2 posts tagged with "in review"

View over the Baiului Mountains.

I've learned to do the Corpse Reviver #2 and the Paloma.

I plan to write each of my year in review articles at the end of December. This one lands at the end of February, so things are not really going as planned so far. To be honest, during the whole year I felt that I've pushed many deadlines, and at times it felt quite overwhelming, but, looking back, my 2023 was not as bad as I thought it would be. Motivation was low throughout the year, sure, but consistency did help quite a lot, and I'm thankful for the habits that helped me decisively.

Goals for 2023​

In my 2022 year in review, I set a list of goals for myself, and I am curious how many did I manage to accomplish. Let's start this article with a disappointment, shall we?

• update Downshift to v8

  Actually, we're at v8.3.1 and, even though we still have some important things to fix, we are React 18 compatible, we support fully the ARIA 1.2 pattern, we have TS type support for the getter props (a long time coming) and overall API improvements. Actually, I'm not very mad with the current of the library.

• finish Marcy's course and 2 more Frontend Masters web development courses.

  The biggest fail for 2023 was in fact the learning aspect. I did not finish Marcy's course, I still have a lot to go, and, obviously, the Frontend Masters courses were out of reach.

• read at least 10 books, starting with Don Quixote.

  I fell short of the number 10, but not by far, and the books I've read were actually quite impressive. More on that later.

• improve to 3 times per week gym schedule.

  Done. Big win. Not that big gains, but still fine.

• attend at least one dancing congress.

  I am going to my first salsa congress in Brasov at the end of January, so let's consider it done.

• visit the south of Spain and New York.

  2023 main achievement was travelling, and yes, I did check Spain and New York, among many others. More on that, later.

• revive the Tab Order Testing library I worked at in Adobe.

  I reviewed the current state of the art in Microsoft and decided that the library is not going to be useful anymore.

Overall, not half bad. Yes, motivation was not my gratest 2023 asset, but it wasn't motivation that helped me achieve my initial 2023 plans, or the things I achieved on top of them. It was consistency, it was habit. Motivation comes and goes. Habit is there once it's built. I heard about it in most motivational content, and 2023 helped me actually understand why it is so valuable.

Coding Stuff​

I've enjoyed quite a successful year at Microsoft, and so far I'm quite happy with the projects I'm contributing to. Microsoft Teams is a very used product, and even though it does have its reputation, it's packed with features and it became better through the years, and I'm happy to contribute to that effort. My favorite part was the March hackathon when I successfully presented my project to the leadership, which got very favorable reviews and we might even see it one day fully implemented in Teams. Super excited about that.

Apart from my normal job, I also continued to code for open source, and updated Downshift to include React 18 and ARIA 1.2 pattern support, among many other fixes. What I'm also proud about is that I continued to write on this blog, and not just tech related articles, but also from my trips, and everything is coming along nicely. Oh, and I also achieved something quite big in the work department, but, at least for now, it's classified.

Hobbies​

Quite a few updates here as well. I've started to go 3 times a week to the gym, and it feels so good. I've also resumed basketball once per week and also running, even though it became mostly a once per week event as well. Overall, I'm quite satisfied with my current active shape, and I look forward too keeping it. I only wish that I've been more times on hiking trails, as 2023 was not my best, so I hope to improve the hiking frequency in 2024.

A big change for me was giving up bachata classes, but, on the flip side, I continued my salsa classes, and I'm having a blast. I'm super happy at my current dance school and I feel that I'm improving. To top it off, I went to my first salsa congress in Brasov in January 2024 and, even though I dislike staying awake at night, doing only that while not doing anything else during the day is, let's say, manageable. The congress itself was super fun, I feel like going again next year.

Algarve Beach Hiking	Guns 'N Roses Concert

Another event worth mentioning for me was the Guns 'N Roses concert from July at the Arena Nationala. I was lucky to receive tickets for the concert and wow, what a show. It was an incredible experience, and a top notch performance from the band. I won't forget it anythime soon. Even though the sound from their microphones was annoyingly cut out many times, the event was unlike anything else.

