Some people say Friday afternoon is like Saturday, but for developers Saturday is Friday.

Has it ever worked that way?

I don’t think it does. Instead, if you feel like they’re serious, like their post and then DM them. Don’t jump straight into “I want a job.” Start with something personal… I mean, if they’re pretty, maybe a good pick-up line (nah, don’t ever do that, I’m joking 😄). If they recently achieved something, congratulate them or whatever — just something that’s not cliché but still personal. That helps you build a connection first, and then the job or whatever opportunity can follow.

This might not be a perfect formula, but I believe it leads to better outcomes. If you have other ideas, drop them in the comments below.

well so I ain’t alone and it’s not the internet this time

even google made it from Bard to Gemini 3 Pro. Don't ever lose hope!

it has become so integrated into our daily life that it feels like it has been here for more than 5 years ..

my year wrapped

as the gregorian year is coming to an end, we are all seeing these platforms like youtube, spotify, github and the rest giving us our year unwrapped. simple queries on data but somehow fun to share and surprisingly powerful in showing how our year actually went. we plan so many goals at the start of the year but forget that a year is just a collection of days. we expect goals to magically happen while we barely look back at how each day stacked up. thinking about that made me reflect on my own year too.

when I say my year, I do not even mean 2025. I mean from my last birthday to this birthday. I am lucky I was born in december so it is not that far from the actual calendar. and yes, even though I already celebrated, I am still accepting gifts for the next 5 business days. so you are still safe:) anyways, while joking aside, looking at my year from birthday to birthday actually helped me see things more clearly.

I am really grateful for how my year went. my youtube 2025 recap says my personality is the self improver. I am not sure if I actually improved but I will take the compliment. and while I was thinking about all the good things, something bigger hit me about how I see life in general.

I used to think life was like a movie. problems first then a clean good ending. once you start becoming successful, you just keep going up forever. but that is not true. life is really up and down. and I mean the kind of down where you feel desperate and you do not even believe you will rise again. that feeling creates fear and makes you avoid taking risks. thinking about that made me realize how much my perspective changed this year.

now I think you have to risk it a little. try things. grab opportunities. you never know where it leads. I might change this opinion next year honestly. maybe next year at this time I might be more broke or maybe I will be travelling the world or maybe I will be here writing the same thing again. inshallah, the travelling part happens. I really want to travel. I already made some small trips this year but next year hopefully will be a lot more. like a quadrillion times more.

if you somehow read to this point, the whole message of this writing is basically me ranting and saying do not think your current situation defines your whole life. your days change way more than you think. and if you had a detailed log of your days just like youtube tracks your watch history, your year unwrapped would surprise you. it would look nothing like last year’s.

missed devFest for consecutive years due to overlapping programs..but not this time.

#gdgAddis

DevFest 2025

It was fun. Like really fun. Everything went so nicely.

If you don’t know what GDG DevFest is, it’s an annual gala where developers meet, learn, and network. It’s organized by Google Developers Group in countries where they have a presence, and today was the Addis edition.

As you’d expect from most tech events, there were the usual things. Sh*t snacks (sorry, but I have to mention both the good and the bad 🙂), tech T shirts, stickers, mugs, cups, all of it was there. But honestly, those weren’t the cool parts.

The programs were really great. Fintech, cloud infrastructure, building AI apps, and OSS were some of the workshop topics and talks I attended this year. I learned a lot. Like really really a lot.

Especially the OSS workshop by Kinfe. That one was the best. It really pushed me to start my open source journey. Apparently, one of the first steps Kinfe took was quitting his job every time he got deeply into open source. Thank God my boss has already decided to cut the staff by half (😭), so hell yeah, I guess I’m already making the first step.

Another reason I’m excited about OSS is to finally stop ending conversations with “May I meet you?” like Beka 😄. Dad jokes aside, open source is genuinely a great way to grow your knowledge, and I’m really looking forward to starting.

Another great part of the event was meeting and networking with people from the tech community. Honestly though, I made zero networking today. I went to DevFest alone, assuming I’d make new friends there, but I guess I still need to work on my communication skills. My introvert personality is not letting me start conversations 😭. Even worse, the AAU crowd was all there, basically my friends, so I ended up talking with them instead of building a new network. I’ll improve on that next year, Inshallah.

Overall, the event was really great. If you missed it, I’m genuinely sad for you. See you next year, maybe. Inshallah.

the slide about OSS

here is the slide. Enjoy!

🎓 AAU Blockchain Workshop — Web3 Ethiopia University Tour

The Web3 Ethiopia University Tour is landing at Addis Ababa University (AAU) 🌍

This workshop is designed to demystify blockchain and show students how Web3 can unlock global opportunities.

