So it’s December 31st. The last day of 2025, which means this is the last blog post of the year. I figured I would take the time to write a little retrospective on the year. I don’t usually mark my years by the calendar (my birthday in July is usually when I set goals), but I’ll throw my hat in the ring for this.

First of all, congratulations to me for getting back on this blogging thing and actually sticking with it. If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you might remember that I was a serial blogger back in the late 2010s, writing about Node and Bash internals, mostly. A few of my blog posts made it through the rounds on HN and Twitter. Most of those were written when I had more free time in college. I struggled to keep up with blogging through the first few years of my career, as evidenced by my sparse publishing from 2020 to 2024. I started up at it again in September and have been more consistent since then. I think the thing that changed was no longer writing with the intent of being read. The other thing that has helped is the experience I’ve gained over the past few years. It’s given me more confidence and insight into what I want to write about. Another thing I’ve started to do is see my writing as a personal archive for future me, as opposed to content for other people. Assuming I stay consistent, I hope to scroll through the pages of this little space on the Internet and get deeper insight into the things I spent my time working on.

Speaking of experience, this year was my first full year as a principal software engineer at Microsoft. I don’t ascribe much value to titles, but I’ll be honest and share that I worked hard for it and was excited to get it. Do things feel materially different? Yes and no. The demands do feel intense, and because the principal band spans developers with various years of experience, you end up being in the same title bucket as devs with 15 years of experience compared to my paltry 7 years. That being said, it has helped me level up my skills and identify what unique skills I bring to the table as an engineer. I proud of my growth and achievements over the past year. Software engineering is truly a craft I’ve dedicated my life to and I feel lucky and grateful that I get paid (!!) to get better at it.

And then there’s the whole AI thing. It’s fresh on my mind because I’m currently in the middle of a flurry of productivity on side projects spurred with the aid of Claude and Warp and Copilot. I’ve realized a couple of things in the process. The first is a reaction to the whole “Don’t you like coding?” thing. I’ve always said this in the past, but I think what I really like is the act of creating software, and I enjoy whatever path it takes to get there. In the same way I enjoy learning a new programming language or figuring out a framework or understanding a new database, I enjoy figuring out how to get this new suite of tools to do my bidding (within their non-deterministic constraints). The second is that software is truly about the iterative process of creation: molding and mending an idea as it grows and fuses.

OK, enough with the work stuff. 2025 was the first year in a while that I haven’t done a race of some sort, after doing a half-marathon in Malibu in the fall of 2024. I didn’t do much running at all this year. This is kind of a big deal considering running was a constant component of my fitness regimen from 2021 to 2024. I’m not big on setting resolutions these days, so I’m not going to make any promises here. In other fitness news, I entered 2025 on a slow cut that took me to the middle of the year. By June, I was super happy with the leanness (20% body fat!) I had acquired and was chasing an aggressive 18%. Bad news: things went south in August and I slacked on my nutrition, going back up to about 23%. At some point this year, I hope to bring it down to 20% (or maybe that coveted 18%), but I’m not planning on refraining from the sweet and savory things in life. You’ve gotta live a little.

In more positive personal news, I’ve enjoyed discovering “third spaces” for myself this year. The gym I go to regularly has been a great source of community and connection. I also finally have a local bar that I frequent on Saturdays where the bartender knows me well enough to have my drink made between the time I walk in the door and get to my seat. I’ve also done a much better job of connecting with the circle of friends around me. These partitions have been good for my sanity.

Like I said, I’m not super into the resolutions thing. I try to set goals as needed throughout the year. That being said, I’m excited for what 2026 holds. In July, I will turn 30 and say goodbye to my 20s: a decade that took me from college to the start of my career and included immense developments in my mind, body, and spirit. As I reflect on this, I am mostly sentimental about the accomplishments and challenges of the past decade. But I also feel excitement and promise with the new one. I’ve already put some loaves in the oven and I am excited to see how they bake over the next year.

Here’s to another spin around the sun!