The hurried 2023 is also coming to an end. In this year, there has been stress, disappointment, the darkest moments that everyone has experienced, the melancholy of being alone on stage, and the passion of hitting the railing. But no matter what, we will never forget the scattered stars in our memories. It is these things about close friends, reading, traveling, the joy of losing and regaining, the enlightenment of deep thinking, and the obsession of seeking that intertwine, flickering and outlining different landscapes for each person, depicting unique scenery.
When I first read this sentence by Zhang Xiaofeng, I felt that my restless soul was instantly cleansed and purified. Between the rippling water and the deep forest, facing the lake and mountains, the weary traveler is still worth cherishing.
I once used this sentence in a weekly summary I wrote: "Where is the traveler going?"
I feel that writing a summary should be meaningful. Why do I want to write about this topic? It's because I read Leslie's article "Content Platforms Worth Reading in 2023". Although it's not an end-of-year summary, I can still gain a lot from his article. Everyone on the Internet is a small dot, and the meaning of blogs is like a lighthouse, guiding every traveler who wants to escape from centralized platforms.
So here I am now, thinking that I should publish my summary for 2023 as soon as possible. As for other things I want to write about, such as the books I've read, the TV shows I've watched, and the good articles I've read, I'll have to wait until 2024 when I have time to summarize them (after all, traditionally, the new year starts after the Spring Festival, right? 😀)
A Letter to My Future Self in 2022#
On December 28, 2022, at 11:19 am, you wrote this letter to yourself in your QQ mailbox.
A year has passed, and the messenger of time has arrived as scheduled. Whether time has given you the answers you wanted or not, I hope you can have a good conversation at this moment.
If it weren't for a last-minute reminder from a group, I would have almost forgotten about this. The conversation between the future me and the past you is quite interesting.
Back then, your ID was still called "prontosil". I think I set it in my sophomore year, probably in an elective course related to biotechnology. There was a drug you must still remember, called "Prontosil" (Prontosil - Wikipedia).
I must have liked the name back then. I'm not sure about the origin of this name now, but it was probably a transliteration.
But it's so beautiful. Even the unstoppable waves will eventually calm down. Even after experiencing countless loneliness. It reminds me of a quote from "Super Beast Warriors": "When you have experienced these seven layers of loneliness, you will become a true strong warrior."
You finished reading "Zebra" and "The Submarine at Night". You even hosted a book sharing session for "The Submarine at Night". Awesome!
In the past year, you have had a lot of random thoughts. Flomo, memos, heptabase, Notion, logseq, and WeChat file transfer assistant have all been recorded. But there are still many things that haven't been recorded and have ultimately become scraps of paper floating in the wind, never to be found again.
"Perhaps, like a rolling stone, tremblingly entering the unknown." I guess you randomly picked this quote from the book "Zebra". I searched it and it turns out it's from the book you were reading at the time.
You played a lot of card games in 2023. You finally completed a warrior playthrough of "Slay the Spire". It was so difficult, haha. And there's the newly released card game "Asteria" in 2023. You were so enthusiastic about buying it, but I guess you didn't play it for more than two hours.
You migrated your notes to Notion, and then at the end of the year, you migrated them to heptabase. Although these two software have similar writing experiences, heptabase's whiteboard feature may be more suitable for you. Just keep writing, and there's no need to fuss over tools.
In 2023, you truly explored many unknowns. Your performance at work may not be satisfactory, but sometimes, don't think too much. Focus your scattered energy a little more. You have many things you want to do, so take it slow.
In the new year, I wish you well. Even without any plans, you may still encounter many unexpected surprises.
Summary of 2023#
When observing the changing, the heavens and earth cannot be captured in an instant.
But if I were to say what changes there were in 2023, my first reaction would be none. It's still the same old slacking off, to the point that I'm writing the opening of this draft while slacking off at work. It seems that slacking off is quite helpful for improving writing efficiency 🤣
And:
I still sometimes put on my clothes backwards on the way to work, only realizing it when I finish breakfast and return to my desk.
I still sometimes start feeling emotional late at night, unable to sleep, lost in random thoughts.
I still can't resist the tempting aroma coming from the stalls at the entrance of the residential area, and after a hearty meal, I pretend to feel guilty.
The cleaning aunt and uncle on the 32nd floor haven't changed either. I still greet them every morning.
My desk is still a mess, and I haven't even turned a page of the book "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China".
But is that really it? I try to capture the broken kites on the field of memories, and occasionally, I can still see the scattered paper scraps on the ground after the kite strings are blown away by the wind.
I remember the distribution of the parcel lockers in the residential area, and I know which locker doors have a smaller opening range and need to be pried open by hand.
