Hey friend,

First off if you're wondering why you're getting this email. It's because you've submitted your email address on a previous side project of mine, and I'm trying something different this year. I have done precisely nothing with your emails, patiently waiting for this launch. I'm packaging this as the "Full-Time Maker" newsletter, but it's still just me building stuff except now it's in public. Unsubscribe here if you don't want to hear from me again. But I hope you will give it a read and stick around for the long haul.

I'm writing to you from my cold basement, with way too many tabs open, and a purged bookmark folder to start fresh. 2021 feels like it's going to be a momentous year for all of us. What are some things you have planned for the year of the Metal Ox?

🔥 Highlights

I recorded a podcast episode with Jakob Greenfeld for his Product Ideas show. We got through only 5 out of 10 ideas I had prepared, but we plan on another chat soon. It's not published yet though. I follow Jakob on twitter and am very inspired by his journey and approach to ideation.
I spoke on the phone with a YC StartupSchool connection, Amit, about an interview practice platform for Indian students.
I'm particularly interested in the idea because India is a burgeoning market with a talented young workforce,
but lacking soft skills that are expected in more western companies.
I chatted with an old friend from church who is making a product to capture and share one's memorable moments in games with others. Interesting idea, and flattered to be asked to help as an adviser to their small and young team.

💔 Lowlights

I had a shouting match with my father over, guess what, not wiping down the dinner table. I'll probably write a blog post about micro aggressions, which I attribute to this large outburst over such a small thing. I've never behaved like this with anyone other than my parents, which is both a relief and disappointing.
I was locked out of gmail, youtube, and basically any site I used google to sign-in with. The fix was to reinstall chrome and clear all browsing data. Also, I'm never using some convenient "Log in with X" button ever again. It made me realize how reliant I am on google as my portal to the internet.
I signed up for 2 lunchclub.ai meetings on Christmas eve and Christmas day. Terrible idea, and severely underestimated my availability. I will be careful not taking on more than I can chew.

✅ Completed

I wrote a better 'Welcome' email for new subscribers. I had been collecting these sorts of emails over time as I subscribed to many newsletters myself. I really started looking at newsletters with a deconstructive eye, while I was preparing to make one myself.
I added a whole bunch of DNS records to Netlify so I could verify my custom email address and EmailOctopus sender address. This is crucial or else this newsletter would never make it past your spam filter. If you need help with this let me know!
I attempted to add a comment section for blog posts on my site, but there wasn't a great free option that allowed anonymous comments without OAuth. I'll probably just create a simple html form that submits to an Airtable. Then use the Airtable API to display them once I've moderated it.

🎯 Goals

Celebrate my 100 day 'anniversary' with my girlfriend.
It's a numerologically significant milestone in Korean dating culture~
Resume a weekly check-in meeting my local friends and I started at the end of 2020. I'll feature them in a future edition because they are amazing and inspire me to be better.
Start working on my first ProductHunt launch for January.
It's a tongue in cheek idea I can quickly make, called 'Lucky Charm' (working title). More on this to come next week~

📖 Book
I'm currently reading Zero To Sold having been impressed with Arvid's newsletter output lately.

🎵 Song
Lunch Break - MF DOOM (Prod. Flying Lotus)
My favorite rapper MF Doom's death was recently announced by his wife...I have no words, but that's ok because he had the best.

🎙️ Podcast
This episode on favorite words of the year by a16z was very intriguing. I learned that "parasocial" is the relationship I have with my favorite podcast hosts (it's a one way street, but I still feel like I know them personally).

As for you and me though, we don't have to be parasocial. How was this first edition of the newsletter? Hit reply with your feedback, so I can make it better for you.