My 2014 Retrospective

I wrote my retro for 2013 really, really late so I’m now forcing myself to write a retrospective for 2014 before I forget :D

Code

• Hackathons I’ve been lucky enough to be able to participate in at least 3 internal hackathons in the office (freelancer.com Manila) and 3 others outside of work (WebGeek DevCup, TadHack and KabantayNgBayan Hackathon 2014).
  

Had a blast from Freelancer Hackathon VI

Team PySomething at WebGeek Devcup (photo creds to WebGeek PH)

We won second place for KabantayNgBayan hackathon. It’s definitely one of the highlights of my 2014. Had a lot of fun hacking with my awesome team mates, Ray Diño and Matt Lebrun. It’s our first time to have a picture taken holding a big-ass prize cheque.

Team SillyWalk at KabantayNgBayan Hackathon (photo creds to Open Data PH)

• TipTheGeeks at Mozilla Maker Fest Our app is still a bit rudimentary but we felt honored to be invited to showcase it at Mozilla Maker Fest in Glorietta5 Atrium. GlobeLabs was kind enough to support us and even blogged about it here
• Sideline Gig I also achieved my goal of finding a sideline Python/Django gig this year. So far I’ve been enjoying it and getting good feedback from employers. Yey!

Passion

Sadly, I had to lie-low a bit from some of my passions and duties around the first half of this year since I noticed myself getting burned out. Luckily though, I got back on my feet with the help of Matt and some new found friends. Shoutout to the following people:

• my Sydney guide and gala buddy Jendar
• my WebGeek DevCup team mates Clau and Trina A.K.A. PySomething
• board game buddies Ray and Marian
• Paula and Python girls

Freedom

Had my hair chopped into a pixie. Probably not the nicest thing I could do with my hair but it just felt very liberating to not have to wait for it to dry or put too much effort in styling/combing it every single day hehe.

Making a Difference

Haven’t done any huge “giving back” stuff this year aside from being part of the organizing team for PyConPH 2014. I resigned from my treasurer role in Python.PH shortly after PyCon since I really needed to rest and recover from burnout. I still tried to help out in some minor tasks though.

With some PyConPH Volunteers and Speakers

Random Stuff

• Sydney trip Our company is so awesome for sending me and pretty much all new engineering hires to Sydney. I enjoyed my stay there for the whole month of March. It’s my first out-of-the-country trip and my first time to travel to a first world country. I did my usual work there but it wasn’t stressful so I really felt like I was on vacation. SyPy Meetup SyDjango Meetup
• Board Games First time to try board games this year and I absolutely enjoyed it! So far, it’s the only thing that can “consume” my mind so that I can stop thinking about work and other serious stuff
• First Hike went on a hiking trip to Mt. Batulao with Matt, his siblings and cousins. It was a fulfilling adventure but I couldn’t move my legs the next day lol At the top of Mt. Batulao

So that’s it. For me, 2014 is a year of hackathons, burnout, idealism taking a backseat, travel opportunity, new adventures and hobbies, nailing my first sideline gig and finding new friends. Wasn’t easy but it was definitely a blast and made me a few steps closer to my dreams! :)

Welcome 2015! :)