I didn't set any resolutions for 2022, because I agree and have experienced what many studies have found about them and that is that they simply don't work. But I still thought about and listed some things I want to accomplish and do more consistently this year.

I set myself the target of reading 50 books this year. So far I'm on track. I'm currently going through O'Reilly's Programming Rust, The Innovators by Walter Isaacson, and Neal Stephenson's REAMDE: A Novel. These are some hefty books, but hoping on finishing one of them before the end of the month.

I've been updating and tweaking my portfolio, making sure that links still work, thinking of other projects to add, and making sure the content communicates the right message. I also got some good advice on my Resume, which kick-started me into updating my professional materials. Even though I'm super happy with the current job I have, I still want to make a living as a Software Engineer.

Speaking of projects, I made the card game Acey Ducey with TypeScript. I was taking a look at the open source Basic Computer Games project started by Jeff Atwood and decided to take a shot at the first game. The UI in the game is very primitive, but I'm impressed that I actually got it working and that I covered some edge cases. Don't know how much that had to do with building it with TypeScript, but it definitely saved me from making something undefined at runtime.

Getting better at TypeScript is also something I want to focus on this year. I 'unpaused' my subscription with Execute Program and I've been going through the advanced TypeScript courses. I'm telling you, if you have the dough, I highly recommend paying the yearly or monthly subscription. The combination of reading material, hands on exercises to immediately recall, followed by 'spaced repetition' reminders is a game changer. All learning platforms should follow something like this.

I bought a stand-up desk. I've never had any back problems, but I also want to avoid having them if I can. I've been working from home for the past year definitely feeling a bit sluggish. Being able to move about freely has made a huge difference in how a feel through the day. This helps me complete my steps and my activity rings.

Finally, I'm slowly getting back to being a runner. I was doing 5k's about 2 to 3 times a week before the pandemic. Even did some races and was also training up to doing 10k's. But I fell off the wagon a bit due to the whole weirdness of the lockdowns and some minor health issues and concerns.

Feb 06 2022 by Jay Cruz

learning