It’s literally been weeks since I have posted on this blog and it makes me uncomfortable just saying that … as I have been meaning to write but things keep getting in the way. This past month has been a bit of a busy one at work, but one also punctuated by a few health issues including food poisoning, getting the flu and having styes on three separate occasions. Because I’m tied up with many different commitments that I can’t pass on, I’ve had to let the blog take a bit of a back-seat as I get things sorted from my queue of things to do.

Happy Birthday to Me!

How time flies … I can’t believe that I’m 34 already. It’s about this time I suppose people wish that life wouldn’t just pass them by … I wish I had more time in each day even though I try to make the best of it (as I see it, anyway). While I have long acknowledged the obvious truth that I could never learn everything I had ever wanted to know or the skills I wanted to have, even of the limited subset of things that I’m interested in is proving difficult to keep up with especially when faced with a tsunami of opportunities, all of which I am grateful for. The world has so many things to do, even from the comfort of my own home as an introvert, but it seems I am slightly less energetic and my mind is perhaps not as sharp as it once was. Multitasking is not quite as easy as before, but then again, this could just be fatigue and “burn-out”. I do miss travelling around the world to take a break from my ordinary work and hobbies. In fact, my workplace will probably push me to take my annual leave now that it’s accumulated to over five-and-a-half weeks. But it’s not easy to find the right time given my commitments – I don’t want to be on-leave but still needing to answer to students, for example. I also know that COVID-19 isn’t entirely “over” and probably never will be, despite how many people act nowadays and so travelling may well be taking some additional risk in this regard.

Nevertheless, when it comes to most things, I’m quite happy. I never expected to be in such a privileged position when it comes to having a home lab built up over time through reviews and RoadTests (thanks to generous sponsors). I really enjoy taking care of the equipment, putting it to good use and learning more about things using them. I can be very productive at home and still manage to work from home for part of the week. My home IT infrastructure that I’ve built still serves me well with rarely any issues and lets me get what I need done with a minimum fuss. My LTE-based life was a limitation, but lately, data prices are so cheap (to the point of being negative) that I now have more than I need. Financially, inflation is an annoyance and pay packets are slow to rise, but my efficiency and savings philosophy puts me in a secure position. While work is a bit unpredictable, there are always things to do and plans for the future, so I feel like my time there is going towards potentially productive returns. I really couldn’t complain in that regard – I feel that I really don’t lack anything.

But as I get older, there are always a few worries. My parents are getting older – my Dad is often forgetful, while my Mum needs companionship and went through some tough times with her relationship this year. Our extended family are also getting older, while others have the misfortune of being in poor health. I am reminded of the fact that we all are mortal, that our time on this Earth is limited, and that my time with them may well come to pass sooner than expected. So I have been and do hope to continue to take care of my parents as best as I can, to make their lives easier for the years ahead. I can see just how my Dad’s forgetfulness and declining mental faculty makes him anxious about small changes to routine, unable to follow moderately complex arguments, often giving up on trying to comprehend anything he finds too complicated, and become stressed easily. Physically, his condition is also slowly declining, with reduced gait speed and occasional stumbles. I guess, one day too, I will be like that.

This makes me worry a bit about the future. As much as I’ve been open to the possibility of having a relationship, perhaps even having kids, the right “one” remains elusive. I’ve managed a few encounters, although none of them really being fruitful in the end. I’ve also found many situations of being completely ghosted or encountering emotionally “unavailable” people who just couldn’t carry a conversation. As an introvert, the whole concept of dating is just emotionally draining to me and it’s something I find extremely difficult. Sure, I’m not a pun-master with a degree in banter, but at this age, I’m expecting a bit of maturity? Perhaps the fact I’ve been comfortable being single for a while will leave me forever “alone”. Not that it would be the worst thing to happen necessarily, but I do worry about my future, and perhaps the future of the human race as a whole. It’s not like the silly things we see and hear on the news give me much hope. It would be nice to have some companionship … but one also has to be careful in a “tank full of sharks” looking out for their own interests.

Time has been getting short given all of the commitments I’ve made, so now, I’ve pretty much given up on Korean TV watching. I’ve had much less opportunities for public transport observations as well, as I’m travelling a more limited area of the public transport network. But I’ve been able to resist getting a car – public transport is still good enough for a patient person like me. I’ve had less time to play driving sims, but Genshin Impact still occupies a bit of every day … a habit that began back when I was bed-ridden by an ankle injury a few years ago. Satellite and radio stuff has taken a back-seat for now too, while test automation with test equipment and LoRaWAN stuff has recently taken more of my time. The hobby rotation strategy keeps things “fresh”.

Going forward, I would have to say that things are just busy, as they always have been, and that’s a good thing. It keeps me productive, distracted from the world and its problems. With so many opportunities, I hope I can make the right choices when it comes to work and hobbies. As for my personal social life? I would like to see that being productive, and I am willing to give up a little bit for it to start off with. But to find a “right” person would be quite tough, but I am still perhaps hopelessly optimistic.

Facebook Birthday Analysis

As is the annual custom, I analyse just how many “Happy Birthday” messages I got on my Facebook wall … this year, we finally hit the magic number of zero.

Yep, that’s right. Zero. So thanks everyone for not writing on my wall this year, thus continuing the obvious trend of reduced engagement with Facebook. It’s a good outcome … and shows that I went from “peak” wishes to zero in a space of 11 years. After all, it’s no longer the “cool” thing and has been well surpassed by other social media platforms (some of which I don’t partake in). To that end, I rarely ever use Facebook anymore – I just share my blog links there and log in once every few weeks. Sometimes, I get Facebook Messenger messages I haven’t seen in weeks – I just see no reason to have the apps on my phone, chewing space and battery power for a social network that nobody my age really “uses” anymore. Of course, in other countries or across other age groups, this may not be the case.

I don’t think this is a big surprise given the trend that has been going on. It almost looks like exponential decay. But I don’t think the Meta rebrand and the metaverse gamble will pay off for them at this stage. It seems that 3D and VR technologies just “float around” without much of a consumer killer use-case just yet, although as technology improves, it will make it more appealing. Perhaps Apple might change this with their rumoured product, but I am still skeptical.

Opening Up a Birthday Card

Earlier, I showed two Happy Birthday cards that I received from family. But the left card is a special one … it’s a musical card. It’s been forever since I have held such a card in my hands …

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