As I start writing this it’s now 2024. That’s a scary number to write but I remember saying the same about 2023.
Personal
When I looked at what I wanted to achieve this year the goal was simple. Both myself and my girlfriend decided that we should aim to move into a house we could both comfortably live and work from. Reaching it would require a lot of effort.
In January I put my flat up for sale. I’d been living there for just under a year. The plan was to move in with my girlfriend which I did in April.
In late January we travelled to Tenerife. It was an amazing resort holiday within walking distance of beaches and more restaurants than I could count. It wasn’t peak season for the area and it wasn’t as hot as it can be. This suited us fine and we had an incredible time doing very little.
In June we had an offer accepted on a house we really wanted after viewing a few houses early in the month.
In September I sold my flat. I was very happy to be able to move on.
In October we moved into our new home in Whetstone, Leicestershire. I couldn’t be happier to call this house our home.
It has been fun sharing our home with friends and family in the last few months. We’ve hosted many dinners and gatherings.
Work
In April I celebrated one year in my job. I’m very lucky to be working where I am with a lot of very talented and highly competent people. I feel like I’m working with some of the best engineers with a great infrastructure and developer experience.
I have learnt more than I could imagine throughout 2023. In previous employment roles I worked as a fullstack developer. In my role now I am a UI developer. I’ve learned the nuances of Ember JS and modern ways of working for the browser.
I’ve taken on a role to lead a project. It’s been going really well and I’ve enjoyed it. I would like to develop my skills with people rather than code throughout 2024.
Music
Because of my hectic personal life in 2023 I have not had the focus to put much into my music. I’ve written a handful of songs and done little recording. I have attended many open mics around Leicester, Loughborough and Hinckley.
In July I hosted the last open mic night before the closure of The Parcel Yard in Leicester. Hosting these evenings has been a joy and it’s been heart-warming to see new performers develop in confidence and ability as they kept attending.
I have attended many gigs around the midlands. Seeing Blink-182 in Birmingham was a highlight.
Software
I haven’t touched much code other than in my day job, again given the move.
In March I relaunched my blog using a static site generator. I’m still not sure how I feel coupling the code with its content. I’m getting used to it.
In December I restarted a project that I had wanted to get built for a few years. I don’t want to roll my own CMS but I would like to have a quick front-end for content management.
Recreation
I haven’t put much time in to video games. I have played Sonic Superstars, and a variety of other Sonic games including Sonic Frontiers, which so far I adore. I describe it as Nier Automata but you play as Sonic. I did start Mass Effect using the version from the remastered trilogy. I carried on with Pokemon Violet but have hit a wall with it.
I haven’t read many books, although the books I have read I’ve really enjoyed. I managed to read five in total, mostly non-fiction.
Onwards to 2024
In 2024 I would like to calm things down a bit. I would like to focus on work and my creative projects. I would like to sink more time into reading and playing games.
It’s not a new outlook - I’ve asked for something similar for many years! But in 2024 I feel like I finally have the foundation to do that.