This past week felt like one of those stretches where everything seems to happen at once — progress, setbacks, stress, excitement — sometimes all within the same day.
Big Wins (And They Really Are Big)
The biggest milestone of the week is that Did I Do That? is officially submitted to the Apple App Store for review. 🎉
That means the app is now live on Google Play and making its way through Apple’s review process. Anyone who has shipped a mobile app knows this part is never as simple as it should be — certificates, permissions, build issues, screenshots with exact dimensions — but I pushed through all of it and hit submit.
That moment mattered more than I expected. After months of building, testing, and refining, seeing it finally in Apple’s review queue felt like real closure on this chapter of the project.
I also made major progress on the business side of things:
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PennyHacker LLC is officially set up
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Business bank account is live
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The PennyHacker website is up and running
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Dedicated pages for SideQuestDeals and Did I Do That? are complete
For the first time in a while, it feels like there’s a real foundation in place — not just ideas, but actual structure.
Career Movement (Finally)
On the job front, I completed and submitted a technical assessment for a Blazor WASM contract-to-hire role and had an initial call with the hiring manager. The feedback so far has been encouraging, and I should hear soon about whether they want to move forward with another technical interview.
Even just being back in the interview process felt like a small victory after a long stretch of silence.
Life Stuff (The Hard Parts)
Not everything this week was about momentum and wins.
My mother had a hospital visit after the nursing home suspected pneumonia. Thankfully, it turned out to be a COPD flare-up rather than anything more serious, and she was discharged back to the nursing home with antibiotics. Still, hospital visits are emotionally draining, and they tend to surface a lot of complicated feelings.
On top of that, I’ve been dealing with the usual caregiving stress, family dynamics, and the mental load that comes with being the “responsible one” in situations that never feel simple.
There were also a few days where my energy dipped hard — stomach issues, poor sleep, and the kind of loneliness that sneaks in when plans fall through or you’re just worn down.
A Needed Bright Spot
Midweek, I made the drive to Denver to see The Birthday Massacre in concert. Despite traffic and the long drive, it was absolutely worth it. Live music has a way of cutting through everything else for a couple of hours, and it reminded me how important it is to still do things that feel purely enjoyable.
On the health side, I also hit a milestone I’ve been quietly working toward:
I’m now down 9 pounds since getting back into the gym consistently. That progress didn’t come from perfection — just showing up, adjusting when needed, and sticking with it.
Where I’m At Now
This week was a mix of:
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Shipping something meaningful
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Laying real business groundwork
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Navigating stress that doesn’t neatly resolve
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Still choosing to move forward anyway
I don’t feel “done.” I don’t feel like everything is figured out. But I do feel unstuck in a way I didn’t a few weeks ago.
Next up:
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Waiting on Apple’s App Store review
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Getting SideQuestDeals closer to launch
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Following up on interviews
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Continuing to balance momentum with taking care of myself
Some weeks are about sprinting. Others are about endurance.
This one was a little bit of both.
Onward.
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