Preface#
2023 should be considered a relatively "mediocre" year in my life. The reason for its mediocrity is that I didn't experience much personal growth throughout the year. I spent my time aimlessly, feeling bored and unproductive. A blogger recommended a year in review template from Ness Labs, which I found to be a great template. I will use its sections on Health & Fitness, Work & Business, Friends & Community, Personal Life & Family, Learning & Knowledge, Travel & Culture, Hobbies & Creativity, Emotions & Spirituality, and Money & Finances to summarize the past year.
Health & Fitness#
In terms of health, this year should have seen a slight decline, although I didn't go for a physical examination. From January to March, I was quite disciplined. I used a Nintendo Switch for aerobic boxing exercises, working out three to four times a week for about twenty to thirty minutes each time. Around this time last year, I was mainly doing sit-ups, but I found it boring, so I switched to aerobic boxing. If anyone is interested, you can give it a try.
In April, as more projects piled up, I started working overtime and stopped exercising (according to my unscientific analysis, sitting for long periods and working overtime increases the risk of sudden death by several levels). As a result, my exercise routine was interrupted until September. In September, based on a recommendation, I started practicing Baduanjin. The reason I stopped using aerobic boxing was that I used a portable screen for my workouts, and it was a hassle to plug and unplug the screen every time I finished exercising in the living room and went to my bedroom to write code, articles, summaries, or watch TV shows after taking a shower. Baduanjin is a good exercise for daily fitness. I practiced it for about a month but found something amiss: although I exercised frequently, it seemed like I wasn't making any progress—despite the high frequency of exercise, my weight didn't decrease. Here's some background information: during the period when I wasn't exercising (around April to August), due to overtime work, I gave up cooking and proved the famous formula: weight gain = work + takeout + lying down. After successfully proving this formula, I resumed exercising. Of course, I didn't exercise every day, only about three to four times a week. However, the results were not satisfactory because the Baduanjin exercises I did for about twenty minutes only burned around 170 calories, which is far from enough for weight loss. I had no choice but to change my approach: when you've been walking down a path for a long time and find that you're not getting closer to your goal, you need to consider whether the path is correct. After some thought, I decided to try a more intense exercise—Wing Chun. It was very effective (I lost 1kg in about half a month, and I also started controlling my diet), so I started practicing Wing Chun. There is a good tutorial on Bilibili, Wing Chun Training Classroom "Basic Skills Series" for Beginners, No Equipment Required, Suitable for All Ages and Genders. I recommend everyone to take a look. As for daily fitness, Baduanjin is also fine, but it's mainly because I'm short on time. :)
Work & Business#
Originally, I planned to switch from the mechanical industry to the software industry in March or April. Unfortunately, I was sent on a business trip during that time, so I had to deal with project-related matters. Although it's not an excuse, it really exhausted me mentally and physically.
This state continued until August. During that time, I interviewed with two software companies. One was a subsidiary of a medium-sized company, and the interview felt average. The interviewer asked me which books I had read, and I mentioned the book "CSAPP". He said it was too old and not significant, and then he went on and on. As a result, I developed a strong "bias". Professors from universities abroad still recommend that book, but he directly dismissed it, which created a serious "bias" in me. The second company was a small company, and I had a good chat with their HR for about an hour. During the technical interview, they felt that my salary expectations were too high and hinted that if I didn't lower them, my chances would be slim. I declined their offer. After that, I didn't actively look for software jobs anymore. I felt that I needed to accumulate more experience and my learning wasn't systematic enough.
In September, some headhunters contacted me for mechanical engineering positions, and I had a few discussions. Later (around the end of October), a state-owned enterprise interviewed me, and their supervisor thought I was a good fit, and the salary was acceptable, considering it was a second-tier city. However, I still declined in the end because I wasn't particularly optimistic about their direction. Afterwards, the headhunter contacted me again, asking if I would reconsider because the department leader thought I was a good fit. But in the end, I still declined.
I plan to take another look after the new year. It should be my last attempt at a software job after the new year. If it doesn't work out, I'll treat it as a hobby. I hope I can succeed. God bless me.
Friends & Community#
One of my good colleagues left the company this year, mainly due to excessive pressure. In March, my junior came to visit me in Hefei. My senior and I got together, and we went to an arcade in the evening. The arcade was okay, and we took turns shooting hoops, pushing coins, and playing bullfighting... When it came to grabbing dolls, the three of us couldn't catch a single one. It seems that Hefei doesn't have many interesting places, at least not in the city center.
Mr. Tang has been in Hefei, so we often get together. We mainly chat about various topics. We discuss future plans, such as pursuing a Ph.D. or taking civil service exams, and we also talk about interesting things at work. However, we both feel a bit lost about the future. At times like this, I often think of the painting "Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?" Sometimes it's really important to know where you're going. After starting work, I realized that I've been laboring mechanically in the mechanical industry, and sometimes it's important to look up.
