2012 in Review

An unimaginative title, I know, but it’s that time when we celebrate the Earth moving past an arbitrary point in its orbit around the Sun.
So, what have I done, and what has happened over the last twelve months?
In no particular order…

  • I finished my placement with IBM. From July 2011, through June 2012 I was on placement. Overall a very enjoyable time. It had stress, but compared to second year of University it was very very enjoyable. I met people who really knew their stuff, and gained several friends. To go from earning £15,000 over those twelve months, back down to living off student loans and parents was not a pleasant experience.
  • I’ve read quite a few books – no real surprise there. I’ve picked up a taste for Dystopian Fiction it seems – several of the series I’ve started have revolved around that theme. Although There’s my normal mix of books in there as well.
  • My dog, who I’ve had for over half my life died on 27th December 2012. He’d been with me for 14 and a half years. The house feels empty without him now.
  • I accepted who I am, and came out to friends. It’s helped to make the first semester of Final Year so much more enjoyable. I’m still not out to my family however.
  • I shifted my website from an unmanaged VPS to a Dedicated Server. And promptly managed to break its networking entirely. IPv6 is still dodgy for some reason.
  • I took part in Stripes Capture the Flag challenge. Over the summer, I spent a few days feverishly trying to break various web applications and APIs. I managed to be the 295th person to finish it – in a hair over 4 days. Half of which was spent on the last challenge.
  • Started my final year of Uni. Module wise it’s going much better than second year was. I put that down to being able to actually choose my options this year. So I’m finding the content interesting, and most of the modules are fairly well taught.
  • Got a job offer. Assuming I get a 2:1 I’ll be back at IBM Hursley in September. No idea what I’ll be working on yet.
  • I got a tumblr. March 9th was my first post. Since then I’ve racked up almost 1,500 posts. It has some great people on there, and some not-so-great sides, Like any community. I’m still not sure whether I love it or hate it. Either way, it’s somewhat addictive. Luckily my dashboard is manageable, and I rarely venture into tags.

There may be more, but I honestly can’t remember them, so they can’t have been that important.
 
What do I hope for 2013? I really don’t know. I think at the moment I just want to get a 2:1 and start working.

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