Blog on Ornella K. Friggit

Adopting adapters

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Another on-the-fly post about some code opinions I have. Inspiration struck, and since the last time I felt this and acted on it was over 6 months ago, I decided to ride the wave!

I’ve been thinking about the adapter pattern lately. Some may know I am a fan of functional programming, particularly beause of how well it lends itself to unit testing and test-driven development.

A coworker introduced me to the adapter pattern a couple of years ago, and I love it. It’s essentially an elegant way to inject methods as inputs into a larger function, and is particularly helpful for a few reasons: 1 - implementing the same basic functionality for different domains 2 - testing with very lightweight mocks. This is particularly helpful when you’re working with serverless functions, where you may want to test all the barebones of functionality locally.

Poème: Oublier

Sat, 22 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Oublier nos ancêtres

Comme si on ne les portait pas,

Par fragments,

Emmagasinés,

en milliards d’exemplaires

dans le noyau de nos cellules.

Puis,

Répéter leurs parcours

Comme le premier enfant

Qui apprit à téter.

Notes/TIL: git clean -fdx

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I am working in a Typescript monorepo. On top of all the node_modules everywhere, there are also generated files, like copied over tsconfigs etc. I needed to clear all those out because it seemed something was off with dependencies. I just learned about git clean -fdx, which resets the repo to only the files tracked in git. Pretty neat!

It’s close to what I do with worktrees anyway - at some point I should write about my use of worktrees and maybe publish a couple of my lil custom scripts.

Notes/rabbit hole: auto-generating Git co-authors

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

As a refactoring freak, I sometimes run into the scenario where someone reaches out to me about code that I’ve “written” - but in reality all I’ve done is move it to a new file. Because my name is on the commit message for this code, and there’s no other history for it, it looks like I’m the actual author.

Right now, I’m reorganizing a package in a monorepo and I want to make sure I attribute credit where it’s due / don’t erase the git history and end up having to “support” questions about the content of the files.

Notes on React composability

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I am helping out in the front-end at work, and my coworker’s pushing for us to use this pattern in React he calls composability. I was unfamiliar with the pattern, and I’ll be honest upfront, I’m not a big fan.

How it basically goes is: for components that contain multiple sub-elements, instead of exporting 1 component that controls its own sub-elements with props, we export a bunch of components within 1 object variable - one being the root element, the others being any sub-elements. Then, we arrange them in the file that’s importing this stuff, as children of the root element. Sorry if that’s a bit confusing - I’ll give an example below.

On technical writing

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

🎶Technical killed the blog posting star 🎶

Heeeeyyyy.

My last post on here was me announcing a new series of technical posts, with great fanfare and the justification that it’s something I find difficult and daunting but want to do. I was all - I should face my fears, I should challenge myself.

After publishing that, I didn’t blog for over a year.

I honestly find this fact as embarrassing as it is fucking hilarious. I clearly wasn’t lying when I said I have some mental block around this. This commitment seemingly singlehandedly killed a regular writing habit I’d kept up for a couple of years. (to be honest, it’s not the only thing: I’d also been working on my home renovation, which is the biggest project of my life, and that took up so much brainspace.)

Tech Talk F: Static site luv

Fri, 09 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Since I’ve had this website, it’s gotten staticker and staticker. Why’s that? Let’s talkaboutit!

# What’s a static site?

To explain what a static site is, it’s probably better to start with “what’s a dynamic site?”

# Traditional dynamic sites: runtime-generated HTML

Well, a dynamic site is the opposite of a static site. You’re welcome.

Okay, more seriously: in most traditional websites, a server contains code files, say python or javascript files for instance, that mainly do two things.

New series: Tech Talks

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

# Why not

I think I’ve referenced it before: I am very uncomfortable talking about technical topics online. And yes, I know I’ve bragged that I don’t feel impostor syndrome, but really, I feel something very close to it: I just don’t know how to talk about tech, long form, in a way that feels like me. I find myself either putting on tech bro unearned confidence, or cutesy “I’m just a coder girl UwU” vibes. To be fair, I am cocky and I am cute, but… I don’t know.

Self-hosting Mastodon

Wed, 15 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

# What’s Mastodon

I am not going to explain this here, so sorry! An explanation of Mastodon deserves its own post and I don’t have time right now. Need to write out more technical stuff while it’s still fresh in my brain.

However, I will very likely write out a blog post about mastodon and decentralized web in general, since I’ve been proselytizing (is that the word?) to people in real life for months and I’ve gotten fairly good at the spiel.

Social update

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Hey all! if you were wondering: I am not on social media at the moment, here’s why!

