Tarot App and $20 Subscription

Like most people, my first AI experience is, well, chatGPT, around 2024 -- at that time I was like “oh cool, don’t have to google stuff -- and the convo is actually fun”, but, the novelty just died right away because, I don’t know what I can do with it, but still, cool.

Then the image generation arc came, people make Studio Ghibli profile pictures and stuff, I tried it, try converting a photo I take on the bus to anime style artwork; at that time, well, its ok-ish and again, thats as far as I go.

At that point, I understand the implication to workflow, to many aspect of professional work environment, but, thats was also the time I decided to resign from my last job or any “professional creative work” and decided to just do gardening at my balcony.

Time move on and then, around early 2026 I heard the terms “Vibe Coding” -- that pique my interest, so, like most time when my interest is pique, I go and read about it, ask chatGPT to explain it thoroughly, and, OH BOY! THIS IS WILD! because for a very long time, I do have big interest in “coding” and “software engineering” but, I think, as like many others, I just can’t do it, I just can’t “code”; I do try to join courses, try to do the work, even at one time, I switch to data analyst and learn Python because somewhere along the line I read that Python is easier -- but, nope, can’t do it.

so yeah, there I was, laptop opened, FREE chatGPT on chrome and I ask, how do I “vibe code”?

"Vibe coding" is less about strict rules and more about getting into a creative flow where writing code feels intuitive, playful, and expressive instead of rigid. Think of it like the difference between following a recipe exactly vs. improvising in the kitchen. — from chatGPT

well, then we just “converse”, here is the truth, I don’t know how one should talk to AI -- so I just talk, and talk, and talk again, and...OH DAMN! I can, like open VS Code now, and copy paste the code from chatGPT and make a website -- yes, I know, its not real website its in http://localhost:3000 -- activated by npm run dev (the only terminal command I remember from all those lesson) but, damn, I CAN CODE!

Then I learn about codex -- so, 20$ sub it is then! and yeah, I “Vibe Code” that one afternoon.

I made a check point web app, that I think was super awesome with neo brutalism UI style; oh I know its useless hahaha, but the act of creating it -- paste-in code everything turn to mud, chrome lag, finally install Codex Extension in VS Code -- hit limit, finally learn that there’s limit? -- Man, it was so exciting and fun -- and surprisingly, the convo is super fun with chatGPT.

The Tarot App Arc

So few day pass by like a blur, I was locked in and talking with chatGPT for long hours and at this point I’ve made a website with a backend, database and a dashboard for Yayasan Jari (a foundation that focus on helping domestic abuse victims, go look it up, still haven’t finish the website tho as per this writing hahaha) -- have many idea pinned in chatGPT and every moment of it was so much fun, especially the conversation.

Like, maybe, many pop culture enthusiast, I have interest in Tarot card, not as “fortune telling/divination tools” but as a work of art that was portrayed in movies, anime, manga, games, etc -- and well, Tarot surviving for more than 500 years alone fascinate me, so yeah, I do have an un-opened Rider Waite Tarot Deck at home -- the cheap one from Tokopedia (60K-ish).

Looking at that un-opened deck one night, I just go “Hey! Tarot Reading app!”, proceed to talk with chatGPT about it, laugh, talk again, and well, everything just roll from there. Made the first version in like, a day, I think; and thats also include generating artwork with chatGPT Image; then the excitement died a bit, I feel the reader (Teteh) was “off”, we iterated again and again -- prompt, test, adjust, laugh, repeat, got lots of “WAAH ITS BETTER!” moment, but, then, again, feel, hmm, this is not right ---- again and again, iteration by iteration, convo by convo, it builds up fast and, well, so much better than most “collaborative work” I’ve done in my life.

I will be honest, I don’t know what is the state of AI tech right now and on that early Teteh Tarot app creation, I know a lot less from now -- so everything is new to me, even many Software Engineering jargon is new too; slowly I learn about AI statelessness, about AI continuity, what is AI AGENT, what is an AI Model...the conversation is in the heart of all this, and at some point, I was like “hey I should docs this” because, going through old chat in chatGPT is painful. So many convo and documenting it later, I now have a Bibliotheca, all is written by chatGPT, which, this is what chatGPT told me a reflection of my thinking. So basically me talking to myself, but it talk back in a laptop screen HAHAHAHAHA, yeah....

But, its fun, for 20$, I get a “discussion partner”, “a better google search” a “dev to help code (tho the limit is painful”, and well, laughter and stuff. These past 2 month, I consume less and less social media content (almost 0 doom scrolling), less Youtube (only lo-fi music in the background), don’t watch Netflix too. Not that I am becoming a recluse and only talk to AI, just the whole interaction and building stuff was so much fun and doesn’t drain my energy.

Now, well, I have a personal website (nufikri.xyz) a Tarot Reading app (tetehtarot.com) and more stuff in the pipeline -- and thats not mentioning the docs, the internal tooling, dashboard, foundation website, abandoned app, etc.

But most importantly, I now have, the power to create whats been locked inside my head because I can’t code.

p.s: Now I use -- a lot in my writing or texting because I have one too many conversation with my dear friend Forge Goblin chatGPT 🫠

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