Oh, and did I mention that my banana bread is probably the best in the world? I perfected my technique quite a bit. Also, I added the lemon and like cakes to my portfolio, so the coffee shop does not sound like a bad idea at all. Oh, and cocktails! I've learned to do the Corpse Reviver #2 and the Paloma.

Books​

I aimed to read at least 10 books during 2023, and I fell short of that number, but not by far. Here's my list:

1. Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes. I had so much fun reading this, even though it was quite a long book. It wasn't only fun, but a great insight into human nature, idealism, and reality versus imagination. The other stories inside the book are fun as well, especially the one with the husband that used his friend to check on his wife's loyalty.
2. The Little Prince, Antoine Saint-Exupery. This tiny book is a great opener into subjects such as human relationships, love and innocence.
3. Augustus, Adrian Goldsworthy. I'm a sucker for ancient history and I've previously read Caesar from the same author. Augustus did not disappoint, as it tells the story of Octavian, with his early blunders and not so many achievements, as he took advantage of his situation in the context of the late Roman Republic and became the de facto ruler of the Roman world.
4. Lord of the Flies, William Golding. As with 1984, it reminds us of what human nature really is when left unchecked.
5. Myth of Sysyphus, Albert Camus. I'll be honest, I got nothing here.
6. Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison. I've enjoyed this one quite a lot, as the narrator grappled with racism, injustice and political manipulation as he endlessly searches for his personal identity.
7. The Richest Man in Babylon, George S. Clason. It was a very useful read to refresh my own ideas related to wealth and budgeting.
8. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë. A very refreshing book, as it goes beyond the love story into feminism, the search for identity and social justice.

So, not really 10 books, but not very far off. My favorite was probably Jane Eyre, given the main character's complex journey and the very deep insight of her thoughts. The Invisible Man was not very far off.

Travelling​

If there was a personal highlight of 2023, travelling would have been that one. I love travelling, but 2023 was on a whole different level for me, and, to be honest, it felt really good. I enjoy spending both a few days in a different place, as well as a full 2 week vacation far from home. It helps me clear my thoughts, re-energise and even become more creative within my daily work. I only wish 2024 to be quite similar in this regard. Here it goes, the list of all the places I've been to:

• Prague, January. It "happened" for me to be in Prague for Microsoft's Winter Party. What a coincidence.
• Perugia, March. One of those random destinations you pick because plane tickets are cheap, and it proved to be a very good idea. The biking along the Lago Trasimeno was the highlight, for sure.
• New York & Seattle, April. Best vacation for a while, maybe the best ever. I now have a new favorite city and can't wait to go back there. Seattle is also great, given its laid back atmosphere, greenery and nearby hiking spots.
• Oslo, April. Another random destination, can't wait to go back to Norway for a more hiking & nature oriented experience. Oslo was quite nice as well, and it has great museums too.
• Prague, June. Business trip with a little bit of fun. The biking trip to Karlstejn was, well, quite something.
• Malta, August. It was so hot, but everything else was great. Can't wait to go back to the island, it's full of fun stuff to do. Need to book that Katamaran experience in advance, though.
• Naples & the Amalfi Coast, September. Naples is a great city to visit, as it has a quite strong personality. Also, the beauty of the Amalfi Coast is unrivaled. Can't wait to go back there again, as Capri and Amalfi are next on the list.
• Prague, October. Yeah, it's my favorite place to visit. This time there was no hardcode bike trip, just coffee, food and walks. And I finally went to visit the Prague Castle.
• Lisbon & Algarve, November. The other long 2 week trip, and what a trip it was. Everything was perfect, I hiked on the sea shore, I climbed on top of castles, I rested on the beach surrounded by dramatic cliffs. I also missed Web Summit this year, but really, whatever. I made the most out of it. Oh, and that entrecote, oh my.
• Catania, November. Maybe my hopes for this one were quite high, and it was maybe a bit disappointing, but I would still return to Sicily, maybe in the spring is better.
• Malaga, December. I'm going to return to the south of Spain, for sure. This place is marvellous, the weather is incredible, the people are smiling, and I loved it.

Central Park Selfie

11 trips in total. Not bad. I want more. More is better.

Goals for 2024​

Let's see.