# Twitter migration

I don’t have twitter anymore, intentionally, because I deleted all my content.

# Mastodon messup

I am supposed to have mastodon! But 3.5 weeks ago, I wanted to migrate away from masto.host in order to totally host my own instance and tinker with the code, so I made a backup of my db, put up the instance, and then tried to restore postgres from the db backup… unsuccessfully. Something about permissions. I don’t know much about postgres.

Post A: “Watching the Birds”

Sun, 22 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

# At grandma’s house

“Quelle chance, hein? De pouvoir regarder les oiseaux.”

“What a [luck/privilege/gift], huh? To be able to [watch/look at] the birds.”

I think back to that moment often. It was a few years ago, around 2 to 5 years. My grandma was sitting at the kitchen table, facing the bay window with a view onto the garden. She was watching birds in the cherry tree, as she often does.

Scheme M: “Fun on the Side”

Sat, 31 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Maybe this scheme should be called “Make it up, Mwahahaha” because I most definitely am not writing this in the month of M, or even in 2022 at all. It is February (B) 2023. In true cheater fashion, I could make slimy excuses like “time is arbitrary, look at my calendar” – (“baby, the westernized idea of monogamy is so artificial and outdated”) – but really, it all comes down to “It looks nice to me if there’s a scheme for every month” and “lying is a perk of coding my own website”.

Scheme L: “Traveling Light”

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Did you think this would be a metaphorical title again? You thought wrong! This month, I’m discussing how I approach traveling, which has allowed me to have lots of fun, relaxing, short trips this year.

# Definition

You pack for comfort and experiences.

# The story

Last year, I did lots of traveling. Most of it was to see family, and it left me really exhausted (see Scheme K, Kora Theory). This year, I also did lots of traveling, but it actually has not tired me as much, and in fact, sometimes has even energized me!

Follow-up to scheme J: Thank you friends!

Fri, 04 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Last month, when the deadline came around for my post, I felt like a contestant on who wants to be a millionaire, and I asked for help. Specifically, what I struggle(d) with was managing my energy.

3 of you reached out with some really great insight. I’m super inspired by how you approach managing your time, in particular. I think I still have a lot of room to get better when it comes to that, especially at work, and I will definitely use your experiences and advice to do that. One thing I am wrestling with a lot is guilt: when I am not working during the day, I feel guilty and rushed, and when I work at night, I feel guilty for not having good work-life balance. It feels like a set schedule might be a good bet for now, but I don’t know, I feel like it’s kind of a bummer since I have so much freedom! It’s like when you take a kid to the ice cream place and you say “you can have anything you want” and they go for a one-scoop vanilla cone.

Scheme K: “De-re-contextualized tasks”

Fri, 04 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve said before that I write this series because I take pleasure in it. I am starting not to, in a way that’s more than just trepidation about a task on my to-do list.

I don’t like that it’s making me write from a place of authority, at a time where I don’t feel like I am, and as a result, doing that feels like playing a role. It’s making me sound like I have my shit together.

Scheme J: “Phone a Friend”

Fri, 07 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

So last month, I totally forgot how the alphabet worked and thought the next letter after I was K. It’s not, apparently.

Anyway, let me just warn you, while this is technically a scheme post, ummm… well, let’s go into it.

# Definition

When you don’t know what to do… phone a friend?

# The story

This month, I started a new job (yay!) and it is going amazing. There is one main thing that I’m struggling with, though, and that is managing my time and energy. It’s something that I struggled with a lot at Recurse as well.

My standard advice for junior software engineers in their first job

Sat, 17 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

I wrote about getting a first dev job a while ago… but what about after you start? Here are a few pieces of advice that often crop up when I’m mentoring junior software engineers, which I’ve found myself doing a lot in the last 3 years!

# 1. Feel free to look ignorant.

Being a junior software engineer is an extremely liberating spot to be, because others expect you not to know things. So take advantage! Ask silly questions, be open about you’re struggling with a task. It saves everyone time, people usually like to help, and again, it’s expected.

Scheme I: “Explanation Loop”

Mon, 05 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

I-I, say that you remember! It’s the month of I, so we’re going to get personal again. Kind of. A little.

One of the most important skills of a developer is the ability to exchange information, and more specifically, to give suggestions and explanations. To explain explanations: I’d say the goal of an explanation is to give someone information that 1) they don’t know and 2) is useful.

Scheme H: “Kora Theory”

Thu, 11 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

I don’t know much about musical instruments, but I know even less about string theory, which is what I was going to title this scheme at first. This isn’t even an article about music, or koras, but I love the kora, and I guess this is a good time to plug it (why not.)

