Living with AI: Notes from Someone Who Uses It Too Much
Honest reflections on how LLMs have changed the way I write code, think about problems, and what that means for the craft.
2025-11-03·4 min readaiengineeringtooling
currently working at PicPay·Brazil 🇧🇷
gaalv
Software Engineer
zsh — gaalv
❯whoami
building software, one keypress at a time — increasingly assisted by machines
❯cat .stack
typescript, react, node.js, go, postgres, docker, ...
❯cat .ai_config
model: claude + copilot # yes, all of them, no shame
❯echo $STATUS
open to interesting problems
typescriptreactsplit keyboardneovimai-augmented
❯cat setup.json// 01
Setup
The hardware and software that power my day.
// hardware
fav
Split Keyboard
Corne (crkbd) — 42 keys
QMK firmware with custom layers. Columnar stagger. My most controversial life choice.
MacBook Pro
M-series, 18 GB
Primary workstation. Silent, fast, gets the job done.
Monitor
27" 4K
More screen real estate = more terminal tabs.
Headphones
Sony WH-1000XM5
ANC saves lives in open offices and coffee shops.
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 3
For when the keyboard isn't the right tool.
// software
VSCode
Primary editor
Neovim
Secondary editor
Ghostty
Terminal emulator
Zsh + Oh My Zsh
Shell
Docker
Containers
GitHub
Version control
Raycast
Launcher & scripts
Zen
Browser
Linear
Project management
Figma
Design
Claude
AI pair programmer — most used
GitHub Copilot
Inline completion
❯cat experience.json// 02
Experience
Companies I've built things at.
PicPay
currentSoftware Engineer
Building distributed systems and developer tooling. Leading frontend architecture decisions and helping teams ship faster.
TypeScriptReact
Superbid
Software Engineer
Worked in the squad responsible for rural livestock auctions. Full-stack development across frontend and backend services in a high-throughput auction platform.
ReactJavaSpring BootRabbitMQAWS
Gama Academy
Frontend Engineer
Sole owner of the frontend across the company — student platform, component library, and corporate site. Helped shape the design system from the ground up.
Next.jsTypeScriptAWS
Ikatec
Full Stack → Mobile Developer
Started my career building an omnichannel messaging platform. Heavy focus on UI, real-time communication, and keeping the experience consistent across channels.
ReactReact NativeNode.js
❯cat keyboard.json// 03
Keyboard
42-key columnar-stagger split keyboard. No number row — everything lives in layers. It felt wrong for two weeks, then felt like the only way.
model
Corne (crkbd)
firmware
QMK
switches
Gateron Pro Yellow
layers
4
Tab
Q
W
E
R
T
Ctrl
A
S
D
F
G
⇧
Z
X
C
V
B
Esc
Spc
⌘
split
Y
U
I
O
P
⌫
H
J
K
L
;
'
N
M
,
.
/
⇧
⌘
↵
MO1
❯ Base: QWERTY — the default layer
alpha keys
modifiers
thumb cluster
function / layer
navigation
numbers
❯ls ./posts// 04
Writing
Thoughts on software, keyboards, and building things.