. I’ve been pushing myself harder lately.
Still somewhat irregular, but I’m keeping up with my 1:1 language exchange partner (she’s learning English, I’m learning Chinese). After a week of daily practice, I’m finally noticing real improvement with tones.
The real breakthrough?
I stepped way out of my comfort zone and practiced a basic story from DuChinese in public, with a handful of listeners and native speakers there to correct me on the spot. What I once feared has somehow become my motivation. Funny how that works.
Coffee Brew: New Planning & Adjustments
I published a schedule for my publicly hosted parties on Tandem, and now that I’ve wrapped up the initial test phase, it’s time for some adjustments:
- The schedule was too intense. It didn’t leave me enough breathing room to manage everything
- I’m tuning down the frequency from three times to twice a week
I have to prioritize actual language learning over hosting events. Between Study Brew three times a week and my daily 1:1 practice sessions (another hour each day, six to seven days a week), things got pretty overwhelming.
What’s Next?
Now that I’ve rebalanced, here’s where my focus is shifting for the next part of my 2026 goals:
- Record the introduction for my newly founded podcast, StreetPoint Zero (which I’ve kinda mapped out)
- Write the blog post about my zero-to-X challenge. I think it’s time to get that ready so it aligns with the podcast production
So that’s the week: one step back with coding, two steps forward with Chinese, and a necessary recalibration with Coffee Brew. Not every week moves in a straight line, but as long as I’m moving, I’ll take it.
See you next Monday with a new weekly Wrap Up.