The kora is a stringed instrument, usually 21 strings. You can play chords, by holding down multiple strings, but oftentimes you’re playing one string at a time in quick succession - think harp - and creating beautiful, harmonious pieces.

Scheme G: “Keep it Factual, Friend”

Wed, 27 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve been meaning to write about impostor syndrome for a while. It’s something I have lots of thoughts about, and they often feel parallel to whatever emotions people seem to be describing.

I’d describe the feeling of impostor syndrome as: “I don’t belong here, the others don’t realize it, and it’s going to be a problem when they find out.”

As a preface/disclaimer: my parents are from 2 different countries (and continents), and I grew up in 3 other countries, going to international schools. I don’t think I’ve ever felt a sense of full cultural belonging… ever. So in a way, I feel like I can’t fully relate to the discomfort of not belonging – it feels like it’s always just been a fact of life, that whatever group I’m in will only be able to relate to a fraction of my experience.

First Checkin: Live from Recurse Center

Sat, 09 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

So I said I was going to write about Recurse, but I really wasn’t sure what specifically. I find it a lot easier to write about things after they’ve happened than during. Here we go though: we’re at the halfway point of my half-batch, so let’s talk about it!

# First off, what’s Recurse?

AKA, what the hell am I talking about?

Since June 27, I’ve been participating in a Recurse Center batch. The Recurse Center (AKA Recurse) is a self-directed educational retreat for programmers. There’s some light framework - facilitators, guidelines -, but no teachers. It’s not a bootcamp. You’re just learning what you personally want to learn, among peers who might have 6 months or 40 years of experience coding.

Sagesse de Papa: some gems of wisdom from my dad

Fri, 08 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

My dad and I talk on the phone pretty often. One of our last conversations went something like this:

Papa: “I read your blog, abc or xyz or whatever it’s called right now”

Me: “Oh, cool! Did you like i–”

Papa: “Yeah, there’s a typo.”

Me: “Oh. Right. I’m sure there is one, or many. I don’t go through an editor or anything.”

Papa: “Yeah, there are several typos.”

Me: “… Okay. Where?”

Scheme F: “Thanks, not sorry”

Fri, 08 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

# Definition

When you feel guilt, you reframe it to gratefulness.

# The story

The month of F was a stressful month. I was applying to Recurse, trying to negotiate leave, getting and recovering from COVID, traveling to my brother’s wedding and back…

I also privately got some genuine but harsh feedback on my blog that I wasn’t prepared for (it had to do with what a hypothetical potential employer would think about it, sex tech and candor.) I started to overthink things – what I should post, what I should take down, what would shock people in the industry, what would annoy them, and ultimately, whether, or to what degree, I care.

Digital Migration

Sun, 29 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

If you know me from Twitter, you’ve seen me talk about wanting to get off the platform. Here’s a lot more info about that!

I’m increasingly skeptical of social media, but I really enjoy online community. At various points, I’ve had Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, Snapchat, and Reddit accounts. I had Facebook for nearly 10 years (2008-2018 iirc), and cold-deleted it with just a quick post to DM me for my phone number or other ways to get in touch. It was an instant relief.

Scheme E: “Crushable Work Goals”

Mon, 25 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Right off the bat, two things.

First, I am writing this on 3E. Meaning I did not wait until the very last day of the month to do this task (please clap.)

Second, this one is definitely a scheme, and it is one that gets pretty close to career advice. I want to clarify that again, like with every post in this series, I’m talking about a strategy I’ve used. I’m not advising you to do the same, or saying I invented it (and I’ll give credit when/where I know it’s due). This is my personal experience.

Scheme D: “Multi-threaded Tidying”

Fri, 22 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Hello and welcome to the end of D!

So, I’m going to be honest, this is a point in the series where we’re veering into micro strategy/life hacks instead of proper schemes, but this is my blog and nobody’s going to stop me. So let’s talk about the way I keep my apartment tidy: multi-threading!

# Definition

You pick up objects and put them down in the right place, and sometimes you do that with several objects at a time.

Scheme C: “Priorities”

Wed, 23 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This is a post I am writing a few days into D, but I am going to pretend I published it on time as scheme C. The reason it’s a little late is kind of explained by the rest of the post!

At some point in the spring of last year - I wish I remembered when exactly - I came up with a simple system to prioritize my life, and it’s worked really well for me.

Scheme B: “First Week Social”

Fri, 25 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Today is 28 B. I am waiting for my brother and grandma to arrive at the train station, and of course, just remembered it’s my deadline to write my second strategy. Luckily, I’d come up with a subject a while ago, which I’ll call First Week Social.

