End Of Year Post 2024

 Let's take a look at what happened in 2024 and how the future looks from today's perspective:

• In December last year, I started learning Indonesian. My progress was relatively slow and I had to learn a lot about language learning to begin with. It's like other things such as dieting or muscle building: First, you have to learn how things actually work before you can start an effective treatment. I also had to unlearn some things that many of us pick up as bad habits or attitudes, like thinking that learning a language is about "talent". So far, I am starting to improve. I have about 1200 word in my Anki deck, and am starting to understand children's cartoons kind of okay. I will sink more hours into listening comprehension and reading before I try to speak.
• Stocks: Broadcom currently sits at 179 dollars after a stock split this year. It is up almost 9 times since I bought it in March 2020, and that's without considering dividends. What a powerful investment. My other investment, Tesla, is also up big.As I write this, it is about to cross the 400 dollar price barrier, which is at or near an all-time high. The weird thing is that this strong move up in the last weeks was mainly due to Donald Trump winning the election. There is no material news regarding earnings per share that would justify the stock price. This leads to a dilemma where I could hold the stock and hope it stays up, or I sell because the fundamentals don't support the share price. At the same time, Tesla announced they believe that the newly unveiled robotaxis will make it to market before 2027, but that's not something they have been very good at predicting in the past. My other investments don't make up a big percentage compared to the previous two
• I'm still at my current workplace and have been there for almost 10 years now. But I feel like my time there is coming to an end. While I can still enjoy home office (50% of all work hours), I feel like it's not a comfortable place to be any more. I could still tolerate it, but maybe I should not overstay my welcome and move on. Perhaps this will happen in 2025 and I hope I don't screw up at my new workplace if I find one.
• I'm in a struggle with weight loss. It used to be easier. I just can't keep doing the right things and fall back into old patterns.

What else has happened this year? Not much, as per usual. There was no huge vacation or anything, but we have been saving money for an extended trip to Singapore early next year.

My expectation for next year:

Finally, there will be a vacation in Asia again. I hope to relax a little and regain my sanity. I also think that there is a chance that I get a new job. After 10 years in the same job, it would seem reasonable to try something new. While I will lose some benefits like home office and not having to do much most of the time, I think it would probably help to do something different, hopefully also something that motivates me and something that is closer to where I live. I am only looking for a part time job anyway.

Financially, I don't expect much from next year. I think if we stay where we are and keep our expenses covered plus a little extra, we can keep things going well.

My goals for next year: Weight loss throughout the year at some point, even if progress is slow. Improving my language skills in Indonesian. Keeping finances well-organized. And making sure that the next years allow for some good memories, because I feel that we are losing a lot of time not making memories.