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2024 Year in review

life , work , personal

Starting with work as usual, this year was quite more hectic when compared to last. The main reason for that is not actually work - it’s the other things that I need to take care of now, e.g., cooking breakfast and dinner, cleaning the room and utensils, and washing clothes. These chores take time, especially if you haven’t done any of these before.

As for actual work, it was quite good actually. I found out that many people need help just like you; nobody knows everything, hence some things are blurry and there are trade-offs each time you make a decision. I remember a concept called the Production Possibility Curve which is taught in economics class. Now that I’ve experienced that in real life, I can fairly say that nothing’s perfect - there’s always room for improvement.

This year my daily routine went like this: 8:30 AM - Wake up Shower Cook breakfast Eat breakfast 10:10 AM - Leave for work Work till 2:00 PM Go out for lunch with office buddies (Mostly CUSAT restaurant nowadays, but previously: Aaryas, Aamaram, Ella, Just Tiffins) Work till 7:00 PM Come back to apartment Change clothes Cook dinner Talk to mom Browse social media Sleep at 12:00 AM

And that’s it for work days. For Sundays: except for work, I need to do laundry and room cleaning, and cook lunch as well.

Once in two months or so, I visit my friend Ben. We usually discuss Linux, life, and a whole bunch of nerdy things.

In July, we went to Munnar, which was my first office trip and it went really well, especially the Kokumalai Peak. The only issue was I didn’t know how to enjoy a trip, but now I know. It was a 3-day trip, and even though it is closer to Kochi, the environment changes drastically - coastal to mountain peaks and rain forests. I really liked the weather, clouds, and sky; it was overall an awesome experience. But as we reached our last day of the trip, we were all exhausted. If I remember correctly, I spent one hour in the shower after reaching back to the apartment, and I guess I slept for more than 10 hours.

Fast forward to November: We had another office trip, and this time it was Kashmir.

Day One: Starting from srinagar airport, We visited Nishat Garden, Shalimar Garden, Dal Lake.

Day Two: We went to Sonamarg, and it wasn’t really a good experience because I don’t like horses. It was a horse ride for about 8 kms, and I stopped midway and started walking instead. Anyhow, it wasn’t that good of an experience - horse droppings everywhere and it was hella dusty there.

Day Three: We went to Pahalgam. Again, horse ride, but this time it was okayish. I didn’t like it (the horse ride), but the place was good. Clicked a few photos, ate some Maggi, and walked around.

Day Four: Gulmarg. This time it was a cable car ride, which I liked, but there was quite a rush there and we had to wait for 1.5 hours in queue just to come back down. There were horses again, but my friend and I skipped and chose to walk instead, and it was really fun.

Day Five: Doodpathri. Horses again, but all of us skipped this time. We chose to walk instead, and it was again an awesome but exhausting experience. Clicked a few photos, observed the landscape - good experience and not much crowded either.

Overall I liked Munnar over Kashmir because Kashmir felt somewhat familiar and similar to my hometown, which is North Delhi. Typical “grass is greener on the other side” situation, and the other side for me is Munnar and Kochi itself.

Back to personal growth and achievements: I started going out to meetups, mainly Kochi FOSS. It is a wonderful experience talking to like-minded people.

I started talking to people on the bus and at the bus stand. Even though I don’t understand much Malayalam, I can understand the context and answer other people’s general queries like bus timings, bus stop names etc.

I’ve made a few new friends, mainly two people whom I talk with when we meet:

Ambraj, Software Tester: little older than me but a experienced dude with a chill attitude. We explored Fort Kochi together. Recently had a few drinks with him. He’s my neighbor as well.

The whole team at perfviz.com and ofcourse our astral boys of helloastral.com !

And a few more folks whom I can’t remember now, but I talk to them whenever we catch up.

Skills I learned this year:

Financially, it’s not that good because now I have bills to pay, i.e., rent for the apartment and buying groceries to cook and eat food. And since I have only received a very minor raise at the beginning of this year, I guess this year paid off majorly in terms of experience only.

Work from home is still far cheaper than work from office for both the company and individual working in the company. Then again, I was living in my parents home from past 23 years so i guess it was very wise decision to move out explore the world outside.

Anyhow, here are some fun facts for this year:

And’s that’s almost it for this year. Thank you for reading & Happy new year!