Preface#
This article is a record and reflection of my life from 2022-07-11 to 2022-07-24. As for the reason for the delay - I went on vacation!!!
Vacation#
Including my internship, it has been over a year, but because the project has been ongoing, I haven't had a complete vacation except for the Spring Festival. I have accumulated quite a few days off. Coincidentally, as the second project came to a successful conclusion, I applied for a vacation from my leader, 7 working days + 2 weekends, giving me a long-awaited summer vacation feeling.
Me and My Family#
Although the epidemic has been fluctuating, I finally decided to return to Hangzhou, to my home. Since leaving home in the middle of 20XX, every time I come back, it always feels rushed. The last time was during the National Day, and I only stayed for about 3 days. Apart from the gatherings with relatives, the time spent with my family was not even enough for a full day. It was only enough to briefly talk about my recent situation and thoughts. It seems like I'm already on my way back. This time, maybe it's because a lot has happened to me in the past half year and I'm a bit tired. I just want to stay at home and rest and spend more time with my family (mainly taking my sister out to play).
Actually, I didn't realize my own growth so significantly, but at the family dinner table, I seem to have become the main person toasting to the elders. When the younger ones go out to play, I am the one arranging everything. Even my little sister, who has always been small in my impression, will start junior high school after the summer vacation. It's like from a certain point in time, time has started to accelerate. I don't feel it in the busy schoolwork and work, but only when I return home and experience the slowed-down time or occasionally think of the scattered little things hidden in my memory, I can't help but feel emotional.
Me and My Sister#
I have a younger sister who is 13 years younger than me, which always makes my classmates and friends jealous. The age difference is not big enough to cause any disputes or conflicts, and as I grow older, I can take care of her more. During high school, I didn't have much time to accompany her because I lived in the school and was preparing for the college entrance examination. After college, I traveled around a lot, and there were probably only relatively complete times during winter and summer vacations. After starting to work, we were even more separated. We only chat in the WeChat group every day and occasionally make phone calls. I don't know how she evaluates my role as a brother, I hope I can be qualified.
So this time, I took my sister to take some photos, stroll around the pedestrian street, do some handicrafts, go to the aquarium, and go to the One-Way Space bookstore together. Many things seem ordinary, but maybe because I have been too much of a homebody before and absent, they are all quite novel experiences. Every time after the trip or play is over, when we walk hand in hand back home, I can feel a quiet beauty in it.
This time I brought a camera back and played with the new DJI RS3 stabilizer I bought (it's really good!!!). I took a lot of photos and videos, leaving some fragments of memories for her approaching the end of her childhood.
Me and My Teacher#
Although it has been almost ten years since I graduated from junior high school, I always invite my junior high school homeroom teacher, Brother Chun, to have a meal and chat during winter and summer vacations or vacations like this. In the past, there were always Ni and Zhan with us, but now they have all scattered overseas, and it may be difficult to get together in the future. Maybe because we meet frequently, we haven't felt much change in each other over the years. We talk like friends, from studies and work to emotions and thoughts. We often don't realize that time has passed for four or five hours, and we often feel amazed that we have known each other for 13 years.
Sense of Belonging to the City#
Interestingly, after graduating from high school, I went to Wuhan for college, and then had relatively long internships in cities such as Shanghai and Xiamen. Soon after, I went to Hong Kong for postgraduate studies, and then quickly went to Beijing for internships. I have stayed in quite a few cities, but in terms of the environment and feelings towards the people in the city, it is difficult for me to admit that I belong to any of them.
Hangzhou, where I stayed the longest, has few contacts with my middle and high school classmates due to my absence during college. Most of my closest friends have also left Hangzhou, most of them are overseas. After returning this time, I found it difficult to think of someone to go out for a meal or a drink, so I had to give up. After graduating, I went back to Wuhan a few times because of my student entrepreneurship, and there were still a few mentors, roommates, and the original group of four friends who used to hang out together. However, they are all scattered around, and I can only meet them once or twice when I'm on a business trip. After the outbreak of the epidemic, I haven't been back for more than two years. On the other hand, during my year in Hong Kong, I felt a sense of urgency. Apart from emotions, I didn't seem to have met many people. The time spent together was short, and we gradually lost contact after graduation. On the contrary, in Beijing, I had a few good friends, and because of work projects, I formed good friendships with colleagues and some work partners.
