(My) Year in review: 2023

Almost the end of 2023, take my time to write a year in review while sitting at the office waiting for the train to be less crowded.

The new job

I change a job pretty often compared to others. Last year, I joined ThoughtWorks. This year, I moved to a new company, the one that I had always wondered how they worked since I was young.

TW is a great place. I met a lot of the best colleagues I've ever had in my life. My ex-tech lead in TW is also the best lead-role person I have ever met. Write it here in case he comes across this article.

However, something changed. My curiosity about the next company is still high. So I decided to move.

For the new company, so far so good. It's the only company in Thailand that has this high technology capability. It's a great experience to work here and see how they scale everything up to this point. So, nothing to complain about but the complexity of the system.

My English is also improved because working here allows me to meet more diverse people. My team consists of 6 nationalities.

Health

I wasn't admitted to a hospital like the last year. However, I had food poisoning and stomach issues many times. Couldn't find the root cause. It might be my less strict diet. Also, I ate more unhealthy food. Will improve this next year.

This year, I mostly did a competitive sport. Not much of everyday cardio exercise. Haven't exercised much as the last year, but will do more in the next year.

Overall, it's good. But as my age is counting, the Decline of my heath becomes my concern. Nothing bad for now.

Fencing

I picked up a new hobby early this year. It's Foil Fencing. I started with one trial class. And I have a whole fencing suit now.

It's really fun. I love excitement and adventure. Fencing makes me feel adventurous. Wearing the suit, and holding a blade, it's so cool to watch. When I duel with other fencers in the club, it's an adrenaline rush time.

I always make a joke that if you hate someone, just go fencing. Attack an opponent with a metal blade. Nothing beats this feeling. It's so much fun (except when you lose every game)

I almost had a chance to join a real competition, but couldn't join because of my travel trip. I might join some open competitions next year. Let's see.

I play at Blade Fencing Bangkok club at Ekkamai. If you are interested in it, here is a link. https://www.facebook.com/bladefencingbkk/

Climbing

I still do a climbing sport. A new update is, I already got the lead rope course. It's far more intimidating. More adrenaline rush. And more fun! But still need a lot of practice.

Luckily, my new company has a climbing club. When I go with the club, they cover all expenses. Free climbing, I'm happy.

Traveling and overseas friends

When I was a high schooler, my English was so shitty. Failed almost every exam. On the day of the exam, I already expected the retake exam. Barely spoke with the native English teacher. So having overseas friends had never been in my mind. Until I realized that at this point, I had friends around the world already. It's amazing to think to myself.

This year, I traveled to three countries. I went to Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong. (Laos also but our languages are almost the same, it felt like I just went to another part of Thailand)

Hokkaido, Japan

Japan, I went to Hokkaido. It's the most expensive and the most important trip for this year. The trip was planned before the COVID-era. Because of the Covid, the plan was changed to this year. Flew with Thai Airline's business class. It was my first business class in my life. Nice experience.

I went to Hokkaido with my mom. It's a 10-day trip. Tried many new things. Slept in a ryokan with the best onsen bath. Went to many places. Ate many dish.

The most important part is that I met my old friend who helped me when I was an exchange student at Hokkaido University. We had dinner, chitchatted, and exchanged our life. It's really nice to catch up with an overseas friend. Looking forward to seeing him again.

Singapore

In early this year, I went to Singapore. It's a nice place. Good public transport, Good food, Good city. Spend 4 days on the island. There are a lot of good museums. Did a trekking too. It was a city forest area, took me 4 hours.

Also, had a chance to meet Thoughtworks colleagues in the SG office. Happy to see them after joining the same onboarding batch. Thanks to them, we went to many local food places. Couldn't do it without my local friends.

Hong Kong

I went to Hong Kong in the first week of December. The last trip of this year. It was a food trip. And also planned to meet my colleagues.

About eating, I must admit they have a high standard. The food and drink I tried, they are all good. You walk to a random shop, order anything, and then get good, high-quality food. I'm really enjoying the trip. I love milk tea so much.

Also, I met my colleagues who working together for more than a year. We went to a hotpot place and chitchatted. It's really nice to meet them in person after working in Zoom with the same team every day. Thanks for their warm welcome. Everyone is so lovely.

Pottery class

I found a pottery school near my condo. I enrolled in a one-day pottery class initially. Somehow, I put myself into a more serious class. I already made 10+ ceramic cups and bowls. Thinking about selling it because I don't want to keep them all.

It's really fun. I learned a lot about ceramic and throwing techniques. I mostly made a cup because I like a tea ceramic cup. The school I go, it's a really nice place. They play jazz music in the classroom. Such a good vibe to make some ceramic.

For the next year

I have a ton of things I want to do. Diving, Mountain climbing, side projects, trekking, practicing piano, more and more. I hope I can do it in the next year.

As the last week of 2023, I appreciate this year. It's pretty fun. Met many people. Done many things. Got into some troubles, but couldn't remember them. So it's fine for me. Anyway, I'm looking forward to 2024.

Hope the 1% of rich people don't burn this planet yet in 2024.