Michael Vreeken

By day, I'm a Senior Software Engineer at Blu Digital Group, where I work with Laravel + PHP, Vue.js + JavaScript, and MySQL. I've been programming for decades now; my addiction started as an innocent hobby, creating little games and maintaining my personal website, but over time it escalated into a full-blown career. I've made just about every mistake possible on my journey, and I'm proud to say that I learned to fix most of them. But I love the job: the problem-solving, the diagnosis, the moment when you finally implement the solution only to find that it introduced 99 more problems... I wouldn't have it any other way. I've learned that the best code is written when you treat debugging like a puzzle, leadership like a party buff, and documentation like the quest log nobody wants to write but everyone needs.

Speaking of party buffs and quest logs, by night you'll more than likely find me with my small, inseparable group of friends; either planning a tactical raid or arguing whether my D&D character's plan is ridiculous or brilliant. Spoiler alert: it's ridiculously brilliant. I've been delving dungeons and slaying dragons for the better part of my life, not only because it's incredibly fun and rewarding, but also because who doesn't want to live in a world where charisma is a stat you can actually increase?

When I'm not at my keyboard or rolling dice, you'll find me maintaining the most important infrastructure of all: my family. I'm married to an amazing and supportive wife, and I have two energetic young daughters who keep me active, humble, and surprisingly well-versed in animated movie songs (Who am I kidding? I knew the lyrics long before they came into my life). I'm handy enough to tackle DIY projects around the house without creating new problems and I love to bake, especially pizza.

I'm an introvert who values fewer deep friendships over many shallow acquaintances; that is to say, I'm always down for gaming with my friends, but will likely decline your backyard BBQ invite. I'm a husband, father, and friend who values the people in his life. I'm a problem-solver who enjoys the debugging session just as much as the solution. And I'm a colleague who believes the best teams are built on hard-work, trust, and laughter. Whether it's leading the latest technical initiative or simply keeping my home from falling apart, I show up with diligence, curiosity, and a healthy respect for the power of YouTube videos and good documentation.