lunatechian (lunatech-ian)

Thanks to Sachac for pointing out this list of questions to review your year.

What did I learn this year?

Let me see. On the technical side I learnt quite a lot.

• a bit of Perl
• quite a lot of MySQL
• new things in PHP, especially related to web services and graphs
• lots of new stuff related to high availability and failover
• lots of new stuff in troubleshooting

On the non technical side, I did not learn much

• I finally read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
• I started taking steps to manage my time well. I am following the Getting Things Done forums and mailing lists, picking up great tips from them but have yet to read THE BOOK. It was this year that I learnt about emacs-planner for managing tasks
• I read a few management type books, they are not that bad

The lessons of life that I learnt this year

• I am much better than I think I am
• Family support and good friends are the most important assets that someone can have
• Don't try to get stereotyped
• An idea does not have to be big, it has to change the world
• It is a good idea to write and publish about every new thing that I learn.

What did I accomplish this year?

Quite a lot, if I can say that myself

• Got selected to be a part of Yahoo! Bangalore
• Moved from Delhi to Bangalore and established a household here
• One of the interns I mentored got selected to become a regular employee
• Got published in webzines
• Kickstarted the PHPC Gazette, which is still in its infancy but I am sure something good will come out of it
• Wrote articles on my website that proved useful to a bunch of people
• Spoke on Y! webservice at Freedel
• Got a good year end appraisal
• Discovered Terry Pratchett

Which accomplishments am I proudest of?

• Getting selected to be a part of Yahoo! bangalore
• Kickstarting the PHPC Gazette

Knowing what I know now, what would I have done differently in the past year?

Let me see.

• Written more articles
• Written more code for my favourite free software
• Read more Terry Pratchett

What will be my greatest lasting memories of this year?

• Getting selected into Yahoo!. Absolutely something that I will always remember.
• Moving to Bangalore from Delhi

In what ways did I contribute?

Not in as many ways as I would have liked to, just in small ways

• Helped my previous colleague in taking over from where I left off
• Started the PHPC Gazette
• Submitted one patch for AMO. I should have done more
• Answered a bunch of questions on php-general, linux-delhi and some other mailing lists and IRC channels.
• Supported my brother and sister for this year

What were my biggest challenges or obstacles?

• Not enough time management
• I am not punctual
• I am not caring about my health, even though I am aware that it might give me trouble later in life

What obstacles did I overcome?

• Reduced the time I spend in the office from 16 hours to 9 hours, though this change took place only in December
• Established a household in a new city

How am I different now than I was at the start of the year?

• I am more confident than I was when the year started
• I am more willing to voice my disagreements, both in person and over email
• I have stopped saying RTFM to questions now
• I am fatter
• I know how to better manage my time now (but this is still a ongoing struggle )

What am I most grateful for?

• The support of my family
• My job

What else do I want to reflect on?

I should have contributed more to Free Software projects than I do now, and by contributing I mean more in terms of code. I need to figure out a way to fit exercise in my schedule and lose weight.