Much like 2020, this year has been rather slow. The remote-first working model as well as restrictions on social gatherings has led to a somewhat lonely existence.
Writing
I haven’t published as many blog posts as I’d like. I have a few technical ones in the pipeline, but haven’t quite found the motivation to work on them much.
On the other hand, I’ve been cultivating my knowledge base more. I’m starting to treat my knowledge base as more of a digital garden. It’s not simply a collection of code snippets or links anymore, but has a few long-form posts as well.
Work
Carousell launched InstantBuy this year. The InstantBuy project was a large effort spanning across teams, with lots of inter-team dependencies.
I had the opportunity to take on the role of tech lead for the seller domain of the InstantBuy project, which I was rather excited about. I’ve written a little about my thoughts on leadership. Ultimately the project was successful, as far as the technical implementation went. It remains to be seen how Carousell’s bet on recommerce will play out in the long run.
We’re still working remotely. At this point I doubt we’ll ever return to an office-first working model. It’s rather unfortunate, because despite the advantages of remote work (less commute, more work-life-balance, etc.), it’s exceedingly lonely.
Hobbies
I’m still an avid climber, though these days I mostly do bouldering due to the lack of a belay partner. Not being able to travel to climb outside is quite a bummer. With travel starting to open up, I’m hoping to do more outdoor climbing in 2022.
This year has been a slow year for reading, with only 9 books read.
With the extra time from working remote, I’ve been exploring different hobbies.
- I bought a piano earlier this year. Learnt a few songs, but ultimately lost interest.
- I learnt to cycle, at the age of 29!
- I’ve also started experimenting with clay sculpting using polymer clay. Currently making cute little animal shaped charms.
This year’s list of notable games I’ve played: