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2023 Retrospective

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2023 Retrospective

2023 passed by quickly.

Why does time go by so fast? Ah, I don't want to get old...!

Life

Travel Blog

I changed the format of my travel blog from text and photos to YouTube videos.

At first, I thought it would create too much work, but compared to writing just photos & text, it's dozens of times more addictive. First, my video editing speed and skills improved as I went along. Every time I learn and use new features in Final Cut, I feel like I'm growing. Second, I get a sense of accomplishment from sharing events with friends and receiving their reactions. Finally, I gained a great hobby of video filming. I subscribed to a service called Artlist for music to use in videos, and because I don't want to waste the subscription, I'm always thinking about video content to make at least one video per month.

Family Trip

This year's big event, the family trip, ended safely.

Both sets of parents and my sister-in-law, a total of 5 people, came to Canada for a 9-night trip.

At that time, I used AutoGPT to create a travel plan pamphlet, rented a van for 7 people to go to Tobermory together, and also did Toronto city tours and Niagara Falls trips.

As a result, we completed the trip safely without anyone getting hurt. I was particularly worried about my parents' stamina and considered whether to reduce the travel plans, but I was amazed to see them asking where to go during rest times. Actually, it was my stamina that was lacking... lol

June 2023 - Travel Blog

Work

From the third quarter, I pivoted to AI-related projects and learned and experienced many new things.

However, it reminds me of the era when JavaScript had no standards. It works beautifully but there are no proper standards or structures established yet, so it feels messy. It was a time when I had to think a lot to establish criteria.

Hackathon

I participated in a hackathon for the first time.

There are so many events in Canada. There are many tech-related events in Toronto, and most of them are free or very cheap.

I participated in a generative AI hackathon called "Generative AI Hackathon" and won first place.

It was a 4-hour event where I created a service that summarizes various news with AI, extracts keywords, and displays trends on a chart. I made it with Python, Streamlit, NewsAPI, and OpenAI API.

The first place prize was $1000 CAD and a MacBook Pro M2. Honestly, I was happy that they gave me something I could actually use instead of random promotional items.

GenAI-Hackathon-Toronto - Github

LangChain

This year, I learned and studied LangChain the most.

I studied it from the perspective of how to apply it to work and wrote several blog posts.

I liked LangChain because it abstracted the complexity well. However, as I used it more, I encountered the problem that there were too many abstractions. Especially when debugging, it was hard to know where the problem occurred.

But overall, it's a good framework. I learned a lot from the LangChain design patterns.

OpenAI DevDay

OpenAI DevDay was held. I attended the live stream at a local event in Toronto.

At that time, the GPT-4 Turbo model, Assistants API, and GPTs were announced.

Honestly, I was a bit disappointed because I thought there would be GPT-5 or multimodal features, but what was released was quite good.

Especially GPTs are easy to use and you can create your own GPT without coding, which is good for non-developers.

Study

English

I've been studying English consistently this year too.

Compared to last year, I think my conversation skills and listening comprehension have improved significantly.

I especially gained confidence through conversations with international colleagues.

I'm planning to take the IELTS test next year to measure my English level objectively.

Books

I read fewer books this year compared to last year.

I read mostly technical books and fewer non-technical books.

I want to read more non-technical books next year.

Health

Caffeine Detox

I tried a caffeine detox challenge.

I used to drink 3-4 cups of coffee a day, but I completely quit caffeine for a month.

The first week was really hard. I had severe headaches and felt sleepy all day.

But after that, my sleep quality improved and I felt like my anxiety decreased.

I'm currently drinking coffee again, but I've reduced it to 1-2 cups a day.

30-Day Caffeine Detox Challenge Experience

Whoop

I started using a Whoop band.

It measures heart rate variability, sleep quality, recovery, etc., and provides various health data.

It was interesting to track my health data objectively.

Especially the correlation between alcohol and sleep quality was clearly visible, which helped me reduce drinking.

3-Month Whoop Experience Review

Travel

Mexico

I went to Mexico for the first time.

I went to Cancun and it was really beautiful. The sea was so clear that you could see the bottom.

I did various activities like snorkeling, cenote diving, and Mayan ruins tours.

It was my first time experiencing a completely different culture, and it was very impressive.

Vancouver

I visited Vancouver for the first time since moving to Canada.

It was different from Toronto, feeling more like a resort city.

The mountains and the sea together were beautiful, and the food was delicious.

I want to visit again next time.

2024 Goals

Work

  • Learn and apply more AI/ML technologies
  • Contribute to open source projects
  • Write more technical blog posts

Study

  • Take IELTS and achieve target score
  • Read more non-technical books
  • Learn a new programming language

Health

  • Exercise regularly
  • Maintain good sleep habits
  • Continue healthy eating

Travel

  • Plan and execute another family trip
  • Visit new countries/cities
  • Document travels through videos

Conclusion

2023 was a year of many challenges and growth.

I learned many new technologies, especially AI-related ones, and gained various experiences.

I want to continue growing steadily in 2024 as well.