2024 in Life

I already posted about 2024 in Books, now it’s time to reflect on real life.

Work

What a year, with an increase of complexity and difficulty pretty much every three months.

I really hope 2025 is better. I highly doubt it though, situations, environments, constrains, strategies and dynamics don’t change just because we have decided it’s time to flip one bit in a completely arbitrary number at a completely arbitrary day.

Life

This is what really matters (as opposed to work).

The year started with us living in Hong Kong, and will end with us living in Ottawa (again).

Summer in Ottawa was as glorious as you would expect, fall was pretty too.

I bought a new bike, I rode about 2500 Km on it. That is probably not much, but in my head it accounts to many hours of happiness. I ate many hot dogs (and I should probably post about the intersection of bikes, parks, bike paths and hot dogs).

Travel

Not a very travelled year, but I still got in a couple of personal trips to Thailand, plus the yearly return to my hometown in Spain, and then work trips to Bangkok, Madrid, Seattle, Cancún, and New York. I am finding travel less and less compelling lately though.

Gadgets / Technology

This year I have grown even more disilusioned with technology, if that’s even possible. And don’t get me started on AI.

I am loving the M4 Mac Mini though. Great piece of kit. Given I have to use a computer (and like or not, I have to, at least for work), the Mac Mini hits the spot.

Books

My reading stats for 2024:

• Books finished: 81
  • Books rated 5 stars: 5
• Books not finished: 16

I am particularly happy with the number of books not finished. Life is too short to waste time on stuff that does not bring joy. A year ago, I made a conscious attempt to start being more aggressive abandoning books that don’t resonate with me, and I am happy to see that I managed to actually do that.

Just for the record, the number of books read is irrelevant. What matters is the hours of joy that reading has brought me.