The Garden
Now
What I am working on and reading lately. Every entry is dated and the old ones stay up.
2 entries
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I’m entering this new phase of my life. Out with the old, in with the new. This renewed website is one part of that.
The divorce is in the rearview mirror. It’s been more than three years now already. Funnily, that’s almost the same time as the pandemic — the one we’ve collectively decided to forget.
There have been some ups and downs, but the main thing is that I’m still afloat.
I now live with my partner Aude in San Agustín Etla, Oaxaca. We’ve been living in this beautiful place for more than 2 years. It looks like a dream come true, living in hills surrounded by lush green trees, chirpy birds, flowers of almost all colors, tiny water streams, and people who like to party (a lot!). It also has one of the best art museums in Oaxaca.
San Agustín Etla, looking down the valley.
Evening in the fields.
The hills around San Agustín Etla.
Wild grass under a clear sky.
Sunset in San Agustín Etla.
Seriously, these images are without filters. No editing beyond the phone camera + HDR settings.
Did I mention we have a new baby in tow? I’ll keep doing that. It’s a boy and he’s named Jahan. He’s 4 months old already 😲 Time flies quickly when you have to take care of a tiny human.
Like I shared in the previous update, I’ve been job hunting for the past few months after being laid off by rtCamp, just before I was about to be a dad. Bad timing? Or unpaid extended paternity leave? I’d like to think it’s the latter to keep my spirits up.
The job market has been brutal, especially for writers (even more so for technical writers). I don’t know whether to mourn my craft or adapt to the times — maybe both. I’ve applied to dozens of companies and heard back from a handful. The interviews that came of it each started with a writing test, and none has worked out so far.
Suffice to say, it’s been a frustrating stretch, and the bills don’t wait. I’ve had to lean on family for breathing room, and I’m using it to try harder.
One of the reasons why I rebuilt my portfolio site is to stand out in this competitive landscape (yes, I wrote that). Apart from listing out most of my published works and capturing my diverse portfolio — something the old one didn’t — it also has a garden (a “digital garden” to be exact). That required building it with a new foundation.
Though I’ve been plugged into the internet — a.k.a. terminally online — for almost all my adult life, it was just recently that I read about this digital garden concept. I was introduced to it by Maggie Appleton’s essay (she’s a great writer btw) while I was researching build concepts for my new portfolio site. That led me to this older essay and video by Mike Caulfield. And it struck a nerve with me.
I’ve been fascinated by it ever since. I was halfway through my new portfolio site’s development already, but after thinking about it, I was convinced that my new website should have a digital garden. This very “Now” update you’re reading is part of that. Blogs look so meh now (though I’ll keep updating my personal blog sporadically).
I kind of became obsessed with getting this right. A typical Salman Ravoof thing to do. I spent so much time on it that my partner started to call this new rebuild SAM. So, every time she wanted to know my progress, she’d ask “How is SAM?” And I’d smile…
Yes, this isn’t fully developed yet, but real artists ship, right? I want to get the most basic version live and then keep watering my digital garden. Who knows, maybe it’ll grow into a forest someday (hint: that’s a book).
I’ll share more about this project and how I went about designing and building it in a detailed essay or project report (other sections of my garden). Right now I’m busy building case studies, notes, and essays to share here.
While not being paralyzed by social media, I’ve been busy reading good ol’ books. I finally finished Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie. I’m a slow reader and it took me some time, but I was determined this time around to finish it. Funnily, my own son was born just past midnight. Coincidences can be funny.
Midnight’s Children (opens in a new tab)
Salman Rushdie
Reading India’s history as magical realism felt surreal. Rushdie weaves Saleem’s life through it, from the night of independence to the Emergency and a little after, and you can tell how much research went into it. All of the midnight’s children stayed with me. My favorite chapters are the ones where they’re still kids, growing up.
I wasn’t done with magical realism yet, so I went after the most popular book of this genre: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. The original is in Spanish, and my Spanish is still un poco loco. I read its translated version by Gregory Rabassa — even Gabriel García Márquez thought this translated version is superior to his original.
One Hundred Years of Solitude (opens in a new tab)
Gabriel García Márquez, translated by Gregory Rabassa
I stayed with the Buendías for so long that I started to feel like one of them, and that’s how well it’s written. García Márquez tells the history of Latin America through that one family (keep a family tree handy), and the magical realism makes it amazing. It gets a bit depressing. There are funny moments along the way too.
As an aside, the Netflix adaptation of this novel is great. I didn’t think it could be made for the screen, but they’ve somehow managed to make it work. Put it on your watchlist.
I also read Dopamine Nation by Dr. Anna Lembke. While I’m not addicted to any hard drugs, it did give an insight into how my brain works. There are other addictions I want to tackle — screens, social media, video games, laziness. This book provided me with a framework to observe and address those issues.
Dopamine Nation (opens in a new tab)
Dr. Anna Lembke
Lembke describes the brain as a balance, and every easy hit of pleasure tips it toward pain afterward, so you keep reaching for more. That picture changed how I look at my phone. Some of her patients’ stories are hard to read, and they show what the science means for a person’s life.