I get along well with my colleagues. Two of them left, but they are still in Hefei.
Personal Life & Family#
This year, I actually confessed to a girl, but unfortunately, I was rejected 😭. My family has been urging me to go on blind dates, and I got angry once, so they stopped mentioning it. I've always been averse to blind dates; I find them strange. Two strangers are brought together and then start talking about marriage. It's really hard to accept. Perhaps the reason for my aversion is that I'm not at the right age yet? Maybe when I'm older, I'll think it's okay. I used to tease my senior and senior sister about being "at the right age." For a while, I carefully pondered what "at the right age" means and how to reach that age. I stretched out my "claws" and instantly understood. Well, I'm still far from being "at the right age."
Regarding marriage, I haven't shared my views with anyone. My personal belief has always been that you need to meet someone you truly like before getting married. No one should become a "marriage machine" for certain beliefs, such as "carrying on the family line." Liking someone is an individual matter, and love requires mutual consent. Meeting the parents is equivalent to following the traditional Chinese "procedure." Of course, this may be because I'm immature and don't yet understand love and marriage.
As for my family, everyone is doing well. On my dad's birthday, I bought him an electric shaver and some winter clothes. I hope to encounter unexpected love next year.
Learning & Knowledge#
Let me briefly list what I learned this year. I didn't learn much, so it's a bit mediocre:
- Computer Networking (A Top-Down Approach, 7th Edition, James F. Kurose, Keith W. Ross) by Zheng Hen and Yang Jian from the University of Science and Technology of China
- Advanced Programming in the UNIX Environment by Stevens Institute of Technology: I mainly read their lecture notes and took notes. See the image below for my notes.
- Operating System Concepts by Remzi H. Arpaci-Dusseau and Andrea C. Arpaci-Dusseau
- Unix/Linux Programming Practice by Bruce Molay: Overall, this book is quite good, especially for beginners. By simply reading the book and quietly coding, you can understand the usage of most common APIs.
- CS50’s Introduction to Programming with Python: I only have three more lectures and the corresponding assignments left.
That's all I learned this year, so it was a failure. I didn't learn much, and I didn't connect the content together. I need to change in the new year. 💪
Travel & Culture#
- Travel: None. I need to change that in the new year.
- Culture - Reading: I read a few books, but not many (I calculated, and it's not even one book per month, further proof of my unproductive year). Here are some of them, which also serve as motivation for the coming year:
- Seven Weapons: The Longevity Sword by Gu Long
- The Silicon Valley Iron Man: Elon Musk's Adventurous Life by Ashley Vance
- Fragrant Sword Rain by Gu Long
- Animal Farm by George Orwell
- Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
- Micro Dust by Chen Nianxi
- The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal by Tony Schwartz
- Culture - Speeches: Here are a few speeches that I found to be okay:
- 2023 Harvard Law School Graduation Speech by Yang Ziqiong
- TED Talk: How to Change Yourself in Just Two Years
- The Relationship Between the Masses, Intellectuals, and Officials in Modern and Contemporary Novels by Xu Zidong
- How to Make Learning as Addictive as Social Media by Luis Von Ahn
Hobbies & Creativity#
At the beginning of the year, I planned to learn one "useless" skill each month, but in the end, I only learned one skill: how to shake dice into a vertical position (it only took me about ten minutes). Here's a brief list:
- Shaking Dice: I can currently shake three dice into a vertical position. It's not difficult, and it takes about ten minutes to learn.
- Building a Blog: I created my own blog, although I used someone else's template. It's very simple, but it gives me a small sense of accomplishment.
Emotions & Spirituality#
I felt very depressed in the first half of the year, partly due to work and partly due to learning issues. The second half of the year was slightly better, perhaps because of exercise.
Money & Finances#
I keep track of my expenses, but it seems that I only record my expenses and not my income, so it seems like I only recorded my expenses for about three to four months. And even for expenses, it's only for amounts over one yuan. This year, I spent more on digital products for the following reasons:
1. HP Laptop: My eight-year-old Lenovo motherboard burned out, and the repair cost was around 300 or 400 yuan. I decided to replace it instead, costing me 8,000 yuan.
2. iPhone 15 Pro Max: My Xiaomi 10s had a system failure after two years of use, so I had to switch to an iPhone, costing me 12,000 yuan. It was heartbreaking.
Other expenses should be normal. The higher costs for dining and ingredients were due to my lack of motivation in the second half of the year, resulting in less cooking and more expensive takeout, which made me gain weight 🤡.
I ate a lot of snacks this year, mainly due to my lack of motivation and frequent TV show marathons. The other reason for weight gain was my discovery of Maggi chicken seasoning.
Most of the money spent on socializing was for buying things for my family and treating my classmates to meals. Other expenses were normal.
That's how 2023 went, a year of mediocrity. Goodbye.
Hello, 2024! 🤟