Here we are, standing at the edge of 2024, looking back on a year that was nothing short of a whirlwind. It brought its share of challenges, surprises, and triumphs—a mix of the unexpected and the extraordinary. As 2023 drew to a close, I didn’t quite know what to anticipate. My goals were simple: to find greater stability in my finances and nurture my mental health. While the latter wasn’t initially part of the plan, it became a surprising focus as the year unfolded.

Now, as I take a moment to reflect, I choose to set aside the negatives—because we’ve all heard enough about Trump’s re-election and Canada’s struggling economy under our current Prime Minister. Instead, I want to shine a light on the highlights that made 2024 truly unforgettable. Let’s take a look back at this remarkable year.

Challenging preconceived ideas

Picture this: I'm heading to Texas with my girlfriend and friends to celebrate our friend's wedding. Having never visited the United States before—let alone Texas—we carried with us a heavy backpack of preconceptions. Like many outsiders, we had formed our opinions based on media portrayals and secondhand stories. The thought of visiting a state where open carry was legal made us nervous, and we couldn't shake our concerns about potential discrimination. Looking back, I can laugh at how anxious we were.

What followed was a beautiful lesson in humility and the danger of prejudgment. Texas completely shattered our expectations—in the best possible way. The Texan hospitality we encountered was nothing short of remarkable. Our first taste of local life came during a simple trip to Costco with Joe, my friend from New York, and two fellow Canadians. The warmth we experienced there set the tone for our entire visit. Complete strangers would strike up conversations, offering shopping advice and recommendations with genuine enthusiasm. Every interaction was marked by sincere kindness and curiosity about our stories. That week taught me a valuable lesson about the importance of experiencing things firsthand before forming opinions. While I can't speak for my travel companions, I left Texas with a completely transformed view of Americans and their legendary Southern hospitality.

The work at Intact is... Intact 🥁

Last year, in 2023, I took a leap and started a new chapter at Intact Insurance. Leaving my previous job was a decision I won’t dwell on—it’s enough to say it wasn’t a great fit. Joining Intact, however, felt like stepping into a completely different world. I became part of a team with a clear mission: to elevate the developer experience and foster innovation within the organization.

What truly won me over wasn’t just the work—it was the people. In my past roles, I often felt like my ideas and opinions went unnoticed. I worked in environments where the status quo ruled, and making a difference wasn’t a priority. But at my current position, it’s different. Here, I feel valued and recognized. The culture isn’t about “blame and shame.” Instead, it’s rooted in learning from mistakes and building a sense of safety that empowers everyone to do their best work.

Our team focuses on outcomes, respects one another, and treats everyone as human first. That sense of trust and mutual support has been transformative.

The year of factories and head crabs

While not as monumental as other highlights, a significant part of my year was spent immersed in two games: Half-Life 2 (including its episodes) and a whole lot of Satisfactory. Revisiting Half-Life 2 reminded me just how much the gaming industry has veered off course from simply creating games that are fun. (Yes, I’m looking at you, Ubisoft and Microsoft.) There was a time when developers prioritized crafting unique experiences and groundbreaking ideas. We’d eagerly await E3 each summer, brimming with anticipation for the next big reveal. But here we are in 2024—E3 is gone, replaced by individual studio showcases streamed online. Even those fail to excite me anymore. Today, if you want innovation and great gaming experiences, you won’t find them in AAA titles. Instead, they’re thriving in the indie scene, with studios like Coffee Stain Studios, makers of Satisfactory.

A lot of conveyor spaghetti in Autumn

If you’re unfamiliar, Satisfactory is a game about building efficient factories, and while that might sound dull on paper, it’s anything but. You start small, producing basic items like metal plates, but before long, the itch to optimize and expand takes over. The game practically dares you to devour the planet’s resources as you chase the perfect production line. It’s so addictive that I’ve racked up a whopping 294 hours. While that sounds like a lot, ask any MMORPG fan (World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV, anyone?) how much time they’ve sunk into their favorite game—it’ll make my hours seem modest.

What 294 hours in a game does to you

For me, this is what gaming should be about: delivering an unforgettable experience, fostering a vibrant community, and, yes, creating mountains of conveyor spaghetti (you’ll understand if you play it). Forget loot boxes, pay-to-win nonsense, and gacha mechanics—a great game is about innovation, immersion, and pure, unadulterated fun.

The Homelab

This year, I poured a lot of time and energy into improving something I’ve been working on for a while now: my Homelab. If you’re not familiar, a Homelab is essentially a small-scale IT environment that you host at home. It can range from a simple Raspberry Pi to second-hand rack servers companies are offloading. In my case, it’s a setup consisting of a Synology NAS for storage and my old gaming tower running Proxmox VE.

Not me totally forgetting it's a late night on a Friday

The goal? To reduce my reliance on cloud services and subscriptions like Apple Music or Google Drive, and instead host everything myself. But I didn’t just want a basic setup—I wanted to build something using enterprise-grade tools and practices. Beyond achieving independence from cloud services, the Homelab has been an amazing way to learn new technologies and stay current with the latest trends. In fact, it’s how I started exploring Kubernetes and ArgoCD.

Some highlights from this project include setting up a Nextcloud instance to replace Google Drive, deploying Gitea to reduce my dependence on GitHub, and using Home Assistant as a central hub for all my smart home devices, from lights to smart plugs. There’s so much more I could say about the setup and how it’s evolved, but that’s a story for another post where I’ll dive into the details and share my progress.

For now, I just want to celebrate this milestone. My Homelab has become more than just a project—it’s something I’m genuinely proud of.

Onto 2025

2024 was nothing short of a rollercoaster, but here we are, standing at its conclusion with 2025 just around the corner. If the past year was wild, the one ahead promises to be even more so. Yet, as I look back, I realize something important: this was the year I finally felt like I was able to accomplish something meaningful. Take this post, for example—I doubt I could have written it just two months ago.

Over the course of the year, I found the stability and peace of mind I had been seeking. That sense of balance has changed everything. Now, I feel ready to take on bigger challenges and embrace new opportunities, provided the risks are calculated. 2025 feels like a year brimming with potential, and for the first time in a long time, I feel prepared to meet it head-on.