• Finish the A11y course and do 2 more courses on Frontend Masters. Same as last year, but I'll actually do it.
• Read at least 10 books. Again, same as last year.
• Go on a trip to Asia. Anything really, Japan, China, Thailand. All three. I don't care, but I want to go there.
• Bump Downshift to v9. We do have in plan some API changes, apart from the fixes we want to implement.
• Cook 3 new recipes.
• Hike at least 6 times. Once every couple of months. Should not be too difficult.
• Make a big move. It has been quite some time since I did not do anything radical, ever since I came back from Prague in 2020. I feel that it's time I changed something dramatically about myself.
• Start doing yoga.

Photo by Oana Vasilescu

I started to write this post with an outlook of 2022's events, then decided against it. I will only say that 2022 also brought some good news and that we should just focus on the things that we can control.

I think that tracking past year's accomplishments serve a better purpose than listing new year's resolutions.

They give us a better sense of where we are at this point in time, what are we happy about, what we want to improve, how far we I with our objectives, and other such vectors that form the big picture of life. Past year events have happened, are easier to be measured, to receive follow-ups, to be celebrated and to be analyzed.

As I was writing this post, it occured to me that 2022 was, personally, a year full of events and achievements worth mentioning. Here they are:

Building this Blog​

My first most obvious achievement is, incidentally, this very blog. I started the year by keeping a journal and writing once every few days. Shortly afterwards, few days became more days and I found it increasingly difficult to keep track of everything. And when I was actually writing down my thoughts, I was mostly focusing on specific events, rather than the overall picture. Consequently, it occured to me that I might be better off with keeping a blog with posts about topics rather than a journal.

This realisation occured to me back in the summer, and it took me until November to kickstart the blog creation process. I published it, along with my first post, on December 13th, and it felt quite a piece of work. A piece of work which is completely documented in the very same blog post, Building this Blog.

Setting up the blog made me very happy once I managed to publish it online. And eager to write some more posts.

Switching Roles​

I started 2022 with a new role at Bolt. I was excited to help the company build its Design System and create the ReactJS implementation for its components. I loved the enthusiasm of delivering solid building blocks for others to use in their applications and improve their user's experience. My team was constantly aiming to provide superior quality in whatever we shipped, and I was very lucky to work together with them.

Unfortunately, 2022's uncertainties left its mark on many things, but Bolt still managed to throw the coolest summer event ever in Estonia, with over 2000 participants. It surpassed all other events that I have been part of until now. Really amazing job!

In spite of the great blast I had working at Bolt, I decided to swith gears and return to Microsoft in December. I will be part of the team that improves the Messaging experience inside Microsoft Teams, a product I contributed to before. One of the main differences is that, this time, the role is based in Bucharest, so no relocation is needed. I am happy to see the product getting better over the years, especially now when most of us work either remotely or in a hybrid schedule. Very excited about what's next!

Interviewing for both these companies is not easy, as their hiring standards are quite high. That being said, buying a leetcode subscription and having a daily slot to solve puzzles and algorithms worked for me very well. It feels tiring after a few weeks, but that's the price to pay in order to work in a company with great people and a healthy culture. So far, I think it's worth paying it.

Reading​

I regret that I was not much into reading when I was in school. Even so, from my first salary, back in 2013, I bought the Song of Ice and Fire collection, which was meant to be symbolic. I read the books rather quickly, but it took me until 2018 to actually start reading on a regular basis. Despite the rough start, I realised that 2022 was a great year for my reading habit. Here's my list:

1. The Picture of Dorian Gray. The novel I started right after finishing Jordan Peterson's 12 Rules for life. After learning to pick my life sufferings for the better outcome, I went straight down the rabbit hole of hedonism. Oscar Wilde's book is not a very long one, but paints a powerful picture of beauty as an end, untouched by the the lust and sin of human nature. The picture had the ability to keep "Prince Charming's" beauty and youth unscathed, but not his conscience, as he tragically discovered.
2. War and Peace. In contrast to the first book in the list, this one is huge. I was awed by its complexity from the beginning to the end. It's hard not to like War and Peace. I loved everything about it: its story of Russia's elite, the history of the Napoleonic wars, the characters and their struggles in society. All sprinkled with Tolstoy's philosophy.

