2024 In Retrospective

Last Year’s Predictions

Last year, I hoped 2024 would be a exciting year, compared to how 2024 was. And I got that right. Something major happened to me in 2024. It was a year to put my head in its right place and prepare for the next couple of years.

I was planning on refactoring my website, and releasing at least one of the side projects I had planned. I did refactor a huge chunk of my website, but… at this point, I don’t even remember what side project I had in mind when I said that 😅.

I also said I wanted 2024 to be cozy. Eeeh… kinda?

Personal Life

Nothing major happened in my personal life this year. Last year, I moved into a new rented house in Bandung with my siblings and lived there until today. This year, all I did was fill all the house with new furniture that we needed. Still, there were plenty of smaller, amazing moments!

Travel

My family and I took a trip to

that felt different this time, primarily because it was my second visit to this enchanting city. While my family was experiencing it for the first time, I found a unique joy in revisiting familiar sights and discovering new layers. Malioboro Street, bustling as ever, felt like an old friend. I enjoyed watching my family's reactions to the vibrant market and street performers, while I sought out some of the quieter batik shops I'd stumbled upon during my previous trip. The evenings were a delightful mix of introducing them to the local street food scene I already loved, and trying new culinary adventures together.

The next morning, we officially kicked off our cultural tour with a visit to the Keraton, the Sultan's Palace. It was a fascinating look into Javanese royal life and traditions, with its detailed buildings and cultural shows offering a peaceful contrast to the night before. After the palace, our historical journey took us to the incredible Prambanan Temple. Even though I'd been there before, seeing its towering Hindu structures and detailed carvings through my family's amazed eyes made it feel completely fresh. I loved pointing out little details and sharing things I'd learned from my first visit, which made it more interesting for everyone.

As our cultural appetites were satisfied, it was time to indulge our culinary ones. My father, who had enjoyed it on a previous trip of his own, enthusiastically insisted we try Sate Klathak Pak Pong. And he was absolutely right! The distinctive smoky flavor of the tender lamb satay, uniquely cooked on bicycle spokes, was just as incredible as I remembered – a truly memorable and authentic Yogyakarta dining experience we all savored. Beyond this particular delight, we explored various other local eateries, continuing to sample different regional specialties that cemented our collective love for Javanese cuisine throughout our stay.

As our wonderful time in Yogyakarta drew to its close, we saved the most iconic and breathtaking destination for our grand finale: Borobudur Temple. For me, there was a quiet sense of anticipation, knowing the sheer majesty that awaited us. As we ascended its ancient terraces, the intricate carvings and the expansive panoramic views felt even more significant this time, serving as a powerful culmination of all the beauty, history, and culture we had absorbed during our entire trip. It was a truly majestic and contemplative end to our Yogyakarta adventure, a perfect crescendo before we began our journey back to Bandung, carrying with us not just souvenirs, but a treasure trove of cherished family memories and a renewed, profound appreciation for this incredible city.

Work Life

This year, I’ve started working full-time for Pavenow, a new startup from Warsaw, Poland, as a Mobile Developer. I was hired to help them build their mobile app, which is a expense management app that helps you track your expenses and manage your finances. It’s a really interesting project, and I’m excited to be a part of it. I was hired by my previous manager, who I worked with previous company, Medic+, and I’m really happy to be working with him again.

I learned quickly though, and really enjoy the way they work there, and was able to fit in nicely. I particularly enjoyed seeing how you can adapt older, battle-hardened technologies to newer, more modern concepts (like atomic design), and how well everything fits in. It also made me realize how much of what's "new" in flutter state management is actually just a rehash of concepts that have been around for a long time, like the Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) pattern. It’s not a bad thing, though - it’s just a sign that the technology is maturing and that we’re going back to what works.

I also had the opportunity to work with some really talented people, and I learned a lot from them. I’m really happy to be working with them, and I’m excited to see what we can achieve together. I am trusted by the lead to migrate the code to use new state management solution, and I’m excited to see how it will improve the codebase. I’m also excited to see how the app will evolve over time, and I’m looking forward to being a part of that process.

Since we all start working remotely, I was able to work from home in Bima, which was a great experience. I was able to spend more time with my family and friends, and I was able to enjoy the city more. Each month, we have a team meeting in Bandung, where we all meet up and work together for a week. It’s a great way to bond with the team and to get to know each other better. I really enjoy these meetings, and I’m always looking forward to the next one.

In November, our new office was ready, and we moved in. It’s a really nice office, with a lot of space and a lot of natural light. It’s a great place to work, and I’m really happy to be working there. The office is located in near the city center, so it’s really easy to get to. It’s also really close to a lot of great restaurants and cafes, which is a big plus. I’m really happy to be working in such a nice office, and I’m looking forward to spending more time there. Here’s a picture of us working together in our new office:

Fun

Now the best part: the things I enjoyed watching, playing or listening the most in 2024!

