December 22nd. Lost my job in Netherlands.

One month trial through an agency. Didn't work out. It happens.

Spending Christmas in agency housing, away from my family, away from my dogs (missing them every single day).

But here's what 9 months in beautiful Netherlands 🇳🇱 and 5 months of intensive coding taught me:

💛 By day: Order picker in warehouses.
🖤 By night: Building PC_Workman and my HCK_Labs portfolio.

❕ I learned that nobody is coming to save you.
Took me way too long to understand this.
Your growth, your opportunities, your future - that's on you. Only you.

I learned that the final wall to success is people.**
Sounds simple, right? But here's what I mean:
Every project I built before, I'd finish it, publish it, and... crickets. Zero views. Zero response.
And I'd quit. Right there at the final wall.

I was unfulfilled because I stopped one step before the breakthrough.
Now I know: You have to approach that wall from different angles. Keep trying. Keep iterating. Keep showing up.

I learned that practice isn't just important - it's everything.
Past me would've rolled my eyes at that. "Practice? Obviously."

But there's knowing it intellectually, and then there's living it.
-Coding every night on a 95°C laptop while working 10-hour shifts isn't inspiration - it's practice.
-Shipping despite zero initial traction isn't talent - it's practice.
-Learning to code while AI was eating my field as an IT technician? That's practice too.

I learned that constraints aren't obstacles - they're filters.
They separate those who want it from those who need it.
And I refuse to let one setback - or one month delay, or dying hardware, or crickets on launch day - derail that.

So here's what's next:
1. Heading back to Poland for New Year (dogs! family! real desk!)
2. My desktop setup waiting: dual monitors, proper dev environment
3. Deciding if I bring it back to NL/DE (the logistics...)
4. New laptop still coming - just delayed one month
5. PC_Workman alpha still shipping - constraints changed, mission didn't.

The only real consequence of losing this job?
Material delay of one month for the laptop.
That's it.

And I'll keep coding on the old one. As long as it doesn't cross 95°C too often. 😉

2025 taught me resilience.
2026 will test execution.
To everyone facing uncertainty this season: You're tougher than you think. The final wall is closer than it feels. Keep going.

And if you're looking for someone who ships despite dying hardware, job losses, and cricket launches - someone who learned that nobody's coming to save you, so you better save yourself...