As we’ve approached the conclusion of the first eight months of 2023, this is an overview of the progress and accomplishments achieved during the last 8 months.
Relocation
The biggest achievement I had in the last year was moving to Germany and starting in a new job in Hamburg. Moving to a new country is very exciting, but it also has many challenges. The biggest challenge that faced me when I moved to Hamburg was finding a good flat to rent.
Hamburg, as a major economic hub in Germany, has a large and diverse population over the years. Consequently, securing a flat in this vibrant state was a notably arduous endeavor, with high demand far surpassing the available housing options.
Despite the difficulties of finding an apartment in the crowded city, I was luckily able to change my apartment 2 times in the last 8 months. And even though moving to a new apartment could be very annoying when you are worried about finding a flat in time and moving your things from the old flat to the new one, but from the accessibility to everything in the city center to the beautiful nature in the city suburbs, I surly enjoy it when I settle in the new apartment and start exploring new places and nature in the new area.
I’ve also developed new hobbies based on the location that I lived in; I used to visit new famous places in the city that I’ve never been to when I lived in the city center, and I’ve starting hiking around the forest and riding my bike more aften when I lived in the state side.
The good news is that I can enjoy both biking and exploring new places in the city from my current apartment; I love my current apartment and I’m not planning to relocate to another one in the near future.
Personal projects
Learning new technologies and frameworks is something essential to expand my knowledge in my field. The way I learn new things is by working on developing open source and side projects. Working on external and personal projects also helps to keep me up to date with the latest technologies used in my field.
Unfortunately, due to been busy with the relocation and the new job that I had, I didn’t get the chance to work on many side projects this year. This should be a goal for the future.
I managed however to work on one personal project in the last 8 months; it’s a service I build and deployed online, and it’s currently accessed more than 6,000 times monthly based on Google Search console statistics.
The service is not only gaining more users every month, but also gaining more money too 💰. It’s a mini service and I don’t think it will earn a lot of money in the future, but it’s very nice the idea that you’ve came up with an idea and to see other people using it and to see it giving you some revenue 😎.
I’m getting more busy with work and other life aspects recently, but nevertheless I should focus more on this project and spend more time on it.
Dota 2
I’m playing more Dota 2 and sleeping less nowadays ✌️. I’ve played more ranked games this year and I’m loosing more MMR each and every day :3
One of the things I focused on in the last 8 months is playing with heroes that I haven’t picked before. I randomly pick heroes in many of my matches to try out new heroes, and because of that I now play more with heroes I was always hesitant to play with like Enigma, Spectre & Templar Assasin.
Randomly picking heroes is a good idea to learn how play with other heroes, but it’s also one of the reasons why I lose MMR in my ranked games 😂.
Even though my carrying skills has increased recently, I would always prefer to pick a support hero in the game. There are many skills that I still didn’t master that carry players need to have, like how tf can someone buy an item in less than 10 mins or 15 mins from the begining of the game! Or how can they keep farming and fighting at the same time!! I usually fail to buy enough items for my hero even though I try to farm as much as I can :(.
Dota 2 is becoming more and more crazy with each update they release, and Valve Dota2 team knows perfectly how to add new insane abilities to heroes that will ruin others game.
I also enjoy watching Dota Watafak videos; a channel that collect clips from thousands of dota players from all over the world.
I feel sometimes that playing Dota 2 impacts my concentration in the morning, specially when I keep playing it for a very late time in the evening. Dota 2 is my biggest waste of time, and I don’t think I will ever consider stop playing it anytime in the future 🎮. I’ve found out recently that one of the engineers in my team also plays Dota 2, so I shall go in more parties with him in the future 💪
See the world 🌎
I am absolutely pumped about the idea of exploring all the awesome places in Europe! 😃 Sadly, I’ve used up all my vacation days for now, but I’m counting down the days until next year when I can finally start my European adventure. 🗓️ The thought of diving into Europe’s rich history, diverse cultures, and stunning landscapes has me buzzing with excitement. 🌍 From strolling through the lively streets of Paris 🥖🇫🇷 to getting lost in the beauty of Norway 🇳🇴, I just can’t wait to kickstart this amazing journey. So, even though I have to be patient for a bit longer, I know it’s going to be totally worth it, and I’ll be making some incredible memories along the way! 🌟🌏
Sports
Living alone in a new country can be a unique challenge, and for me, staying active has become an absolute necessity for a good mental and physical health.
The lack of movement feels suffocating; it’s as though my very existence depends on it. Back when I arrived in Hamburg, I didn’t immediately find a gym like I used to have in Palestine, and I was also very busy with the relocation and all other chalenges I faced here.
However, I’ve discovered later the beauty of staying active in different ways. Now, I find myself frequently pedaling 🚴 along the scenic Alster Lake or on the facinating old Harburg bridge on my bike, savoring the tranquility it offers. I also try to bike to work if I wake up early in the morning and we have a nice weather outside.
I like to listen to music when I go cycling 🎵. My playlist changes every couple of months. I remember I used to listem to songs like Titanium, Immprtals, The promissed Neverland OP, AOT OST, I really like you cover, Hall of fame, & my League of Legends playlist 🔥.
Additionally, I’ve embraced boxing lessons 🥊, which not only keep me physically fit but also provide a great mental release. Sometimes, I even push myself to the limits by doing some boxing after work, followed by a late-night bike ride, and I must say, there’s an exhilarating freedom in those moments that I absolutely cherish!
Food
I used to eat a lot of food and follow some good health habits regarding the food I eat. I maintained the same food habits for the first 5 months after I first came to hamburg.
But nowadays I barely eat anything. I even look at myself and wonder how am I still alive with the low food rations I eat 😶. My assumption for why is that happening to me is probably because my body is set on the battery saver mode 🔋.
I still enjoy eating food. I cook sometimes, and I go from time to time to restaurants in Steindamm & Altona and enjoy a happy eastern meal there.
Luca
Luca is a chrome extension built on top of react to watching movies with friends. You can find out more about Luca here.
I stopped working on Luca after the relocation, and everytime I was going to back it it, I couldn’t continue working on it cause I need a designer to help me with UI.
Luca is the project that will make me become a millionaire. I should stop waisting my time and continue working on it 🤦. One of my next goals for the next year should be continue working on Luca. There are some features that should be added to the UI, the server needs to be more stable, and I need to start working on the mobile app.
Click me if you’re interested in the Luca project.
freiheit.com
Joining freiheit.com is my biggest achievement for the last year. You can read more about my experience @ freiheit.com here
