The year turned out to be quite ambiguous, with a lot of terrible events happening around, constantly throwing things off track. However, there were also good events that helped avoid despair and keep moving forward. The text may be a bit jumbled, but I’ll try to gather all my thoughts together so that, after many years, I can reread it and remember what 2023 was like.
For convenience, I’ll divide the post into two major sections: personal and professional. If someone other than me happens to read this, it’ll be easier to skip the section that isn’t interesting.
Professional
Tools:
Vite
Having started my work project using Vite in early 2021, I had some doubts about using this tool for project setup. Throughout the year, I used it without encountering any problems and overall, everything would have continued the same way. Next time, I would probably consider which tool to use. However, a couple of small projects that I was asked to help with at the end of the year use Webpack, and after working with them, I realized that Vite has become my default tool.
Biome
I kept an eye on this tool for code formatting and linting. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity to test it on a real project yet. But it will happen soon and then, I can share my experience. It looks very promising, so let it be on this list.
Astro
Moved my blog to Astro and deleted all old posts that were no longer relevant. I really should maintain my blog regularly. Create a section with projects I’ve been involved in and many more plans. I’ve done this many times before and always abandoned it. But, hopefully, this time it will be different.
Overall, the experience has been positive. Everything is very simple and clear. Project setup takes minimal time. Everything works very quickly. In general, everything went as promised.
IT Market Situation
It seems that many good developers looking for work have emerged, significantly raising the requirements for applicants and indirectly affecting rates. There’s also a persistent feeling that the era of outsourcing is ending and many outsourcing companies are facing difficulties. At least that’s the picture I see from my acquaintances and friends. Many places freeze salary reviews, don’t allow leveling up, remove some additional bonuses and so on. Personally, it seems to me that outsourcing will cease to thrive and companies will hire employees more directly. After all, they’ve already learned to assess the qualifications of developers through interviews and remote work is no longer surprising. There are also plenty of tools for convenient and productive remote work.
I would like to see the flourishing of product companies, although they are already doing quite well overall. But, in my opinion, there will now be many more people willing to work for them, which they should undoubtedly benefit from.
It’s disheartening that many colleagues and friends often feel uncomfortable due to the current situation. But there’s no need to hide it, I also often sit and contemplate everything happening, which definitely doesn’t boost morale. But I try to keep myself in check and analyze the situation, taking steps to minimize risks in the future.
AI
This year witnessed a gigantic leap in artificial intelligence technologies. It’s very difficult to keep up with everything, but it’s necessary to stay in the loop to avoid falling behind in the market. I tried how Copilot, Stable Diffusion and other neural networks work. The potential is enormous, but I’m not sure yet how to integrate it all into my daily life. Yes, it’s interesting to ask questions to the GPT chat, use it for translation assistance, or generate some small texts, but there are many nuances. In general, the technologies are very impressive and I’m confident that this is the new future. Let’s see how it all develops. I bet this is the beginning of a new era.
Personal
Apartment Purchase
The most important thing, of course, is the purchase of my first home. Yes, it’s a mortgage, but that doesn’t negate the fact that it feels like my own place now. We chose a small town with spacious apartments, as prices in big cities have skyrocketed recently. We debated between a small place in a big city or a large place in a small town. Considering we spend most of our time at home, we chose the latter. I won’t go into too much detail, but overall, I’m thrilled that we took this step. Living in our own apartment brings a whole new level of joy and responsibility.
Loss of My Cat
I can’t write much about this. It’s the biggest blow for me this year. My cat had some health issues that doctors couldn’t diagnose. It’s a massive blow that still lingers over time. I loved my cat dearly and he’ll forever remain in my heart. I understand that these things happen and you have to move on, but every time I think about it, tears well up. Chewbacca, I miss you terribly.
CrossFit
After I had to give up American football due to a shoulder injury, it took me a while to find an activity I enjoyed. It had to be something very active, preferably not solo, challenging in workouts and accommodating to my shoulder mobility issue. CrossFit had long intrigued me, so I tried classes at a local gym and randomly chose a coach. And it turns out I made the right choice. Now, I happily train three times a week with an excellent group and a great coach. My coach probably won’t read this, but if by chance he does - Michał, greetings to you! :)
Music
This year was rich in concerts. I attended amazing shows by SlipKnot, Nick Cave and Enter Shikari. Surprisingly, I made a couple of music discoveries, which is rare for me. Now, they don’t leave my playlists and I’m thrilled that, for the first time in a while, I found something new for myself. Here are three discoveries that might interest you:
I also remembered wanting to go to a festival where Christian Löffler was supposed to perform and discovered a fascinating representative of Polish music. It reminded me of the times when I was part of the LaBo group. I’ll share it, maybe you’ll find it interesting:
I didn’t make it to the festival, unfortunately. We decided to fly to Israel at that time, which turned out to be perfect timing. But that’s another story.
Drones
I’ve always been interested in drones, especially FPV. I watched various videos and thought it would be cool to learn FPV flying, shoot cool videos and, who knows, if IT ever collapses, become a drone operator. Progress is slow, but I’ve bought equipment and practice in a simulator. Later, I plan to buy my first tinywhoop to try my skills on a real drone. Let’s see if this interest turns into something. I’ll keep you posted. There’s one problem, though. I haven’t tried flying with goggles yet, so it’s likely that I’ll get motion sickness and won’t be able to cope. But for now, I hope for the best and slowly move in that direction.
Conclusion
This is a short list of markers that were significant in 2023. There’s a chance I might have to update the post if I remember something else because I wasn’t prepared to write this post, and it’s all done in one burst. In general, the year was very challenging and unpredictable, but I don’t think it was that way for everyone. Interestingly, I don’t believe that the future will be better or easier. We need to adapt to the current realities, move forward and become better than our past selves. Happy upcoming New Year, friends! May I be wrong and everything turns out better than I expect. Big hugs to everyone, stay in touch!