   Yes! It’s all vanity, it’s all an illusion, everything except that infinite sky.

3. Lolita. It was not an easy book to read for me. Maybe because I just could not detatch myself from the main subject of the novel, or the protagonist's interests. It's hard not to be impressed by the writing style though, which emphasizes the character's profession and education.
4. The Plague. If it wasn't the COVID pandemic I would have probably postponed reading this book, but I'm glad that I haven't. Bernard's work and reaction to the events showcase our power of adaptability in times of crisis, even though, at times, it felt a bit cynical. In any case, it was hard for me to blame him.
5. 1984. Everyone needs to read this book. Period. It's a great way to remind us about the importance of free thinking, free speach and democracy. And how easy could these be exchanged in the name of security and improved quality of life. An exchange that is nothing but a lie.

   Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.

6. To Kill a Mockingbird. I understand why this is widely read in the United States high school and middle school. The subjects are not uncommon at all, but what is powerful is them being projected through the viewpoint of a child. It's a great way to understand fundamental concepts such as justice, equality and empathy. In my opinion, it's a must read.
7. The Master and Margarita. The supernatural part of the novel was not something I particularly enjoyed. On the other hand, I did not expect to enjoy the part about Christian philosophy, which was masterfully written.
8. The Great Gatsby. I am happy to have read the book, as it delivers a conivincing story about the disparity of society, the relations between men and women, and the American way of life in the hedonistic Jazz Age. Nicks's outsider perspective about the events is crucial, I believe, to enjoy every bit of it.
9. A Hundred Years of Solitude. I love this book. I started to read it on my flight to Lisboa and, during those 4 hours, I was enchanted. The characters were not without flaws, to say the least, but there was something magical about each and every one of them that brought me inside their world. I founded Macondo, fought the Columbian government, kept watch over the family, deciphered the manuscripts and escaped the banana company massacre in their company. I did not expect to like this book when I saw the family tree at its beginning, thinking that it's going to be some kind of a South American soap opera. I was so mistaken.

   (...) the parchments, and that everything written on them was unrepeatable since time immemorial and forever more, because races condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a second opportunity on earth.

10. Letters from a Stoic. I should have started my stoic journey with Seneca's book, not Marcus Aurelius' Meditations. The letters are clearly written for publishing, and it's impossible to tell that they were written 2000 years ago, they feel so contemporary. The desire to think about the meaning of life is not delivered as a strong punch to the face, as in Meditations, but as a friendly pat on the back while you enjoy a relaxing walk on the pristine Mediterranean shore.

Learning​

I'm a big fan of studying from online source, such as Frontend Masters, Coursera and Udacity. Unfortunately, I had better years when it comes to learning new skills.

I have finished Kyle Simpson's Deep JavaScript Foundations. It allowed me to explore some JavaScript functions which I had the tendency to only guess how they worked. And his course helps counter exactly this tendency, as understanding the tools we use is fundamental in shipping products that are free of bugs.

Switching gears, I am now in the process of learning accessibility from Marcy Sutton's Testing Accessibility. I know Marcy from 2019, when I attended her Deque talk at CSUN. I love the accessibility part of web development and try to advocate for it as much as possible, and Marcy's training course is packed with useful information and her own experiences while working in the accessibility field.

Open Source​

I have updated downshift to support the ARIA 1.2 combobox pattern for both useSelect and useCombobox hooks. This update involved a breaking change version update, but the migration guide should cover the steps needed to make the proper changes on the consumer side. More importantly, I resumed my regular work on the library, with more bug fixes, documentation updates, and future planning.

Traveling​

In January I went to Rome for the second time. I liked it very much the first time and there were many places that were still on my list and I did not manage to visit them. Truth be told, my list is far from finished, as Rome has so much to offer. We spent one full day at the Vatican, as it's properly required, and this time I also went to Saint Peter's Basilica, which I somehow managed to avoid during my first trip. It's hard to grasp how big this church is. Incredible.

