What was my 2022

2022 is over - it's time to sum it up. Especially since it wasn't a bad year.

Being a parent - the adventure continues

Adventure - this is the best word that describes being a parent. It's fun, unpredictable, and sometimes scary but great. I'm very glad we didn't have to sacrifice anything. Our lives changed, but we are all cycling together (cycling carriers are the best), traveling together, and going to cafes together.

We hope that 2023 will be similar but bigger, better, and more amazing.

Doing live streams is fun

Last year I did 19 live streams for Buddy. I never, ever thought I would love it so much. Not only was it so fun, but I was also able to meet amazing people and learn a lot of interesting things (for example, I didn't know a thing about SRE or Crowd Testing).

In fact, I liked it so much that I decided to start a channel of my own - the Code and Coffee Show.

New job

In October, I changed my job - I started working as a Dev Rel at Kinsta. Kinsta is mostly known as an amazing WordPress hosting company, but they launched Application and Database Hosting this year. This was the main reason I wanted to join them - having a chance to work more outside WordPress was very important to me.

After 3 months I can say it was a great decision and I'm very happy working there. I also had a chance to meet most of the marketing team in Athens.

WordCamp Europe

Finally, WordCamp Europe happened. It was a true hugfest after the pandemic. It was also the first WordCamp our son attended (he was probably the youngest person there), and it was my first time leading a workshop session.

Was I stressed? Of course. Was it amazing an amazing feeling doing it? Yes, it was.

Focusing less on WordPress

While working at Buddy, I started doing more stuff related to other CMSs and technologies. At first, it was a bit scary because I was always a WordPress person, but over time I liked it more and more. Right now, I really enjoy working with Astro and Statamic. It's a totally different experience than working with WordPress, but it's fun, and I feel I learned a lot.

I also created an article about the World outside of WordPress.

Cycling around Tatry Mountains

With my friend Michał, we decided to cycle around the Tatry mountains - more than 300 kilometers in the Polish and Slovakian mountains. It was one heck of an adventure. There were moments when we thought we won't make it - especially while climbing up in the biggest heat.

This was really something crazy, and I can't wait to repeat something like this next year.

Here you can read a more detailed article about this trip.

Best games I played

Every year I come back to some games, like Civilization VI, Red Dead Redemption 2, Fallout: New Vegas, or Cyberpunk 2077. This year wasn't different.

Apart from those classics, I had a lot of fun playing:

• Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - it's a classic isometric RPG created by Owlcat Games. While I was slightly disappointed with the previous part (Kingmaker), the sequel was amazing. They rethought many aspects, the story was interesting, and the characters were amazing.

• Expeditions: Rome - I wasn't a fan of the previous parts. But Rome was amazing. Nice combat and story (I loved the tiny Asterix quest).

• Midnight Suns - I'm not a fan of Marvel. But I love XCOM. Midnight Suns is a mix of XCOM and a card game. While it sounds horrible, it turned out to be amazing in the end. The only thing I didn't like was the story writing. It was very Marvelly and constantly reminded me why I don't like Marvel.

What I listened to

It seems I mostly listened to some older stuff. Looking at my Spotify, I see a lot of Archive and Rammstein.

I also enjoyed the OST from Cyberpunk 2077 and Stranger Things.

But if I had to select one favorite song, it would be Lera Lynn's - The only thing worth fighting for. I heard it on True Detective for the first time. It still gives me the chills.

Best book I read

It wasn't the best year for reading. Having a limited time, I only read a bunch of books. One of them was Press Reset: Ruin and Recovery in the Video Game Industry by Jason Schreier. The book focuses on people working in the game industry. It's a very sad book, in general, that shows all the worst in the gaming industry.

Best TV Series

It's difficult to pick something, as there were many great series. My biggest surprise was that Amazon Prime became one of my favorite streaming platforms.

But if I had to pick the top 3, I would say:

• The Boys - I mentioned already that I don't like Marvel. I also don't like superheroes. But I imagine they would be like in The Boys if they existed. Also, I love how absurd this series can be.

• Sandman - I'm a sucker for everything that Neil Gaiman creates. Watching Sandman was a truly delightful experience. I especially enjoyed the way how Death was portrayed.

• The Legend of Vox Machina - I spent many hours playing Baldur's Gate, Pillars of Eternity, and other RPGs. That's why I have fallen in love with this series right away. And to think, I wasn't sure if it was worth watching.

It wasn't that bad

... but I'm really looking forward to 2023. I have a hunch that it will be an amazing and unique year.