# The story

In the French school system, you get put into “classes” which are basically groups of around 30 kids who have the same teachers. We don’t really have pick-and-choose classes like in the Anglo-Saxon system, so basically you spend your entire year with the same 30 kids every day for 8 hours a day. It had never been a problem until I got to the 10th grade (or seconde,) which is the first year of high school in the French system.

Scheme A: “No Solutions”

Fri, 28 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

It’s the last day of the month of A (ornellember format), so I’d like to start a little series. I consider myself to be a schemer— I don’t manipulate people, but I usually have a plan, or three, to deal with stuff ranging from socially tricky situations to getting a promotion.

I think it’d be fun if, for every month of this 13-month year, I shared one strategy I’ve used. So here’s the first! I call this one “No Solutions.”

Comprehensive advice to get your first dev job

Sat, 16 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

After you complete college, bootcamp, or self-training, it can be really hard to try to get your first junior role in tech. In the last 2 years, I’ve talked to so many friends and family about this very challenging process, and recently thought I should share this with a larger audience. I’m no expert, yadayada, but these tips were really helpful for me, so I decided to put together a comprehensive guide to job searching.

Money Recap and Lessons Learned in 2020

Mon, 11 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve learned a lot about money on the Internet, so I’ll give back and share some (good and bad) financial decisions I made in 2020. For context, I started working in tech in September 2019, and at Disney in Nov 2019. Prior to that, from 2017 to 2019, my income had been 30-45k per year. It tripled when I moved into coding.

Disclaimer: I wish I made money from any of the companies I mentioned in this post, but I don’t, quite sadly. Also, this is a recap of my good and bad choices, not advice.

Feature in Business Insider: Resistance Map

Mon, 16 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

In June of 2020, I sat bleary-eyed in my makeshift home office and felt like a useless fraud. What was the point of sitting all day writing code for money when outside, there were Black people being killed and brutalized every day? At the time, I had a friend staying over for a couple of weeks who usually lived with an immunocompromised relative, so the risk associated with marching was irresponsible. I still knew there was something I could do.

Journeys in Accessibility: an interview for Society x Tech

Sat, 15 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

In August, Ademusoyo Awosika-Olumo asked me a few questions about accessibility for her blog Society x Tech, which does many amazing interviews with movers and shakers in the industry. Find my full answers below, and read the post as published on the Society x Tech blog here!

How would you describe yourself?

I’d describe myself as a front-end engineer who wants what she codes to be inclusive of everyone. I am pretty new to web accessibility – in fact, I started coding as a full-time job less than a year ago, so I am pretty new to writing software. However, I have been lucky enough to start learning about accessibility early in my career, and I have made it a point to make it central to my craft. In my opinion, writing accessible software is simply a requirement of being a good front-end developer. As I continue to grow as an engineer, my understanding of accessibility grows proportionally.

Blog on Ornella K. Friggit

Adopting adapters

Poème: Oublier

Notes/TIL: git clean -fdx

Notes/rabbit hole: auto-generating Git co-authors

Notes on React composability

On technical writing

Tech Talk F: Static site luv

# What’s a static site?

# Traditional dynamic sites: runtime-generated HTML

New series: Tech Talks

# Why not

Self-hosting Mastodon

# What’s Mastodon

Social update

# Twitter migration

# Mastodon messup

Post A: “Watching the Birds”

# At grandma’s house

Scheme M: “Fun on the Side”

Scheme L: “Traveling Light”

# Definition

# The story

Follow-up to scheme J: Thank you friends!

Scheme K: “De-re-contextualized tasks”

Scheme J: “Phone a Friend”

# Definition

# The story

My standard advice for junior software engineers in their first job

# 1. Feel free to look ignorant.

Scheme I: “Explanation Loop”

Scheme H: “Kora Theory”

Scheme G: “Keep it Factual, Friend”

First Checkin: Live from Recurse Center

# First off, what’s Recurse?

Sagesse de Papa: some gems of wisdom from my dad

Scheme F: “Thanks, not sorry”

# Definition

# The story

Digital Migration

# 1. Social media in general

Scheme E: “Crushable Work Goals”

Scheme D: “Multi-threaded Tidying”

# Definition

Scheme C: “Priorities”

Scheme B: “First Week Social”

# The story

Scheme A: “No Solutions”

Comprehensive advice to get your first dev job

Money Recap and Lessons Learned in 2020

Feature in Business Insider: Resistance Map

Journeys in Accessibility: an interview for Society x Tech