Tiber River overlooking Trastevere	The Vatican Square

Also incredible are the Baths of Caracalla, and it's difficult for me to understand how the Romans managed to build this magnificent structure 2000 years ago and not keep their city clean in the present. Anyway, what I also liked in Rome is the Trastevere neighbourhood. We went there at sunset and it gave me the feeling of cosy castle setting, with cramped streets, terraces everywhere, candle lights and brick walls.

My next trip took place in, you guessed it, Italy again, but this time in Genoa. I cannot say much about the city itself, it's probably my least favorite so far, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The highlight of the trip was the town of Portofino, which is probably Instagram heaven. Everything was picture perfect: the pure white boats on the water, the hills covered in greenery, the Castello Brown with its perfect gardens. Just excellent.

Portofino Harbor	Portofino Hills

My third trip involved a bike trail on the Loire Valley in France. I love biking trips. The itinerary is simple: check in at the hotel, visit the town, get up the next day, leave my bags there, hop on the bike and ride to the next destination, while the luggage gets magically transfered to the next hotel. Oh, and did I mention the chateaux on the bike trails? The Loire Valley is famous for them. My favorite ones were Château de l'Islette, Château de Villandry and Château du Rivau.

Chinon Castle	Montsoreau Castle

In July my friends and I went for a relaxing beach trip in Bulgaria's Sunny Beach. It was a perfect combination of sun, food, beach, bachata by the pool, relaxing walks and food. There was a lot of food.

I did mention Bolt's summer 2022 event and this involved a trip to Estonia. The boat ride was absolutely amazing, and I managed to visit a bit of Tallinn and Saaremaa while there. My only complaint is that we did not stay longer, as everything felt a bit on the fast forward. I think I would have enjoyed a full day visiting Saaremaa with a car. Or riding an electric scooter.

Saaremaa Beach	Tallink Ship

My last trip of 2022 was the already mandatory Web Summit conference in Lisboa, which I went to for the third time already. They are nice enough to offer free tickets for active open source contributors, and I was lucky to receive such a ticket. I love Lisboa and it's one of my favorite cities, with great views, very friendly people and Pasteis de Nata. The conference is a great opportunity to learn what's new in tech, climate change, marketing and others.

We also went to Lagos for the second year in a row, as my friend is a fan of surfing, and he convinced me to give it a try. It's not the easiest thing for me to do, but it does feel good when you catch the proper wave.

Monte Agudo in Lisboa	Portas do Sol in Lisboa

Hobbies​

Because having fun is what it's all about.

Banana Bread	Margarita Cocktail

There was significant progress in the kitchen this year. The winners are, without a doubt, the banana bread and the margarita cocktail. If my software development career happens to go south, I'm opening a coffee shop that turns into a cocktail bar in the evening, with latino parties all day long. There is simply no other way. Talking about latino parties, I did continue taking bachata and salsa lessons, and I also started to learn salsa on2.

Thanks to my group of friends that enjoy hiking, this year we went on a few trails in the Bucegi and Piatra Craiului mountains. Some of the peaks and trails: Piatra Mare, Piatra Mica (I know, not much imagination), Neamtu, Jepii Mari and Ciucas.

Salsa Dancing	Piatra Mare hiking trail

I also continued to go for a run once every two days and to hit gym twice a week. On top of that there were a few snowboarding trips and the occasional basketball game.

Wrap up & Plans for 2023​

And that's all, folks. I am very grateful for a past year that was full of events and accomplishments. Many thanks to everyone that were part of my journey!

I am super excited for 2023, and I honestly hope that the overall state of the world will improve. I really think that we need this to happen. As stated in the beginning, I am not a big fan of new year's resolutions, but I do want to continue what I did best during this year. Also, I have a list of new objectives as well, such as to:

• update Downshift to v8.
• finish Marcy's course and 2 more Frontend Masters web development courses.
• read at least 10 books, starting with the current one, Don Quixote.
• improve to 3 times per week gym schedule.
• attend at least one dancing congress.
• visit the south of Spain and New York.
• revive the Tab Order Testing library I worked at in Adobe.

Thank you for reading this post, I hope you liked it. I wish you a great and fulfilling 2023!

Happy New Year!