It’s that time of year again. Another year gone, and another review to mark its passing. This is a weird one. The past year feels simultaneously both uneventful and packed with notable events.
Career: The big project for this year is one that spans across the Carousell Group. I’ve had the opportunity to explore being in a more management-oriented role, as I lead a team to deliver this project. I think this topic deserves its own post, but for now I’ll say that I’m learning a lot about the sort of work I enjoy, or don’t enjoy.
Writing: I’ve published only one blog post on this site. However, 2023 ended up being the year where I’ve written the most words, compared to previous years. By a very large margin. Through the year I’ve written several short stories; a few published, and many more in varying stages of in-progress. My creative writing skills have grown tremendously. I’d like to pursue more growth in this area.
Climbing, cycling, geocaching: I don’t climb as often now. Instead, cycling has taken its place as my dominant hobby. I’ve also recently started geocaching, and I suspect this is a hobby I’ll keep for the foreseeable future. I love the combination of geocaching and cycling; biking from cache to cache, exploring parts of the country I don’t normally visit.
Housing: I’ve finally got my own place! I currently rent a small one bedroom apartment, as I contemplate future housing plans. Unfortunately, Singapore has some rather strict guidelines for who is, or isn’t, allowed to purchase a house, as well as what type of house they can purchase. This little one-bedder is all that makes sense for me right now. It is, however, the single best decision I’ve made in 2023.
Mood: I’ve noticed a notable uptick in my general level of happiness this year. Having started a new relationship is definitely a factor. However, the mood is somewhat dampened by the stress the last few months, as I struggle to wrap up some of my work projects. The team is quite understaffed for the amount of work that’s constantly being piled on top of us. I haven’t been able to take a break in December, like I normally do in previous years.
Linux: I switched my daily driver from Windows to Linux. I initially thought I’d need to keep Windows around to dual-boot into if there’s ever a game that didn’t work on Linux. Surprisingly, I haven’t needed to do so. Every game I’ve played has worked seamlessly, thanks to the excellent work Valve has put into Proton. Other than gaming, my desktop is now a much better development environment.