I have always been a homebody, and I don't really notice the climate or style of a city. I have a good adaptability to the environment, so I have never considered the city as an important factor in my decision-making. But after this trip back home, many of my thoughts have changed.
Even when I was alone in Beijing, I didn't feel too bitter, but I always felt that something was missing, as if these things had nothing to do with me. But when I returned to Hangzhou, even if I just walked by the river, I could feel a sense of familiarity. I would also go to the shops I often visited, or take a 30-minute bus ride to eat at Xinfeng snacks that I had been longing for a long time, or sit in the One-Way Space bookstore for a few hours to relive the leisurely time I used to spend in bookstores.
This may be the warmth and sense of belonging that a city brings to people, and the older you get, the more you care about these things.
Learning, Input, and Output#
This section will record some interesting things I find and progress in work and study.
Technical Learning#
In the first week, I mainly did some finishing work on the project and prepared for a new project. There wasn't much development work to be done, but I bought some technical books to settle down after my vacation.
In terms of technology, I bought several new books: "Building a Compiler with Go," "Writing an Interpreter in Go," and "The Road to Advanced Go." I also bought "Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code," which I have been planning to read for a long time but haven't gotten to it. After gaining some project experience, I feel that reading these books will be more profound.
In non-technical books, I bought a set of books related to thinking, "The Pyramid Principle," as a way to cultivate my thinking. I will also take some notes on these books.
Two days before my vacation, I participated in the technical sharing I mentioned before. I mainly talked about my experience and lessons learned in learning blockchain. Overall, I think it went well, and I will rearrange the presentation into a blog post. I originally wanted to organize it right after the presentation, but I was about to go on vacation. Although I brought my computer, I didn't do any work or studying. I just relaxed.
Input#
Books#
In terms of books, I am still reading "Normal People," and I should be able to finish it this week. I also plan to read a few books related to information:
- "Working in Public," which talks about open-source software
- "Tim Cook: The Genius Who Took Apple to the Next Level." Although I heard that it mostly consists of reports and information summaries, I'm interested in Apple as a company but know very little about Tim Cook. Perhaps it's because of the overwhelming aura of Steve Jobs, so I want to learn more.
Apart from these, I saw a book at One-Way Space that I read a few years ago, "Stoner." I flipped through it and suddenly wanted to revisit it. I feel like it will give me new insights into self-discovery.
TV Shows#
- "Normal People," I watched more than half of it before, but then I inexplicably stopped. It tells the story of the male and female protagonists from the same town and some stories around them. I don't know if it's because the male lead is an English major or because we share the same fragile and sensitive traits, but I feel like I see a lot of myself in it.
- "Law School," a Korean drama about law. I mainly watched it because I found the female lead's character cute.
- "The Bear," a movie about a chef returning to his family restaurant. It's not long, and the pace is good. I watched it on the return journey of the high-speed train.
Movies#
- "New Romance," a movie that reflects on the emotions and social interactions in today's society. It mainly talks about hookup culture, but I feel that the expression and plot twists are strange. I don't recommend it.
- "The Gray Man," an action movie that has been popular recently. It is said to be the most expensive movie invested by Netflix. It gives me a feeling similar to John Wick.
Anime#
- "Demon Slayer," I really liked the first season, but I haven't been following it. This time, I caught up with the Infinite Train Arc and the Entertainment District Arc. I really like it.
- "Weathering with You," I've been wanting to watch it for a long time. I've seen many edits and remakes, but I haven't watched the actual movie. I finally watched it, and it's very Makoto Shinkai.
- "Re-Main," I'm still following it. The plot is getting more and more intense, and I can't imagine the future developments. It's a pleasant surprise.
Others#
Finally, I chose a gray-green hair color. I bleached it twice and dyed it once. I feel pretty good about it. Although it's a bit exaggerated, it's very anime-like. I guess my delayed rebellious period has finally come. I can try different styles in the future.