End of year wrap up - 2023 edition
I can’t believe we’ve reached the end of another year (and I'm another year older, turning 31 is terrifying). Where did the time go? And on this post, I’m going to try and answer that question. Plus, a quick look into what I want to do in the new year. So let’s jump in on what I’ve done this year!
This year
A new website
After using Gatsby and Netlify for 3 years, I decided to change to NextJS and Vercel. The new website is much faster, has a new look and features that I’ve been wanting to implement for a while such as pagination, tags and a search bar. Plus, the performance is much improved.
Vercel also provides some great analytics (for free) so I can see what posts are popular. And so far, I'm enjoying working with NextJS! And the tools and features on Vercel are great, especially the analytics on views and performance.
And speaking of the new website, I also launched…
Super Blog Starter
Shortly after launching my new website, I launched Super Blog Starter, a starter template that anyone can use to get up and running with a blog of their own.
It’s very much in development, but anyone can go ahead and start contributing if they wish. However, it is in a state where you could clone the repo, make some changes and deploy to Vercel. It’s been a fun side project to work on and I have plans to improve it next year. Things I want to do include adding automated tests of some kind. I’m hoping that it reaches the big 1.0.0 release next year.
If you’re curious about the project, go ahead, clone the repo and give me some feedback!
A new job
In September, I started a new job as an Application Analyst, which means that I left the software testing role after nine years. I have some posts that go into detail about why I left software testing that I’m working on, which I plan to publish at some point early next year.
Owning a home for a year
It’s crazy to think that I’ve owned a home for (just over) a year. And in the first year of owning a home, I’ve assembled a lot of furniture, put up mirrors, blinds, curtains and installed some security around the home.
The house is slowly starting to feel more like a home. I’m hoping to make some more progress on it next year. Getting a wardrobe is top priority, as well as getting some pictures and turning the spare room into a guest bedroom instead of a dumping ground.
I’m hoping that next year I’ll be busy with the house.
The lows of 2023
The cost of living has been the major low point this year. From food to fuel, it’s been a very expensive year. Plus, having a new home added more expenses from fixtures to furniture. I haven’t been able to put anything into savings which is something I want to do next year.
The cost of living has impacted my mental health as well, so improving my mental health is something I want to tackle next year as well.
My mental health in general hasn’t been great these past few years, for various reasons. I’m hoping that it improves next year and it's something that I want to address.
The next year
A new car(?)
My current car (which is also my first car that I’ve owned) is a 2016 Vauxhall Viva. I bought the car, brand new, with my own money and back when I bought it, I thought it was the greatest car ever made . Especially since I had just got my driver’s licence.
But next year, I would’ve owned it for eight years and now I want to move onto something that’s better in every way possible. My main complaints with my car are:
- Boot space (because it’s incredibly small, I can’t even go to Ikea in my car and the boot can’t hold the weekly food shop, I frequently have to use the back seats)
- Power (as there is no power in my car, it struggles to get to 60mph)
- Lack of a decent infotainment system (I did have the option to get one when I first bought my car, but I turned it down and I regret it every time I drive my car).
So next year, I would like to trade my car in and get a new car. For my next car, I want the above addressed but also I would like to buy an electric car.
In terms of a car I would like to get, I have eye on the following:
So we’ll see what the new year brings, I would very much want to get a new car (as it’s slowly driving me insane).
A new phone (?)
So not just a new car, but a new phone. My current phone is an iPhone XS, and after five years of reliable service, I’d like to upgrade. Also, my battery on my phone is not good, it has a maximum capacity of roughly 75%. And the average day to day use is just awful.
Plus, over the years the performance and cameras have greatly improved. So I’d like to upgrade to a new phone when I can next year.
But what phone will I upgrade to is the big question. I’ve seen a lot of foldable phones be released and I’m quite tempted to get one. So maybe next year is when I’ll switch from iPhone and go back to Android (again).
More furniture for the home
Although I’ve made good progress on my home so far, there’s still so much to do.
The main bedroom needs a wardrobe and another chest of draws for starters. Then next on the list is to work on the guest bedroom (and actually make it into a guest bedroom, rather than a spare room filled with stuff I need to unpack). And finally, just do some more decorating.
Attend a conference
I’ve never attended a conference (on anything) before, and next year, I would like to attend one (hopefully somewhere in the UK) in the next year.
I need to research on conferences I could attend, so if anyone knows any good technology conferences that are happening in the UK next year, let me know!
Play more games!
So I got a Steam Deck for my birthday back in October, and it’s a fantastic device. It’s got me back into playing games and I want to play more games in the new year. So maybe I’ll write up some more posts about it.
Read more books
I said this last year, and I’m saying it again this year. I’m going to read more books!
I read a few books last year, but not as many as I had hoped. So next year, I want to improve that. I'm getting a few books for Christmas to get me back into reading.
Exercise more(?)
I want to improve my fitness and I’m hoping next year, I can find the time to exercise more. Maybe I’ll get an exercise bike of some kind and work in it multiple times a week. I'm hoping this also improves my mental health.
Start a podcast(?)
Starting a podcast is something I’d like to do. I’ve been listening to podcasts for over 15 years and why not start one for fun? It would be cool to pick up some skills in audio editing. So who knows, maybe 2024 will be the year I start a podcast.
I’ve done some research into podcast hosting providers, what I can use to edit audio and microphones. Maybe it’s time to actually start a podcast.
Wrap up
And that’s another end of year wrap up post in the books. It’s crazy to think that next year will be the fifth year of me blogging, and this blog has changed a lot since I started it.
Thanks for reading, and I hope to write more posts like this for many more years to come.
