Annual 40 Questions

The story of the cover: Sunrise at the beach near Clovelly, during an early-morning session from Quiet Circles Private 5am Wellness Escape.

What did you do this year that you’d never done before?

Programming with AI
Living in Sydney
Working in a full English environment
Using macOS instead of Windows
Trying to build my own product

Did you keep your new year’s resolutions?

At the end of last year, I set my personal OKRs:

Get to know 10 girls who can talk with me for at least one hour (business excluded)
Read 5000 pages of books
Finish Professional Year and find one IT job
Full 79 PTE & CCL
Control weight to 85 kg

Here is the current state:

I got to know only 1 girl this year, so not achieved.
I finished 50% of two books, which is less than 5000 pages in total, so not achieved.
I landed a job, but my CCL is still ongoing, so not achieved.
I haven’t taken the PTE test, nor the CCL, so not achieved.
I gained weight from 90 kg to 102 kg, so not achieved.

In summary, I did not keep my new year’s resolutions.

Did anyone close to you give birth?

There are three, but not very close.

Amy, a classmate from QUT
Rong Yan, an HR from my former company
Yanqi Feng, a classmate from primary school through high school

Did anyone close to you die?

No, fortunately, no one close to me died.

What cities/states/countries did you visit?

Sydney, NSW, Australia: because of my work, I moved to Sydney.
Brisbane, QLD, Australia: I will revisit there during my Christmas holiday.
Gold Coast, QLD, Australia: went there with my friends on a two-day trip.

What would you like to have next year that you lacked this year?

I am not satisfied with my current state, and I do believe there are many things I lacked. If I have to choose one, it would be strong communication skills.

It presents in multiple factors:

Good English: especially speaking and listening skills
Topic concentration: get to the point quickly, or ask proper questions to help me do so
Concise expression: express myself directly and briefly, giving the audience the essential information
Be brave to express: from group meetings to romantic crushes, express my ideas calmly

What date(s) from this year will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

July 3: I received my job offer.
April 14: Received first interview invitation from Sony PlayStation.
January 22: two-day Gold Coast trip, staying in The Star Hotel.
February 26: I tried the Ramen Champion fast-eating challenge, my first fast-eating challenge.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?

After 3 months, 270 job applications, and 11 interviews from 6 employers, I finally landed my current job, which is absolutely my biggest achievement this year.

What was your biggest failure?

From the OKR above, it wasn’t a substantial year. I believe my biggest failure was failing to lose weight.

Losing weight from 90 kg to 85 kg in a year is definitely feasible, even easily achievable. Considering my metabolism will slow as I approach 30, I need to hurry.

What other hardships did you face?

The immigration policy for IT majors is opaque and harsh; it’s extremely competitive nowadays. I know I have a lot to do, but I lack energy and motivation. I can’t do the things I should do after work.

Did you suffer illness or injury?

Luckily, this was a healthy year. No significant illnesses or injuries occurred.

What was the best thing you bought?

If I have to choose one: MacBook Pro 16 (2024)

This is my first Mac; it helped me get familiar with macOS and its ecosystem. I discovered some fantastic software and rebuilt my workflow in a more POSIX way, which truly helped me focus on important work.

Whose behavior merited celebration?

Minh, my team manager. I rarely used AI programming tools before I joined the company, and I was shocked by the efficiency improvements from AI. You can literally build a production-ready feature-flag system from scratch in three months, with excellent test coverage and engineering standards. Of course, this is largely due to his mastery of software engineering, but he showed me what the future looks like.

Whose behavior made you appalled?

To be honest, this year was quite peaceful; nothing really appalled me. If I have to choose one: Ken went back to Japan.

Ken is my first friend in Australia; because of our shared passion for Japanese ACG culture, we became close and finished almost all group assignments together during the two-year IT master’s program. I knew he would return to Japan eventually, but it happened sooner than I expected. Anyway, best wishes to him.

Where did most of your money go?

Rent (fixed and necessary costs)
Tuition fee for Professional Year (fixed and necessary costs)
Food (most of it from eating out; I rarely cook myself, avg. $580 per month)

What did you get really, really, really excited about?

There are two things I was really excited about.

At one point this year, I reflected on my personal development and was surprised by how much I’ve improved and how much effort I put in. I used to feel like a loser because of failing the GaoKao (383/750), failing CET4 (250+/710), and many others. Now I work as a software engineer in a full-English environment, have received positive feedback from my manager, scored 83/90 on the PTE, and almost achieved full HDs (GPA 6.75/7) in my studies. I feel more optimistic about myself now.
The people I met in Australia are all friendly and smart. It’s like leveling up: I passed challenges one by one and met excellent people I can learn from, gradually building a growth mindset (you either get success or learning chances from failure).

What song will always remind you of this year?

Heart of Glass from Alohaii & Rachie

Compared to this time last year, are you: happier or sadder? Richer or poorer? Healthier or unhealthier?

I feel calmer compared to last year, neither happier nor sadder. At this time last year, I was about to graduate, and I miss that moment. I am slightly richer because I have a job and income now. I feel unhealthier compared to last year because of less regular exercise this year and my rising weight.

What do you wish you’d done more of?

More exercise
More English learning
More book reading
More sleep / a regular schedule

What do you wish you’d done less of?

Eating out less, especially late at night
Fewer distractions and self-interruptions

How are you spending the holidays?

I’m staying alone at home and randomly browsing content on the internet.

Did you fall in love this year?

As usual, no.

Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

I usually don’t hate anyone for long. I typically cut all connection with someone I dislike and eventually forget about them.

What was your favorite show?

It’s an anime, Megalo Box Nomad, which I watched around April this year.

A man who used to be a boxing champion overcomes challenges and stands on the stage again; this resonated with me because I was stuck in my job search at the time.

What was the best book you read?

I haven’t finished it yet: The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters.

I feel I struggle with self-control all the time, which is why I started the book. It describes common scenarios in which you “cheat” yourself into irrational decisions (e.g., “I’ll start tomorrow, so let’s have fun today”), so I stopped simply complaining about myself and instead tried to analyze the reasons behind that behavior. It has not become my second nature yet, but it’s a good start.

What was your greatest musical discovery of the year?

I don’t play music myself, but I confirmed J-pop is my style, according to my song list.

What was your favorite film?

I didn’t watch any new movie this year, and my favorite film is still Interstellar. I am fascinated by the mysterious black hole.

What was your favorite meal?

The meal at Roast Republic. I visited the place twice; the food quality is really amazing, with mega portions 😋.

What did you want and get?

A job, which is the most important thing for a new graduate.
A MacBook; I wanted a Mac since 2018.
A living place with my own bathroom.

What did you want and not get?

Superior English: PTE + CCL
A new iPhone (iPhone 17, which would be the gift for superior English)

What did you do on your birthday?

Like a normal day, I worried about my job search at the time. I hung out near my place, thinking about what I would do if I couldn’t land a job.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

I landed a job successfully and also joined a non-bureaucratic, autonomous team that is a pleasure to work with. I felt that I was really lucky.

How would you describe your personal fashion this year?

It’s definitely a field I need to improve next year. To prepare for my first day, I bought some new clothes, which were not for personal fashion. To quantify personal fashion next year, it should be measured by four factors: hairstyle, facial care, wearing style, and body build.

What kept you sane?

I am not always sane. Negative Visualization is something I practice all the time, learned from Stoicism. It helps me accept whatever might happen, with mental preparation in advance, improving my resilience.