Usually I take Mondays off. I don't know what it is about this day, but it just makes me quite anxious. I've written about it a few times before. Today was no different. Woke up the same time as always, that was the only thing that went according to plan, plus I made my bed. I've been making my bed really well, it's crisp and ready to be slept in. Takes a few more minutes, but it's quite satisfying. So at the very least I have that. But anywho this Monday started out like any other Monday but it changed course. It's been a while since I meditated, so today I decided to meditate, to understand why I felt so icky about Mondays. Or at the very least face it. I remember meditating for a couple of minutes and the next thing I know it's been two hours since. No, I did not reach find enlightenment, I fell asleep.
When I woke up though, I was strangely motivated to do a little bit of work. A little bit became a huge bit of a feature in about a few hours. So turns out Mondays don't have to be bad. I've accounted for Mondays being this way a long time ago. This is why I work weekends. The weekend has a good feel, it's great for exploring side projects too.
Progress on the browser
I've made some progress on the browser. In the process, I've come across my first footgun in Zig. The author was kind enough to document them, which another kind person on the forum pointed out to me. Anyway, I'm now printing the HTML without the tags, I'll do the rest of the tasks from the browser book and I can move forward and render the HTML. Exciting times ahead. In the process of learning Zig and building this part of the browser twice (first time in Go), I've become quite well versed with the Http protocol. It's quite simple actually. I can now parse and create an Http response simply using the socket API from the kernel.
You don't realize what you are going through is making you better, as you experience it. It's only months or years later that you look back and realize, all the small things have added up to the point that, a lot of the things that once scared you, no longer do. In the process of learning Zig and building the browser, I've become quite comfortable working without a string type. Bytes are not hard, they are not easy either. They take a bit of time to understand, but once you do, you can do almost anything with code. Also, this time as I was feeling uncomfortable I made a note of it, and tried to notice when it passed. I'll write about it in details one day.
It makes all the discomfort worthwhile. It has only been possible by focusing on doing the smallest and simplest possible thing, but no simpler. If you are wondering if the frustration will be worthwhile, I cannot describe how good this feels, so yes all the discomfort and frustration is worthwhile. Onto the next stint of frustrations, joy and competence.