Who I am
A colleague who started at the company the same year I did once said, "You still seem like someone with a dream. And like you're heading toward it." I brushed it off. "What are you talking about? I don't have anything like that."
Looking back, I don't think I have a dream, but there are a lot of things I want to do. I'm always moving to do them. And yet I don't like being busy. A bit of a contradiction.
I make my living in railways.
Two scenes that might explain me
The university interview
The professor asked, "Sticking to your course from start to finish, or adapting on the spot. Which matters more in life?"
"Adapting on the spot."
"Why? So you think sticking to your course isn't needed?"
"I never said it isn't needed. You asked which matters more, so I said adapting. Sticking to your course is absolutely necessary."
The professor said, "You're right. The question was wrong."
I guess the habit of seeing one more thing where others just pass by goes back that far.
Our honeymoon
We didn't have much information, so we went without knowing how far the pier was from the airport. When we got there, the ticket office was closed, and the place we were headed could only be reached by boat. A boat was just about to leave, and my wife was saying, "What do we do?"
I went over and asked. "Where are you going? I need to go here. Can I get on?" "Yeah, get on." "But I don't have a ticket." "That's fine. Get on."
So we did. But at the port on the other side, there was nothing going where we needed to go. Looking around, I found a bus stop and made sure a bus went there, even if it meant a long wait and a long ride.
My wife and I sat at the stop. The timetable said a bus would come, but there was no telling if it really would, and she was still worried. Then a taxi pulled over and the driver asked:
"Where are you going?" "Preikestolen." "Oh? Want a ride?" "We don't have money for a taxi."
"Then I'll take you there for the bus fare." "Really?"
I made sure he meant it, then we got in. The whole way I chatted in broken English about where we were from and what we'd been up to, and when we got out, we paid exactly the bus fare.
For most of the honeymoon I wasn't the one leading. Just that once. Because my wife was flustered.
Once things are in motion, I just move. I figure out the thinking as I go.
Why I started building
There were always ideas in my head for making work easier, for the work I do now and the work I used to do. I wanted to know if they would really help, but I had no way to build them.
A former colleague said, "Just do it with AI."
"Okay, but how?"
"Ask that. Ask the AI how."
My answer was "You're nuts." Then: "Eh, why not."
So I figured out how and started building apps. Things that were hard to explain to people, I can now build myself. There was no reason not to.
Why I made this place
I wanted to know whether the things I'd thought "should work" actually do. To find out, I had to put what I built somewhere and really use it, so I needed a place.
Building things also means a lot of dumb moves. I'd rather nobody else make the same ones, so I also write down why I built things the way I did and what happened along the way.
If you see something here and want to try it, you're more than welcome. What I'm most curious about is whether my ideas can really make things easier for other people too. And if one ever makes some money, well, I could finally hold my head up a little with my wife.
The name Soyovia
This domain started as a search for a lifelong email address for my kids. I wanted that address to carry a wish that they live with some ease. So I started from Zhuangzi's soyo (逍遙), wandering freely without being tied down.
The last two standing were soyovia (soyo + the way) and soyoluz (soyo + light). People said soyovia sounded better, so soyovia it was.