Hello, World — Finally Starting This Blog
If you’ve ever told yourself “I’ll start a blog one day” and then let that day slip by for years — welcome, you’re in good company. I’ve been that person for longer than I’d like to admit. But here I am, writing my very first post.
Let me introduce myself.
A Bit About Me
I come from a family of machinery engineers and physicists, so in a way the tech path was in my DNA. I was born and raised in Lviv, Ukraine, where I studied applied physics — just like my sister before me. She also studied applied physics and ended up becoming a brilliant software engineer. I can honestly say I cheated life a bit by following in her footsteps. That doesn’t mean I had to work any less — we’re both self-taught engineers — but she showed me the way and kicked me a few times for motivation when I needed it.
For the past decade, I’ve been working in the IT industry with a strong background in C# and .NET development. Over the years, I’ve had the chance to work across some truly fascinating industries — agritech, aerospace, logistics, and others. Each one came with its own challenges and taught me something new about building software that actually matters. From the very beginning, I worked as a full stack developer, building expertise across both backend and frontend. Over time, my focus shifted towards the cloud — specifically Azure — and later I dove very deeply into the GitHub ecosystem, which is where a big part of my energy goes today.
But work is only one side of me. I’ve always been in love with sport, art, and impulsive decisions — and those three things shape who I am just as much as code does.
When it comes to sport, I love trying new things. Thanks to many years of judo and other activities, I can pick up pretty much any sport with ease. It’s not genetics — it’s hard work over years, and I plan to keep it that way.
Art was always a part of my life, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to make a living out of it, so I decided it would stay as my hobby. I’m still hoping that with time I’ll manage to do some exhibitions and become a famous and expensive artist — lol. But jokes aside, art is truly my space of freedom and experimentation, and I enjoy having it. In the last couple of years, I found a way to combine art with technology, so that’s something I’ll be writing about here occasionally.
And about those impulsive decisions — I think we all have that little demon inside, or what some call intrusive thoughts. This is a big part of my life: a certain level of unpredictability, with very little stability. My colleagues used to play a game at one point called “Where is Olena today?”. It’s a usual thing for me to just hop on a plane or train to go see friends for a few weeks, make a detour through European countries I’ve never been to just because why not, or try to attend some random and spontaneous events.
Moving to Berlin
About five years ago, just before COVID turned the world upside down, I moved to Berlin, Germany. It was a big leap — but don’t get me wrong, my previous experience was equally valuable. I don’t feel like I wasted a single day working at ELEKS in Ukraine. That company gave me a strong foundation and shaped me as an engineer.
But moving to a product company like durstexpress was a different setup entirely. That place was special — I learned a tremendous amount there, not just technically but also about team culture and what a great engineering environment looks like.
I mean, if I was so eager to come to the office despite having to wear a mask, it was probably a pretty good place to be. Here’s the proof:
After earning the trust of the team, I truly understood what it means to carry responsibility for the things you build. The product wasn’t ours in the traditional sense, but seeing how orders were coming in after big changes, assisting a delivery driver to understand the nuances of his work, walking around the warehouse to figure out what we could do better — that was a special feeling.
It was also where I started my journey as a public speaker. What began as a small step quickly snowballed: I spoke at conference after conference, built a presence in the community, and eventually became a Microsoft MVP. It was an incredible ride.
Lessons Learned the Hard Way
But here’s the honest part — I didn’t realise how much I was overloading myself. Conference after conference, talk after talk, I kept saying yes to everything without properly managing my time and energy. It caught up with me. That period taught me a lesson I think every speaker has to go through eventually: you can’t pour from an empty cup.
After some time, I stepped back and reprioritised. These days, I’m much more intentional about where I put my energy. Instead of jumping into everything without thinking, I carefully choose what aligns with my goals and well-being.
So Why Now?
I’ve attended so many amazing events, seen brilliant sessions, and learned countless things over the years. Every time, I thought: “I should write about this.” But there was never enough time. At some point, I realised the truth — I would never find the time unless I just went ahead and did it.
So here I am.
What to Expect
This blog will be a mix of the things I’m passionate about:
- Azure Cosmos DB — you could often hear me talking about it at conferences. It’s been a bit quieter lately, but I plan to fix that soon.
- GitHub platform & GitHub Copilot — this has been a major focus for me recently, and I have a lot to share about it.
- Conference impressions — recaps, takeaways, and reflections from events I attend.
- Art & technology — I create generative art as a hobby and love exploring how creativity and code intersect. Expect some posts about that too.
- DIY projects — if I get a chance to do more of those, I’d love to share the process here as well.
Let’s Go
This blog is my space to share technical findings, experiences, and the things that excite me — at my own pace, on my own terms. Whether you’re here for the .NET deep dives, the GitHub tips, or the art experiments, I’m glad you stopped by.
Stay tuned — there’s a lot more to come.
Welcome to my blog. And welcome to me finally showing up. :)