The following is a cross-post from my previous blog that i do still want to retain.

Another year gone by faster than expected, but what a year it has been. This year has brought with it a lot of changes in my life, a great deal of self-reflection and changes based on those reflections not to mention a great deal of joy.

In my last retrospect, much like previous ones i've done for myself i've gone through the year chronologically and how things happened. This time around i want to do it differently. Instead of merely retelling how my year has gone, i would rather look back at some success and failures, some highlights but also some overarching thoughts going into 2024.

Highlights

At around May-June of 2023 i had already made up my mind that it was time to leave Valencia and travel around for a while, a decision i'll go into more detail below. While my travels mostly took me around Asia, i also found myself in new cities like San Francisco and Munich.

TrustCon 2023 was my first ever professional conference within the Trust and Safety industry, and it was such a delight. From getting to know the the pains and wins of fellow professionals and challenges of online platforms to exploring San Francisco, it was genuinely a fantastic experience and one i went away from with plenty of thoughts and learnings.

South Korea

Because i am also fortunate and privileged enough to be able to work from anywhere in the world, thanks to Automattics distributed nature, it also allowed me to live and work from a number of interesting places. One of those places that blew me away with how nice and comfortable it was, was South Korea.

I could easily fill this whole post with just photos and stories of experiences from my time in Korea, it was such a joyous experience living there for a while. From mouth-watering street food fare to microwave food from the local convenience stores, the South Korean cuisine was clearly one that agreed with me. I got to experience home-made kimchis, new types of gimbap (if you're ever in Korea, not trying gayak gimbap is a crime), tteokbokki, and so much food. The most pleasant surprise was learning that the Korean typical spiciness levels was very much like my own one, just spicy enough for a kick but still enjoy the many flavours there is available.

Some other highlights also included taking part in the PC Bang culture, internet cafe's with a focus on PC gaming but also offer (often really tasty) food and drinks you can order from your seat, and delivered right to you. A convenience that i made sure to enjoy many a times, as i had been missing playing on my own computers for a while.

So much food

More than any other year in my life, i think i've explored, expanded and fine-tuned my tastes when it comes to food.

These are just some of the fantastic food i've enjoyed throughout 2023.

Seeing friends

Because i keep moving around so much, and the distributed nature of my job, it's not often that i get to go and hang out in person with my friends or colleagues. But this year, i got to hang out with some absolutely top people and close friends.

From making new friends and winning pub quizzes with them, to team meetups and conferences, there was not a single moment that wasn't enjoyed with these lovely people.

Learning lessons

Looking back at it, my decision half-way through the year to leave Valencia is not one that is all that surprising to me. I've move around in the last decade and often it's been due to whims and reasons that, in hindsight, have been quite flimsy at best.

So when the urge to uproot myself once more came over me, i decided that while i would heed it, i would also try to understand why this need to just leave a place i've started to make a home was becoming a common occurrence in my life.

Was i simply bored of my life and needed a change, some variety perhaps? Is there a need in me to simply be on travelling foot and trying to place down roots is just not in me? Am i fine with settling down somewhere for the long-term, but i just need the occasional travel or 2-3 months of staying somewhere else?

But the decision to leave Valencia was a failure in my mind, a decision brought about because i listened more to some instinct or desire rather than a rational and well thought out decision. While it did feel right in so many ways, and still does, i am still of the mind that i could have brought about some changes without the need to uproot things.

In the hunt for answers to some of these questions, i decided that i would indulge far deeper in my travelling than i had before. I would leave, simply travel to destinations i've never been to and simply travel from place to place and see how much, or little, i would enjoy it. To test whether i really was fine with just moving around, or if i was simply in need of some change in my life.

Answers and takeaways

I'm happy to say that i've been able to answer most of the questions i had set out for myself, and discovered more about how i like to live and how i like to work.

  • I now know that i am very much a creature in need of routine and rituals, that the disruption of moving between places causes me to completely disengage in the routines i've made that makes me often productive at work, but also the balance that i need to not drain my social battery.
  • I've realised just how much i rely on having regular creature comforts, from cinemas on the weekend to regular social activities to walking around the same paths that i've come to enjoy.
  • Not having access, as has been the case in some of the Airbnbs i've been at, to a desk, decent chair and monitor means also that i feel less productive as i'm not enjoying working simply out of my laptop screen on a regular daily basis.
  • While i don't enjoy regularly taking public transport to and from my workplace of choice, when i do work out of co-working spaces and libraries, i've come to realise i very much enjoy simply taking longer walks while listening to music. When i've had the chance to do that i've often started my day much more focused and proactive.
  • While having lived in hot places like Lisbon and Valencia, i'm realising just how much incredibly hot and humid cities such as Ho Chi Minh City and Taipei can change my working hours and sleeping schedule, as i often went out much later in the day so that i would not walk into a co-working space or my place drenched in sweat and feeling uncomfortable. I've also often found that even sleeping with the AC on in some places causes me to get much less sleep than usual.
  • Taking a longer break in the middle of the day than a simple lunch hour has led to me enjoying the latter part of my workday so much more. While i do at times see me starting to slow down towards the end of the day, going away for a couple of hours to walk around, grab some tea, go watch a movie or simply just sit in my couch and read, has seen me return to work more focused and feeling productive. It's much easier for me during these times to enter a state of flow.

These have been some of the key insights that i've developed during the last few months and while there's still more for me to learn, i feel i've learned enough that i can now return to a more settled state, one where i can start to once again set down roots. This time though, without the worry that i'll indulge in my urges to go somewhere else.

Because now i know at least that this deep seated need to go and just leave for somewhere else is far more about a desire for a change of pace, more than anything else. The next time i'm feeling the need again, i know that it will simply be a symptom of something that requires temporary changes rather than wholesale moving my life away.

An outcome that i am certain my friends must welcome, as they tire of asking "where are you living now?".

Uncertainties are welcome

With all the above in mind, i now find myself welcoming the year to come with some excitement.

While i certainly don't know where i'll find myself living in the near future, i am certain wherever it is, that i'll settle down with more confidence, with the knowledge that whatever decisions i'll take it will be ones that are rooted in experience and rationale.

I decided some years back that setting goals for myself as part of some new year resolution was a fools errand. I rarely accomplished things that i had set out months ago that didn't take into account the constant changes that were happening in my life.

So as a change this year i've set out a theme for the year; one in which i'll be prioritising any plans or goals that fall under that theme, and focus less on things that don't fall under that. The theme for me in the year of 2024 is simply health. I'll be pursuing an overall plan of improving my physical and mental health, whether that is finding an improved work-life balance or improving my physical health.

While the ideas i have in mind are only starting to formulate now, there is a lot of both minor and major changes coming in my life, but i know where they should all lead to; a healthier and improved version of myself.

There's a lot of uncertainties in how i'll accomplish that, but if i've learned anything this year is that i certainly thrive in uncertain times.

One phrase i've always enjoyed is "May you live in interesting times", as that's often attributed (albeit erroneously so) to being a curse of Chinese origins, as wishing that upon someone means living through times of uncertainties, strife and challenges. The gods know that we certainly live in interesting times, but come what may, it at least will provide opportunity for growth.