TV and Movies

• Succession is a show that I’ve been recommended for a while, but its synopsis had never struck a chord with me. However, I was bored one day and decided to start watching it. And it’s amazing! The show doesn’t take itself seriously, so it’s as much of a comedy as it is a family drama. It follows the lives of a wealthy family that owns a big media conglomerate, and the patriarch’s health is deteriorating and his children start fighting to be his successors. They’re so out of touch with reality, though, that even mundane situations reach absurd conclusions. Available on HBO/Max.
• Bojack Horseman speaks to me on a really deep level, even more on my 2nd rewatch of the show. It starts deceptively simple, and you think it’s going to be a really funny, albeit kinda generic cartoon. And then it hits you. And hits again. It’s an incredibly emotional show that gives you tears of joy and sadness in equal amounts. It’s a must-watch for anyone that has ever gone through any mental health issues and/or would like to understand them better. Plus, it has one of the best autistic representations on TV! Available on Netflix.
• The Last of Us was an absolutely incredible experience - a gut punch every episode, but in a good way. I had played the game before, and while I knew the major plot points before they happened, I was absolutely floored when they happened on the show. Incredible writing, acting, and with just enough tweaks to make it feel like a real TV show and not just a game adaptation. The game's story was already really good, and I feel like it was greatly improved for TV. Doesn't mean the show's story is better than the game's, but it definitely is better for TV.
• Severance was a surprise hit for me. It’s a show about a company where its employees have their mind severed in half, with one “personality” that only exists in the workplace, while the regular personality doesn’t remember anything from work and only ever experiences the “good parts” of life. As you can imagine, it goes really wrong really fast. It masterfully keeps you hooked with an ever-increasing amount of mystery, but then the bad part comes: season 1 ends in a cliffhanger, and there’s still no word on when season 2 is coming. So I recommend waiting a bit before watching it. Available on Apple TV+.
• Ted Lasso was one of my favorite shows when I watched seasons 1 and 2 last year, and this year I rewatched it all in preparation for the final season 3. It is the most heartwarming show I’ve ever seen, and even the sadder parts hit you just hard enough to make the heartwarming moments even better. Season 3 was not as high quality as the first two, but it still provided me a lot of joy and the ending was really satisfying. Available on Apple TV+.

Games

• Hogwarts Legacy is an open-world action RPG set in the Harry Potter universe. As a Ravenclaw, I was really excited to explore the Hogwarts castle and the surrounding areas. The game is really well-made, and the graphics are stunning. The story is engaging, and I love the way the game makes you feel like you’re really in the Harry Potter universe.
• Red Dead Redemption 2 is a game that I had been meaning to play for a long time, but I never got around to it. I finally started playing it this year, and it’s an incredible game. The story is really engaging, and the world is so immersive. I love the characters, and I love the way the game makes you feel like you’re really in the Wild West. It’s a really long game, but I’m really enjoying it.
• Disco Elysium is one of the most unique games I've ever played. It has by far the best dialogue of any game I know, and there are so many branching paths that I think it can be replayed multiple times and still provide an unique experience each time. It is basically an investigation RPG, where you play as a cop with an alcohol-induced amnesia, trying to figure out who you are and who’s responsible for a murder. There’s a lot of dialogue and the majority of it is with other voices in your head (fragments of your psyche). It’s nuts. It takes place in a unique world with a ton of lore, it’s incredibly political and it hits really heavy at some points.

Music

• Last year my Project Manager introduce to me some his favorite music, and he suggest me to listen to the band Pierce the Veil. I listened to their album Collide with the Sky and I was immediately hooked. It’s a post-hardcore album that has a lot of pop-punk influences, and it’s just so good. I listened to it on repeat for weeks, and it’s still one of my favorite albums.
• Pop-punk is a genre that I’ve always liked, but I never really got into it. This year, I started listening again to some of my favorite pop-punk bands. I’ve been listening to a lot of Paramore, All Time Low, Mayday Parade, The Wonder Years, State Champs, Neck Deep, and many more. It’s been a great year for pop-punk, and I’m really happy to see it making a comeback. If you have Spotify, you can listen to it too:

2025 Expectations

Time for the predictions - hopefully I’ll get more right this time!

A significant personal goal is that I expect to have a Life Partner :) by the end of 2025. I’m not sure how it will happen, but I’m hopeful that I’ll find someone special to share my life with. I’m not in a rush, though - I want to take my time and find the right person.

I expect to write a blog this year, a renewed effort since I didn't write any last year. I'm keen to expand on the topics I post about to ensure consistent content. To improve my blog's usability, I also want to add proper support for categories and filtering, as well as search, recognizing that it's becoming difficult to find past articles for reference. Of course, some code refactoring is always welcome.

I have a couple of personal projects in mind: creating a Personal Finance web-app project using Spreadsheets as database and a Cerpen (short story) web-app project. I want to use these projects to learn more about web development and to have some fun while doing it. I also want to use these projects to learn more about the technologies I’m using, and to improve my skills.

I'm planning to travel more and hiking next year. Specifically, I'm considering a trip to the Yogya again, it's always a great place to visit, and I want to explore more of the city.

Wrapping Up

As I began writing, I wasn't sure how much I'd have to say about 2024, yet I found myself with plenty to share. It's a pleasant surprise, and I suppose that's the whole point of these retrospectives: to recall and reflect on the year's significant moments. I hope you found this reflection insightful, and I look forward to connecting with you again next year!