Year summaries¶
Summaries of my years, written for each at their end.
They are structured thematically, and not at all chronologically.
2025¶
Grandma¶
Grandma sadly passed away this year. She was so lovable. I wish I called her more. Much more. Regrets aside, Grandma is now hanging out and no doubt having a fabulous time with her previously departed friends and family. In 40-70 years I'll join them too. It will be wonderful.
Travel¶
Veera and I visited many countries. It was incredible, but tiring. Our week-long trip to the Gobi desert in Mongolia stands out as a unique experience. Driving through the wilderness, we often saw neither roads nor any other infrastructure. Just miles of shrubs in all directions, beyond the horizon. A few of our trips were physically taxing, none more so than hiking up Mount Kinabalu. The nausea from altitude sickness was terrible. Looking back, I'm glad we eventually climbed to the top, but I don't think we'll be summiting any tall mountains again for a little while. Yet I loved that trip, because I spent so much quality time with my best friends and with Veera. The constant in our trips that made them wonderful was to go with our friends. We are so lucky to have so many good friends.
Cooking¶
Veera and I became a skilled team in cooking and baking. We cooked a broad variety of dishes, few of which belong to a single cuisine. In baking however we have a clear preference: We primarily bake chocolate cakes. We made a Christmas dinner a few days ago which aptly demonstrated the extent of our powers. We created a table of eight festive dishes and baked a unanimously lauded chocolate cake with chocolate ganache, using ingredients from our nearby grocery stores, all in under three hours.
Work¶
My old therapist once said to me that not all growth is visible (picture a tree deepening its roots). This year, much of my growth was not visible. Work was broadly fine, but I felt that I often lacked energy. No particular achievement stands out. When our team was in the spotlight though, I performed well. In our annual performance reviews, my team had only kind words for me, which speaks to their generosity, and our team spirit.
Project Euler¶
I returned to solving Project Euler puzzles towards the end of the year. It has been a source of much-needed energy to excel at work when it counted. And I finally wrote a Sudoku solver.
Bxg¶
The gym I've trained at for the past 5 years, Bxg, has closed down after running for 23 years. It was a wonderful place and we'll all miss it. The coaches, Joe and Joi, are retiring as coaches. A moving barbecue was held and attended by many people who called Bxg home over the years. Some have trained there for decades. The good news is that my senior at the gym and the top fighter in Singapore in his weight class, Dejun, is opening a successor gym just up the road. It will also be called Bxg, with the blessing of Joe and Joi.
Created on 2025-12-27
Updated annually