tl;dr—Found a new job, gained a lot of motivation and finally finished this website. Also pretty happy about how everything turned out. Able to go to Japan, feeling fit because of bouldering and can't wait to see what else is coming in 2024.
The last few month of 2023 were quite challenging but I was able to make the best out of it. I had to leave my job but and this was terrifying at first because it wasn't planned at all and I had to find an alternative. Luckily I made a few new friends during this time and one of them happened to work for a software company in Mainz. We talked a little about what I do and what they do—long story short, it was a match.
All new job ✨
So in January 2024 I started the new job and I was pretty excited. I would have to learn Java, which I have never written before and also I needed to improve my Angular skills. Turns out Java is not that different from other languages (who would have guessed 🤷🏻♂️) and after a 1 week long Angular workshop I was feeling very confident in creating Angular apps.
So far I feel really blessed in this company and I am really looking forward working there. This brings me to my next topic—motivation.
Sports, Japanese and my Website
The new job gave me a lot of motivation and I was trying to make good use out of it. Last year I went bouldering for the first time and I loved it, so what better to do with motivation than to invest it into sports. I aim to go at least 1 or 2 times a weak to the boulder gym now, this helps me get in shape and to relax. Another thing that improved for me is the way I learn Japanese. It was hard during the last half of 2023 and I had to stop going to the language school because it was too much for me to handle. But this year I finally felt good about studying again, so I increased my Japanese immersion and also got back to my Anki decks.
Because all of this was not enough I also continued work on this website. In discontinued work here around 2 years ago but I really wanted to get it done. Now, finally I can say I'm "done"™. Using 11ty and all the bits and pieces I have learned over the past months really made this process fun. Can't wait to bring updates and to start working on new private projects.
Japan calling
Now I feel good about the current situation and the best thing is that it is only 1 week until I step into a plane going to Japan. I am super excited to stay there for 2 weeks. I'm going to be in Tokyo for at least 1 week and the remaining time I will go to Kyoto, Osaka and maybe some more rural areas. I will definitely post a lot of blog post once I come back with all of my impressions.
So, see you after Japan 👋🏻