I remember the layout of the buildings in the residential area, so when the delivery person asks me, I can point it out directly.
I have developed a liking for taking the bus, listening to music at a leisurely pace, and observing life in the city.
I have started listening to podcasts, enjoying myself while tidying up my little living space, and listening to the laughter and anger from the other side of the world.
I completed "Persona 5 Royal", and it's true that the real-time in the game is synchronized with real time. The protagonist spent a year, and I played for a year (Xbox Game Pass was exactly one year from subscription to cancellation).
I have intermittently and crazily studied English, forcing myself to read English texts directly and read raw materials.
Suddenly awakened, it turns out that 2023 is almost over. It seems that I have been wasting time. Looking back, the sunset still envelops this city.
Weekly Reports I Wrote in 2023#
Looking back, I have written 23 weekly reports. It's actually far from the plan I set for myself.
PS. These 23 weekly reports happen to coincide with the year 2023. There must be some kind of fate in it, haha.
After all, I planned to write at least one technical article plus a weekly report every week. If I updated at this frequency, I estimated that I would have more than 30 weekly reports in 2023.
I gradually realized that only by truly loving life, exploring, and experiencing the details of life can I naturally write with true feelings, without the need to deliberately embellish or decorate.
During my university years, I had the opportunity to attend a sharing session by Zhang Xiaofeng. Those who know me well know that I have quoted Zhang Xiaofeng's sentences in my weekly reports many times. That was back in 2018. I searched online and found some related reports, Reading | When Xiaofeng Passes By, It's Pure and True. Unfortunately, I didn't even receive a notification back then. I could only wait outside the library and hope there were seats available.
I remember that Xiaofeng talked about many things, but there are very few that I remember. I only remember her mentioning an experience of eating oranges, saying that she had never eaten such good oranges before. I think literature itself seems to have nothing to do with the popular "dry goods" and other things on the Internet. It is just a pure feeling, a feeling that only exists in the present moment, diffusing in the air molecules in that small space.
Perhaps the article you are reading now doesn't have anything worth excerpting and revisiting in the future, but I still think that maybe I don't need to pay attention to whether the latest PS5 is worth buying or why certain content creators have decided to stop making 25fps videos. My attention can stay in the present moment, and that's enough for my thoughts.
Books I Read in 2023#
I mainly focused on history books this year, but if I were to choose my favorite book among those I read in 2023, it would probably be "Zebra".
Some books I read:
History:
- "Annoying Taibai Venus"
- "The Spring and Autumn of Failures"
- "The Great Han Empire in Bashu"
- "Wei Jin Fenghua: Easy Understanding of 'A New Account of Tales of the World'"
- "Hungry Times: Gains and Losses in the Qianlong Era"
- "Abandoning Chang'an"
- "The Faces of History"
Suspense:
- "The Klein Bottle"
- "The Glass Tower Mystery"
- "Six Lying College Students"
Literature + History:
- "Great Doctor" (Dawn and Sunrise)
- "Chinese Culture Course"
Society:
- "The Arduous Path: The Five Choices of China's Socialist Path"
Psychology:
- "The Courage to Be Disliked"
- "Mr. Toad Goes to See a Psychologist"
Due to time constraints (I need to publish this article before the New Year in 2024), I can only make a simple list. I plan to write another article later to summarize my reading experiences of the year.
Tools I Explored in 2023#
After all, while I still have free time and energy, my attitude of enjoying exploring has remained unchanged. Let me briefly record what I explored this year.
- Surge: Although I bought the license a long time ago, both for Mac and iOS, I never really started using it.
- Apple TV + Infuse: This was relatively simple. Watching American TV shows on Apple TV is so convenient.
- Various streaming services: Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Disney+, and more. Let's not talk about it, they all cost money.
- Steam Deck: I didn't explore this because I was tired. 64GB is enough anyway.
- Software: Mainly Ulysses and heptabase, for writing and organizing note cards.
My Exercise Records in 2023#
This year, it was mainly badminton and running, with occasional visits to the gym for weightlifting.
A quick count of badminton:
- I probably broke about 10 strings 🤣
The first broken string of the year 🐰
The last broken string of the year 🐰
A total of 243 badminton sessions this year??? I checked the data in Fitness and was shocked, haha.
If Fitness had a summary, it would probably look like this:
"You played badminton 243 times this year. You must really love badminton" (illustration: either playing badminton or on the way to play badminton 🐶)
I went running 17 times, still too few.
This year, because I shared an Apple One Family Plan with an online friend, I started to enjoy using Fitness+ for workouts. Apple's creativity is quite rich, especially when combined with Apple Music's music and even Apple TV's special edition of "Soccer Coach". You can see Apple's ambition in the content ecosystem 🤔