Launching My Portfolio on necookie.dev

Dheyn Michael Orlanda — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 14:28:15 +0000

Yo! After a bit of late-night coding, trial-and-error with DNS, and some caffeine-fueled commits, my personal portfolio is finally live: necookie.dev
. Thought I’d share the process for anyone thinking about hosting their own projects.

Why I Built This

I wanted a clean, fast place to show my work, side projects, and experiments — basically a space where my code meets a little personality.

Stack: React + TypeScript

Hosting: Vercel (automatic builds & deploys straight from GitHub)

Domain: necookie.dev

It’s simple: push to main, and Vercel does the rest. SSL? Auto. Preview URL for branches? Auto. Life is good.

What I Learned

DNS can be confusing at first — A records, CNAMEs, TTL… a bit of a headache until it clicks.

Vercel is the plug — super easy for deploying React apps, handles SSL, and global CDN out of the box.

Keep your repo clean — every commit matters because Vercel builds straight from GitHub.

Plan for the future — I left room for subdomains like blog.necookie.dev for projects or writing.

Next Moves

Add more projects and blog content

Optimize performance (lazy loading, code splitting)

Track visitors with some analytics

💡 TL;DR: necookie.dev is live, React + TS, Vercel-hosted, automatic deploys from GitHub, and ready for my projects & experiments.

Chasing CodeChum Nationals 2025: Our Journey to the Group Stage 3 Semifinals

Dheyn Michael Orlanda — Sun, 23 Nov 2025 17:23:34 +0000

I joined CodeChum Nationals 2025 mainly to test my skills and sharpen my programming understanding. My goal was to gain firsthand competitive experience, push myself in a real contest environment, and make new connections along the way. Python isn’t new to me—I’m comfortable with methods and functions—but there’s still plenty to learn, and this competition is the perfect pressure cooker for growth.

We’re a team of 10, and the scoring system sums the top 5 highest individual scores to represent the team. This adds a layer of strategy: everyone’s performance counts, but the best solutions really make the difference.

For training, I spend 1–2 hours daily, using AI and LeetCode to practice. My strategy is to tackle the easiest problems first, secure points, and then move to the tougher ones. Even so, time pressure is real—one hour goes by faster than you think when coding under the clock.

Reaching the Semifinals of Group Stage 3 ramps up the stakes, as more universities will be eliminated. I’m excited but also focused on improving: memorizing more Python methods, learning algorithms (my weak point), and staying sharp for the next round.

Heading into the semifinals, my mindset is simple: have fun, enjoy the ride, and keep leveling up while it lasts. Every round is a learning experience, and our team is ready to give it our best.

Forem: Dheyn Michael Orlanda

Launching My Portfolio on necookie.dev

Chasing CodeChum Nationals 2025: Our Journey to the Group Stage 3 Semifinals