Results of 2024

This year had a lot of events around. It's my first year in Finland after I found a job here and I learned a lot about the country that I've wanted to relocate to for so long time. I've participated in so many different events and met so many people. But let me share all my achievements of this year in a more organized and structured way.

Events #

  • I was a witness of Lux Helsinki 2024. Many lights in the darkness of Helsinki in January were good for the mental health of the recently migrated person.
  • As a tradition, I participated in FOSDEM. This year was unusual because I met my old friends and co-host of the Frontend Youth podcast. In general, I saw a lot of popular folks from the front-end community in the JS dev room. I even talked with the developer of the Mastodon Android application and realized about it only recently. Also I haven't seen so many tractors in my life before.
  • As part of Mapbox Global Volunteering Month, I helped Hope Ry with organizing in warehouse of clothing for families in need.
  • I've visited eight (!) Helsinki JS meetups. I wrote a separate post about one of them. The meetup in June was special because there were TC39 members and they talked about the future of JavaScript. Maybe in the next year, I will give a talk there finally.
  • I participated in the XR Hack in Stockholm. I've met a lot of folks from the XR community and developed a game in Unity with the team.
  • For the third time, I participated in the Junction as well. This time we were closer to the victory than ever before.

Food #

  • I was slightly disappointed a bit by the variety of food and restaurants in Helsinki after Tallinn, but I am still in the process of exploring.
  • Visited Nokka restaurant during the team dinner and I totally recommend it. But it's quite expensive and not for everyday dining.
  • I was a witness to the opening and closing of the Russian sushi restaurant in my neighborhood. Well, tax rates and the density of the population here are not good friends of small businesses.
  • Espresso House was opened very close to my home and I visited it a lot. I like the quality of coffee and even bought beans for home.

Exhibitions #

  • I visited Magritte Musem during my travel to FOSDEM. Very interesting and abstract art.
  • I visited Amos Rex and saw the exhibition of Ryojiji Ikeda. To be honest it was the second visit to the same exhibition. The first time I was there with my friends and the second already with the museum card and my wife.
  • I went to Heureka after our company Christmas party there in 2023 with my wife. Well, I definitely can tell, that AHHAA in Tartu is a little bit more interesting.
  • Visited Parfenov's evening in Tallinn and bought a book with his autograph. It was a very interesting and funny event with a lof of historical facts about Russia.
  • In May we had a great exhibition of nature and everyone could be a part of it. It was fantastic northern lights and the picture of them becomes the banner photo of my Mastodon profile.

Gadgets #

  • I've stopped using smartwatches and watches in general. So, my Garmin Venu 3 is collecting dust on the shelf.
  • I bought Boox Go 10.3 and actively used it as a student and meaningful reader.
  • Unsuccessfully tried to install PostmarketOS on my old Asus Zenfone 5 and still use Samsung Galaxy Fold 4 as my daily driver.
  • I bought a mount for a laptop and monitor to save space on the table.
  • I bought Marshall Monitor III ANC and it was the best purchase of the year. Endless battery life and great sound.
  • For the first time in my life (even after 4 years in Saint Petersburg and 3 years in Tallinn) I bought a bright light lamp to survive the Finnish winter.
  • And the last, but not least, I bought Meta Quest 3 and started my journey in VR.

Study #

Career #

  • I had my first year at Mapbox.
  • For the first time, I was a mentor and helped to find a job for a developer and received written recommendation for that. That was a great and insightful experience and I'm glad that I could help.

Social networks #

Others #

  • Finally, I implemented a joke game about the Ruble exchange rate.
  • Started and closed one podcast.
  • Used public library of Helsinki. It's a very comfortable service and I regret that haven't used the public library in Estonia to compare.
  • I participated in "Noon against Putin" and voted against the Russian bloody dictator.
  • I passed 500 days streack on Duolingo.
  • This year I began to play foosball regularly with my friends once per month.
  • Traveled a lot around Finland and not only: Barcelona, Brussels, Hurghada and much more. Thanks to my wife for that!

A lot happened in my life alongside what I've already described. But it's time to run away from a keyboard, shred salads (old Russian tradition, you know) and enjoy the New Year's Eve. I wish you all the best in the upcoming year and I hope that it will bring us peace!

Happy 2025! 🎄

#personal, #review