I’ve never been one to put my thoughts in writing but with time pressing on and seemingly going faster then ever it seems like a good idea to do some reflection and try to celebrate the positives this past year. I personally know how easy it can be to forget our accomplishments in the day-to-day and I think that’s also why I want to take some time to write it all down.

My First Apartment

After a long wait with multiple delays, I was finally able to move into my new apartment this past April. It’s a loft style space that was renovated from an old factory building and I just love the aesthetic. I entered the project back in like 2021 or something so it’s been a long time coming. Having always been conservative with money and now knowing how long it would of took to complete, I do kind of wish I went for a bigger unit. Always easy in retrospect though. Housing in southern Ontario just gets crazier every year so I’m very appreciative to find the place when I did. My decorating skills need some work though.

Starting A New Hobby - Rock Climbing

I don’t know if can still be considered just a hobby at this point as it has pretty much consumed my life in multiple aspects, but I started rock climbing in June at a local indoor climbing gym. Having gotten bored of just weight lifting it seemed like something fun to try and now I am literally climbing as much as my body will allow.

At my local gym the different routes are graded by color for a rough range of difficulty.

Yellow (Easiest) → Green → Blue → Red → Orange → Purple → Black (Hardest)

After 6 months I’m working on the orange routes and am pretty happy with my progress. Having some initial strength from lifting I was able to kick-start quickly but as the grades increase the type of strength required gets a lot more specific (especially finger strength).

I think a part of why climbing has been so enjoyable to pick up is that there’s actually a problem solving aspect to it. Climbers refer to routes as “problems” because as the difficultly increases the way to successfully climb it becomes far less obvious. Often times you’ll see climbers visualizing the route with their hands and discussing with others before getting on the wall. Some of my best experiences have been with friends working on a problem trying different techniques and finally finding the right move to continue making progress.

Speaking of friends it’s absolutely worth celebrating all the wonderful people I have met climbing. Many new friendships have been made and the energy when everyone is making progress and pushing their limits is just electric. I’ve learnt about myself just how much I appreciate that feeling and it’s now something I want to find in other aspects of my life as well.

Physical Self Improvement

While always been something I’ve valued, it’s now being put into ultra priority for the simple reason that I want to be able to climb better. Perhaps I’m a little extreme in that regard once I find something I really enjoy.

Healthy Eating

While I don’t dislike cooking, sometimes you just don’t feel like it. Protein and clean eating has become a priority and it’s not always easy to do quickly. Down the rabbit hole of weekly meal-prep, I’m now able to get three quality meals each day and avoid snacking on lower quality foods. Proud of increasing my knowledge of food, cooking, and finding healthy recipes to prepare and enjoy.

Focused Training

Ironically climbing has reinvigorated my energy toward weight lifting. I’ve been more motivated and focused on becoming stronger to progress further in climbing. What a difference it makes when you have an end to the means. I’m eager to see just how far I can take my body this year.

Stretching & Flexibility

We all know working in software and sitting at a desk all day (not to mention getting older) is doing a number on our flexibility. Thankfully climbing has been an additional motivator in this regard as it can be a limiting factor on certain routes. Honestly still slacking on this one comparatively but still made good progress. Should probably find a yoga class or something.

Work Reflection

Work this year was actually pretty great overall. I feel like I learnt a lot and the team has continued to grow thanks to the effort and strategy of my manager. Kudos to him for his continuous drive.

A project I started in Q4 of 2023 was successfully delivered and is now actively used by financial traders for managing and booking precious metal orders across Canada. A significant portion of revenue is driven through the application which has personally been quite gratifying seeing the work directly impact the bottom line.

In October I was invited to attend the interop.io client forum in NYC as a panelist speaker. I also went last year with my manager but this year he was on vacation so I took the event solo. We’ve been working with interop.io for a while now to create a more unified and personal experience for the traders. Once again it was a pleasure to attend, discuss, and see how other industry leaders are utilizing the technology to create a better experience for their users.

I was also promoted which is always nice. 🥳

Things Worth Noting

My younger sister completed her degree in December and has now landed a job in her field starting end of January. It was a bit of a battle but I’m proud and glad to observe a new found motivation as the possibilities of the future become more apparent for her.

My best friend got married! While it’s indeed bittersweet as we have less time together (and he moved countries), I couldn’t be more happy for him. He’s actually the reason I’m even in tech in the first place after introducing me to coding way back in high school many years ago. Edit: he also bought a house!

Looking Towards 2025

Maybe its worth writing something more concrete for 2025 but here is a high level of what I’ve been thinking about so far.

Climbing Purple Routes

Now being able to more consistently complete orange routes, I’m itching to complete my first purple. The jump from red → orange was significant and from the few purples I have tried, orange → purple is even more so. It’s going to take some serious training but my goal is to top my first purple before the end of April.

Fashion Arc

Problem: Not feeling satisfied with the current fits.

Solution: Learn more about fashion and develop a new wardrobe.

When I moved this year I donated something like 90% of my clothes, only keeping work essentials and some basics. While I feel like my dress is decent, there are often cases where I’m not fully satisfied. I’ve already begun working on a new “capsule” wardrobe which intends to minimize the total amount of pieces but ensure that they can be easily mixed to create multiple outfits of varying formality. I need to find some fashion friends to speed up my learning.

Build An App

Since most of my development energy has been towards progressing at work I haven’t spent much time working on personal side projects. This year I’d like to produce something solo both as a development and marketing opportunity. I already have an idea in mind that I would personally find useful, just need to decide on the platform and stack.

Meet More People

Honestly the highlight of the year is probably the wonderful people I have met. Moving to a new town not knowing anyone and now finishing the year feeling more welcomed than ever is something I didn’t expect. As a naturally independent person I find myself surprisingly excited to continue expanding my circle and finding other people to enjoy life with.

Final Thoughts

This year both felt slow and ridiculously fast. Writing is definitely not a practiced skill of mine but doing this reflection and slowing down to think about what one values most seems like time well spent. I’m leaving 2024 feeling optimistic and motivated, and I think that’s probably the most you can ask for these days. If you made it this far, thank you for reading my first article. I hope your 2024 was enjoyable and that you make your 2025 exceptional!