YEAR 2017

Highlights of the year.

What can I remember about this year...

- Trips - A lot of travelling.
We've been to Italy and Spain, we've visited a dozen of places around here: from small Hoorn and Leiden to Rotterdam, The Hague and Bruges. We've spent a lot of great time: crazy driving up the slopes and along the narrow streets on Sicily, the real escape from the cage, short relaxing vacation at the beach of Alicante, modern dutch architecture, old European towns with a deep history (not as deep as ancient temples on Sicily have, but still =) ). I'm also glad that I managed to visit St.Petersburg several times, one of which was pure rest in a company of my friends.

- Books - could be better
The good thing is that I finally started to read books in English, which I've been thinking about for a fair decade. I've read several decent books (in English and in Russian) but nothing that blew my mind. As "the book of the year" I'd like to mention the first Harry Potter book, not the best book when you're close to your 30-s, but it was my first one in English read from the beginning to the end; the first one, if you know what I mean.

- Movies and TV series
The most remarkable ones for me were La-la land (how ingenious!) - I don't like musicales but this one was nice, Arrival with the entire problem of technically establishing the communication with the aliens, Trainspotting 2 - because it's our life (not the drugs and robberies, but the idea of people remaining the same even when the life around changes).
The most impressive TV series were Young Pope and House of Cards (which we started to watch just couple of months before the issues with Spacey's harassment and the news about closing the show).

- Music - same old, same old
Haven't heard anything outstanding among the new releases (although cannot say I listened enough of new music this year). Maybe I can point out just a new album of Roger Waters which appeared to be the best of his solo albums. But I discovered an interesting story of The Stone Roses (together with the music which I had known only as couple of separate songs, not as albums) and cello covers from 2Cellos.

- Self-improvement - English and algorithms
Keep on improving in area of the main foreign language. The progress is less than expected considering the amount of communication that is held in English, but I can feel some improvements and that's motivating. In terms of professional direction this year introduced the basic algorithms and data structures to me (together with Java language). Shame on me that I didn't dig into it before... catching up with that, not forgetting about old native iOS.

- Ties with Russia - still strong.
Sometimes even stronger then I want them to be. It's not only about friends and relatives but also about watching Russian news (on Echo of Moscow and TV Rain). What's happening there is still of a more interest than what's globally going on here (because there's not so much seems to be happen).

- Friends' invasion
The entire year we were experiencing Russian friends visiting us.. and it was great, we miss them here. I bet it's not going to happen again (in such quantity).

- The purchase of the year - another bike (the third in 2 years)
Yeah, that's the reality in Amsterdam

- Job search - exhausting
During the second half of a year I've been looking for a new job... haven't succeeded, got tired of it (it takes time), realised my real skill level.

- Beginning of the year - speaking with Iana in English
At home in evening.

- The event of the year - escape from Sicily
It was definitely the strongest impression of the year. Our lack of attention when leaving an apartment, the cage, attempts to get out, the final escape and the way to the airport through several gas stations, through all the unfamiliar road interchanges. And the relief when eventually all of that was behind and we even fitted all the deadlines (the car return and the flight).

Thoughts, state and condition.

This year wasn't plain and smooth, but it wasn't a roller coaster either. It was just weird... In the surface everything was (is) ok, almost everything goes according to the plan... But it feels odd, here I'll try to figure out and describe this feeling.

People like diversity more or less in everything: life, work, food, relationship, pastime, clothing... Ok, not all the people, but I believe it's not just me. I even think such people are the majority, at least under the certain age. When the life is shaky and unstable you want it to settle down and become more predictable. When it moves too fast you want it to slow down for a while for looking around and thinking a bit. When every day looks the same and nothing really happens (even if everything goes right), you want to properly shake it, to make it move (sometimes even in a wrong direction, but better anywhere that nowhere).

Years 2013 to 2015 were calm and quiet. I've got an interesting job which would bring me enough money, I've got a permanent girlfriend whom I enjoyed to spend time with, I bought a car, I started to drink draft beer and go to mid-range restaurants from time to time, I would think about buying an apartment in St.Petersburg, Russia when I used to live. But there was some buzz on the back of my mind which I started to hear more and more distinguishably. I had an unsatisfied dream, unachieved goal - an experience of living and working abroad.

I think somewhere in 2015 I found myself losing the last hopes considering political and economic situation in my motherland. Maybe I just overcome my youth maximalism and realised that majority of people around approved the course and the authoritarian leader. Like everything was perfect with the life, with other people, with decisions of the government and the only thing which was out of place was me. I felt really like a fish out of water.

Everything comes together, so I grabbed my girlfriend (who had already turned into my wife) and we moved to Amsterdam. It was 2016.

So the previous year (2016) was dedicated to the relocation and acclimatisation. New life, new job, new basic language to communicate with people, new daily routine, smaller distances, bike instead of the car. I cannot say the life had changed dramatically: I didn't change my area of activity or move to another part of the planet, but there were a lot of small changes which constituted an entire picture. And I had to get used to this new picture around me.

In 2017 we still didn't properly settle down. I still don't foresee my life further than several months ahead, I don't have long-term plans (the work, the place to live, the way of leaving, vacations, the city of living). I don't like the situation and try to change it to the best, but now I have what I have. It's hard to drive somewhere when the road is foggy.

And in the middle of all these we decided to have a child. I honestly cannot say now is an ideal time for that. But as Iana says, there might be never a right moment for such a decision. So we took a deep breath and stepped in to this long and mystery path.

The first part of the year 2017 was about making this idea real, in the middle of the year we succeeded and the rest of the year was about the upcoming event. So the year was mostly about it, I can call it "the topic of the year". That's what interesting, my life in 2017 didn't change at all. But the whole idea of the impending huge change brought some significant new perspective itself. And that's weird for me.

A view into 2018

After all the written above it's clear what will be the main topic on the year for me, for us. Now this change is much more predictable than the idea of relocation which bothered me back in 2015-2016. Now there are couple of months before the delivery and the rest of the year after, everything is planed almost to date, it's clear WHAT we going to do and WHAT suppose to happen before and after. The road is known enough because billions of people have already followed this path. But the big question is HOW it's going to be for us. The general idea is far from the experience of specific people, especially when these people are you and your wife.

It's clear that the main wish and the main goal is to avoid any serious problems with the rest of the pregnancy, the delivery and all the following hustle. But other than that I want us to cope with everything with as least frustration as possible. I wish us not to lose our life and ourselves, not to become obsessed with our child, to carve out time for all the things besides basic necessities and childcare, for each other. I wish us to have more bright spots than dark ones. I wish to be able in the end of the next December to turn back and to tell about "the movie of the year", "the book", "the habit", "the discovery" and so forth. I aim to do my best for achieving it.

Also the work thing... I hope next year I'll finish what I started to do and change the place I work. I think it's time to move on...