Manjusaka

2018, Me, 2019, the Future#

I thought I wouldn't have the opportunity to write this year-end summary and New Year's outlook before the new year. However, my current direction has been determined, so I'm still going to write an article to commemorate 2018 and publish it at the end of the lunar year of the Dog.

2018, Me#

2018 was a very special year for me, my zodiac year, 24 years old, the second time consciously experiencing the lunar year of the Dog. But maybe it's because I didn't wear red underwear all year. So my life has been full of ups and downs, stumbling along.

I originally thought I had a lot to say, but when it came time to write, I didn't know where to start. So I'll just jot down some random thoughts.

Work#

I've been working steadily throughout the year. Last year, or rather, the year before last, I spent the whole year developing basic components and snapshot-like basic services. This year, due to my partner's business trip and team transfer, I had some exposure to the business side. Although there were some unexpected incidents during this period, it still turned out pretty well. I also made a lot of friends.

But the biggest gain was the change in my self-awareness. I used to think that I could handle different scenarios of business and basic services properly. I prematurely positioned myself as a versatile role, but from what I can see now, that understanding was wrong. I'm not particularly interested in the business side, so it's probably better for me to focus on learning and doing development work for basic services.

This change in understanding has directly led to changes in my future plans and direction.

In my spare time, I chose to work on some personal projects to practice my skills. Through this process of starting from scratch, I further confirmed my thoughts.

But the most profound lesson I learned this year is "Do something, do something that produces results."

However, this change in understanding and some health issues led me to choose to quit my job and rest at home, which also resulted in my savings dropping to zero, something I didn't anticipate at the beginning of the year.

Relationships#

In November, before Singles' Day, I got into a relationship. I met a very outstanding girl on Zhihu, from Shandong, a piano major at the China Conservatory of Music.

She is a very outstanding girl, much better than me in many ways. At least I'm still thinking about one question: "How did she fall for me back then?"

At first, I was a little worried. In a sense, we are two people from different worlds. I wondered if it would be good for us to be together, if we would lack topics to talk about. But from what I can see now, we are both adapting to each other. I tell her interesting things about the internet industry, and she tells me interesting things about the art world. We watch dramas/musicals together, analyze and criticize them together. We cook together, buy sugar-coated haws together. It seems that our life together is very comfortable and happy.

By the way, some friends may be worried if she needs me to take care of her or something like that. Honestly, she is a very independent girl and she takes care of me very well. In the two months after I left my job, I got sick several times (some of them were quite serious), and she took care of me every time. So please rest assured.

As for photos, she said if you dare to post them, I'll kill you. Considering the harmonious life between boyfriend and girlfriend, I won't post them separately!

Technology#

At the beginning of 2018, I set a few goals for myself:

• Read "Unix Network Programming Volume 1"

• Study "Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective" along with 15-213

• Look into the CPython source code... maybe...

So far, the progress has been pretty good:

• I read "Unix Network Programming"

• I didn't study "Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective", but I did study "Advanced Unix Programming"

• I looked into part of the CPython source code and submitted two code patches and one documentation patch to CPython as assignments

I also had some strange achievements:

• As a major participant in PyCon China 2018, I organized the Beijing and Chengdu events

• I gave a talk on black asyncio at the Chengdu event as a speaker

I also read some strange source code, like Redis/Nginx, and wrote some Golang/Java services.

Overall, I achieved and even exceeded my expectations, but there are also obvious shortcomings. I am limited to certain branches and lack a methodology and systematic design knowledge. This may be why an HR person told me that my perspective may still be relatively narrow.

2019, the Future#

After leaving my previous company in November 2018 due to personal planning, and taking two months off, I have now determined my future direction. I will be joining the Huskar team in the Basic Framework Department at Ele.me, under the guidance of Zhang Jiangge (Squirrel Oreo/tongseek), to work on the development of a service registration and governance platform. I won't disclose the overall salary and level here due to privacy reasons, but I can say it's better than what I expected. So when I received the news last night, I clearly told the HR person that I accepted the offer.

So for the next few years, my development direction should be focused on middleware and distributed services, while also exploring different things in my spare time.

As for 2019, my first goal is to try to go home more often and spend time with my parents. Then, I want to continue building a good relationship with my girlfriend, travel to different places, try different delicious foods, and watch different musicals.

In terms of career and technology, I see this offer as a special one (because it's a big jump and I only have two years of experience without a computer science background), but because the three interviewers gave me high evaluations, the final result was a pleasant surprise. So my first priority is to establish myself at Ele.me and achieve good performance, for myself and for the three interviewers who won't regret their evaluations.

In terms of the community, I will continue to submit patches to CPython and strive to become a core developer someday. I will also participate in the organization of PyCon China 2019 and continue to learn things beyond technology.

As for the rest, I will continue to brush up on my computer fundamentals, strengthen my weak points exposed in the interviews, and learn new things step by step.

Conclusion#

After the third interview at Ele.me the day before yesterday, I told my mentor, "Thank you for constantly guiding me in learning." My mentor said, "Thank yourself, you idiot." Actually, regardless of the results of the interviews in the month before the new year, I am probably happiest that I finally have the qualifications to consider myself a competent developer. I may not be outstanding, but I can pass. This is also a recognition from the market.

I asked my mentor, "Did I embarrass you as your apprentice?" My mentor said, "Embarrass? What are you talking about? You're amazing." So the next goal is probably to work hard to become a good developer with qualifications.

This year, I stumbled through, cried many times, and felt uncomfortable many times, but in the end, it had a happy ending and can be considered lucky. During this time, I received care from many people: my parents, my girlfriend, my mentor, my leader, my colleagues, and my close friends. At least when I wanted to cry, there was someone there with me. They constantly support me to explore a bigger world.

No matter how 2019 turns out, whether it will be as difficult as 2018, I still need to make every day more exciting and meaningful, for myself and for all the people who have taken care of and helped me. I don't want to disappoint them.

As the saying goes, "Seize the day, enjoy the wine while you're young."