A year of changes
Looking back on 2024, a lot has happenedβboth personally and professionally. It was a year of change, learning, and progress, filled with challenges and small victories.
Lessons learned
Expect nothing, prepare for anything
This mantra echoed through my life throughout 2024. It first appeared in last year's summary and proved to be a guiding principle once again.
In April, I changed my workplace and embarked on a major life project: building a house. (Yes, meβthe guy who swore he'd never build a house himself. Life has a sense of humor, apparently. π·ββοΈ)
Personal growth stats
342 contributions to personal coding projects - rebuilding my static site generator, adding new features to my website, and starting a few small Kaplay.js-based projects - it's been a productive year!
As usual, my Stackoverflow profile lives on its own and still somehow received free 110 points - so I have 5980 reputation points in total at the moment of writing this article and I think that's the last year I'm tracking this as - unforunately - stackoverflow score became so irrelevant to anything in recent times.
Social media
In the second half of 2024, I joined BlueSky, which quickly became my main platform for communication.
Now I use it as a hub, reposting everything from there to other social networks.
And here's how my social media presence shaped up this year:
bluesky (@lukaszkups) - 105 followers
mastodon (@lukaszkups) - +18 new followers (77 in total)
xitter (@lukaszkups): +7 new followers (247 in total)
instagram (@lukasz_kups): +18 new followers (142 in total, but that account also lives its own life (no activity at all! π)
Entertainment
It was really entertaining year! (especially if you consider watching hundrets of hours of house-building youtube videos π )
Books:
Finished reading The Three Body Problem saga (which I've started in the previous year) - it's a phenomenal series with incredible world-building concepts π
I've discovered that I won't be receiving the last 9 issues of Transformers G1 comics π Time to hunt them down myself.
Read Firestarter novel by Stephen King - it had its up and downs (which caused why it took me almost whole year to finish it) but in overall it was good one.
Below Zero by Dan Smith - a bit lighter title (almost like teenage drama), kind of thiller about supernatural incident in Antarctica.
Movies:
Dune 2 - really great sequel of the great saga.
Joker: Folie Γ Deux - I'm relieved I watched this on VOD instead of in theaters. While the musical scenes were intriguing, the overall experience felt lackluster and uninspired.
Ron's Gone Wrong - an absolute gem of an animated movie! It's heartwarming, hilarious, and a joy for the whole family. We all loved it.
Bettlejuice, Bettlejuice - pretty mediocre sequel (but I'm also not THAT big fan of the first movie)
Vaiana/Moana 2 - a fantastic follow-up that, in many ways, surpasses the original. The story, music, and visuals all hit the mark.
The Mitchells vs. the Machines - a brilliantly creative and fun animation for all ages. It's packed with humor, heart, and stunning visuals π
The Wild Robot - very rarely animation makes me shear a tear during the watch, but doing it TWICE in one sitting has never happened before - such a lovely story with astonishing visuals and music! π My Favorite title from 2024! π
The Burial - great comedy with awesome Jamie Foxx role!
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris - A whimsical, almost fairy-tale-like story about a woman chasing her dreams. Sweet and uplifting π
De hel van '63 - I stumbled upon this movie by accident, and it turned out to be a gripping and suspenseful ride from start to finish. A pleasant surprise!
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare - imagine Inglourious Basterds but with bigger dose of comedy π
A Man Called Otto - a bittersweet comedy-drama that tugs at your heartstrings. Tom Hanks delivers a stellar performance, as always.
Stowaway - I do really like movies like that - a group of people, isolated in the place they cannot escape - this time in space.
Table 19 - a lighthearted comedy with a touch of drama. It's an enjoyable watch with quirky characters and heartfelt moments.
Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no Haka) - heartbreaking beyond words. My wife and I cried like children - it's a masterpiece, but I'd only recommend it if you're ready for an emotional rollercoaster.
No One Will Save You - still to this day, I don't understand how I could not know about this movie for soo long. It feels like a spiritual cousin to Signs movie, but it's totally worth to watch.
Deadpool & Wolverine - I don't understand the hype. Very, very mediocre marvel movie.
The Last Time We Were Children (L'ultima volta che siamo stati bambini) - superb movie, but last sequences will eat, chew and throw you away π
Sisu - a grotesque, over-the-top action film with Tarantino-esque violence. It's bizarrely entertaining and fun, even if I stumbled upon it by accident.
Alien: Romulus - one of the best audio experiences I've ever had in a movie. The sound design alone makes it worth seeing in a cinema.
The Fall Guy - a charming comedy with great chemistry between the leads. It's light, funny, and easy to enjoy.π
Godzilla Minus One - while the CGI wasn't groundbreaking, the story and execution were phenomenal. I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel!
Road House (2024) - a simple, straightforward action movie that delivers exactly what it promises. Sometimes, that's all you need.
Movie series:
Caddo Lake - great twisted story & everything else you could expect from M. Night Shyamalan-alike movies π
The Umbrella Academy - restarted watching it (as I've started many years ago and forgot the plot) and finished whole series, which was pretty great - superpowers, multivers, no filler episodes and awesome character of Number 5 played by Aidan Gallagher - I think he's my favorite young male actor next to TimothΓ©e Chalamet π
Arcane - while I've enjoyed first season, it's 2nd part and finale was a little piece of disappointment (I'm not a fan of the lore, just the story was a bit too "flat" for me)
Games:
During 2024 I didn't play really much, basically restarted by Horizon: Forbidden West campaign on PS4 (which I'm still playing at 2025) and a little bit of Final Fantasy XV again on XSX.
Small Wins
The house-building project is progressing smoothly, with no major setbacks or unexpected costs so far. Fingers crossed it stays that way!
Small failures
Similar to last year I think⦠nothing? Did my best in 2024, many stuff happened, but nothing that bad that I would call a failure.
Plans for the 2025
The house-building project will be my main focus this year. External contractors will wrap up in the next few months, leaving the finishing touches (which are still like 30% of what needs to be done to even move there in the first place!) to me and my wife. Wish us luck! ππ π€
I also have a new side project brewing. It's unrelated to my recent work, like gamedev, but taps into something I've enjoyed in the past π Stay tuned!
Summary of the summary
2024 was a year of growth, change, and progress. Here's to an even better 2025. Wishing you all an amazing year ahead! π
Best,
-- Ε.
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