I’m now reading The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It’s interesting. I’ll update you later if it holds my attention enough for me to finish it. My plan is to read at least a book a month. Ideally, alternating between fiction and non-fiction. That’s the only way to keep my writing skills sharp in this AI era (😅, yeah that popular phrase).
The Night Circus (opens in a new tab)
Erin Morgenstern
It’s about a mysterious circus that pops up in random places at random times. There are no announcements. It dazzles everyone who attends it and leaves them yearning for more. There’s a plot running through the book explaining its history, which is where I’m at now. I’ll update it soon…
Note to self: Read more long-form content. Also, start exercising again (I haven’t in over 3 months, since I was laid off).
My partner Aude rescues cats and dogs. She works with Animal Miracles and Brigada Peluda. Apart from rescue work, what she mostly does is TNR (Trap, Neuter and Release). I’m her background helper in doing this.
Recently, we rescued a five-year-old pregnant dog in a bad condition and had her sterilized. She’s much better now and is recovering well. We’ve named her Zaira.
Zaira, the fourth dog, resting in the shade. We also caught six feral cats in our neighborhood, had them spayed, and released them back to where they were.
The six cats going back to where we caught them, after their surgery. Faces and number plates are blurred. As for our home, we now live with 8 cats and 3 dogs — well, 4, counting the fourth dog we rescued (Zaira). Aude loves her, so I think she’s a permanent resident. We now officially have 12 pets in total.
The twelve cats and dogs we live with in San Agustín Etla. We had more cats and dogs last year, but there have been some unfortunate disappearances and deaths — RIP Grogu, Benito, Sushi, and Suriya. We don’t know what happened with Sushi. I’d like to believe Sushi is fine somewhere else, living a happy-chubby-fluffy life.
The four we lost in San Agustín Etla. Gone, but not forgotten. I also launched my first product for Masalsa — Garam Masala. It’s a recipe inspired by my family’s blend. I designed the logo and the packaging label for this product.
The Masalsa logo I redesigned.
The Garam Masala label I designed.
Masalsa’s Garam Masala, a blend of 13 spices.
The back label names every spice in it.
The label’s sticker was done on a vinyl matte paper, and it peels out smoothly. It was a small 2kg batch, and I’ve sold half of it already. I’m proud of how this product turned out.
My next plan is to expand its production and introduce more products (Chai Masala is in the pipeline).
I’ve also started selling homecooked Indian food to locals again (that was the original Masalsa plan btw). Last time, I did weekly orders and it was a big hurdle to manage it all.
This time I’m accepting only bulk orders though (~2000 MXN/120 USD). I can dedicate one day a week to do this and deliver, while I keep job hunting and take turns taking care of our son the rest of the days. It’s not much earnings, but I get to do what I love, and we also get the leftovers.
Samosas, made at home in bulk, delivered to neighbors.
Masalsa’s butter chicken, from the photos I used to sell it.
Chana masala with zeera rice and mint chutney.
That’s enough updates for now (pun intended). See ya soon!
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I’ve been job hunting since rtCamp laid me off, just before I was to be a dad. It’s been a tumultuous few months to say the least — all the joys of being a dad for the first time and the downs of seeking employment in these turbulent times.
Part of getting through this “down”ward phase is seeing how I can push upstream, and over. And that’s when I realized my main site just doesn’t cut it.
It doesn’t represent who I am and what I do. I am more than just a technical writer — anyone who has worked with me knows that.
So that means updating this old monolith.
But meanwhile, I need something else — as in right now. I want to apply to jobs and opportunities as I come across them, and I need something to share with them right away. That’s why I vibe-coded an HTML portfolio site with the help of Claude Code. I took design cues from Braveen Kumar’s site and put it live on Cloudways a few days ago.
My HTML portfolio, with the companies I’ve written for across the bottom. It does a decent job of showing what I’ve done and what I’m looking for. It’s just a straight ol’ fashioned website, with no fancy gimmicks, frameworks, or CMSs.
The site’s code is public on GitHub. I’m OK with people seeing proof that I’m doing something there.
So, I have 2 sites right now. My main site still calls me a web developer and writer, and it says I’m “Now looking for my next big adventure!”
My old main site, salmanravoof.com, before the rebuild. And then there is this in-between HTML portfolio site.
Now I’m rebuilding both as one site, on WordPress. This will be a full-fledged rebuild. I’m tearing down everything built before and starting anew.
On that front, I’ve set some ground rules for it. It will be a block theme with no page builder, and each kind of content gets its own post type. I’m thinking about putting my ACF Pro license to good use here.
There will be no dangling HTML and no CSS forced in here and there. It’ll follow modern WordPress development practices as they are in July 2026.
It will be focused on writing and publishing, because I’m a writer first, whether it’s for others or not.
When someone visits the site, I want them to see my select pieces as case studies that tell a story. It’ll also have a section to list down all my notable published works.
If you’re planning to hire me, I suggest you only contact me after reading through a few of these.
This new site will be the best reflection of me professionally and show what I’m capable of. I’ll be sure to add a few playful touches here and there, anything that adds interactivity and keeps a reader interested.
I’ll see how long it takes. Shouldn’t take more than a few weeks? Let’s see!