📍 AAU, 5 kilo
🗓 Dec 20, 2025.
🧠 Bring your laptop (PC) for live building included

You’ll learn (no prior experience needed):
🔹 Blockchain basics
🔹 Web3 fundamentals
🔹 Real-world blockchain use cases
🔹 How to build and deploy a simple smart contract
🔹 Technical & non-technical roles in Web3
🔹 How to start building, contributing & earning globally

🎁 REWARDS & GIVEAWAYS
Bring your A-game for our interactive challenges! We’ll be hosting live activities where you can score exclusive Web3 Ethiopia gear and limited-edition swag drops throughout the event.

🤝🏾 Powered by Base
🤝🏾 Hosted by Web3 Ethiopia with GDG AAU.

🔔 Join our Telegrams for updates & announcements:
👉🏾Web3 Ethiopia
👉🏾GDG AAU

🎟 Register here: https://luma.com/9ovbos8q

⚠️ Register only if you are a student at AAU.

This must be a slip of pen. The event is on Monday dec 22. See y’all there.

Ofc 😌

😭..

on a serious note tho, it must be life after death.

📢 AAU Blockchain Workshop — Date Update

The AAU stop of the Web3 Ethiopia University Tour has been rescheduled to December 29.

We’re excited to meet AAU students and dive into blockchain, Web3 fundamentals, and real opportunities very soon.

Stay updated on Web3 Ethiopia

i am really curious how people be comfortable sharing their personal stuff to chatgpt.

people are okay asking about their relationship, their ex, their business, their family, basically everything on chatgpt, while i am very controlled even to ask dumb questions that i would use incognito for if it was on google. even then, i would prefer to let you browse my social media accounts than show you my chatgpt history (and ofc my calculator history). i can’t imagine people knowing what dumb questions i am asking.

i really wanna know how comfortable you are with sharing your private stuff to chatgpt. FYI, chatgpt the web version has kind of an incognito mode feature called temporary chats that you can find on the top right corner.

The kids who raised their hand when the teacher was about to leave grew up and became the people who say “one quick question” at the end of meetings.

have you checked your chatGPT year-in-review ?

I am glad chatGPT knows me only for my work

Why I Don’t Want to Graduate From University ?

Everyone is counting down the days to graduation. I’m quietly wishing it would slow down. Here’s why.

1. Free rent

Campus dorms are basically free housing, at least until you have to deal with cost sharing after you graduate. You can go wherever you want, work wherever you want, and still come back like it’s home. No landlord bothering you, no curfews, no one checking on you. You do not have to worry about paying rent at the end of the month. No electricity bills. No water bills. That kind of freedom is rare.

2. The food

Yes, people love to say campus food is terrible, but tell me where else you can get tea for five birr and a sandwich for forty birr. It might differ from campus to campus, but overall it is around the same price. The quality might not be great, but at least you will not go hungry. And that matters more than we admit.

3. The people

University is one of the few places where you meet people from very different backgrounds. Everyone knows something different. Everyone has different connections. Of course, it depends on the group you hang out with. If you are in the PS5 and Fortnite group, do not expect to hear about opportunities. But if you are in the right circle, you will hear about scholarships, business ideas, job openings, and many other things that can actually change your life.

4. The infrastructure

You will not find free workspaces like campus libraries outside university. Consistent lighting, internet access, quiet study spaces, all in one place, and free. Especially if you live in Africa, having stable electricity and internet is a luxury. On campus, it is normal. Outside, you would pay a lot of money to get the same thing.

5. The time

There are no parents here, so let us be honest. We have way more free time on campus than our parents think. No matter how busy your department is, we all know that about ninety percent of the time we are only truly busy during exam periods. Most classes are at most twenty hours a week. Compare that to high school, which was almost eight hours a day, five days a week. And work life is almost nonstop. Compared to that, campus life feels almost free.

6. The parents and family

When you are on campus, you have almost zero responsibility. The only thing your family expects from you is to graduate and make them proud. If you try something and fail, it is on you and only you. You are not stressed about helping your family financially or worrying about what to contribute at the end of the month. After graduation, that changes fast. You become responsible not just for yourself, but for others too.

The list goes on. This is just what came to my mind right now. I might continue the rant if more thoughts come up. At the end of the day, my graduation is inevitable, inshallah. Life moves on, and hopefully it comes with better and better outcomes.

The point of this writing is to remind you of the resources you already have and might be overlooking, especially if you are still in your early days at university.

P.S. By university, I mean a boarding university with dorms and campus life, not colleges where you go to class and come back home the same day.