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My 2023

Slowly but surely

Slava Melanko

Last edited 359 days ago by Slava Melanko

⁠

Intro

Hello and welcome! Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. In this post, I’ll continue the series of posts covering the important areas of my life and events that happened last year.

The main purpose of this summary is to reflect on my past, understand what I’ve done well, and make plans for the future. It’s also a good way to learn English.

1. The war is going on

The war has been going on for almost two years. In 2023, there were no big wins like those in

Kharkiv⁠

and

Kherson⁠

in late 2022. The war seems to be changing as the enemy adapts and learns from past mistakes. This situation must motivate civilians to keep supporting our warriors, but the reality is a bit different. People are getting tired of the war. Seriously, what? My response is, “Please shut the fuck up!” Only defenders are allowed to express tiredness. I think it’s because ordinary citizens became aware of the reality of wartime, e.g. Ukraine has losses too, constant missile strikes, fake news, etc.

Speaking about myself, I’m not tired. Even though the pressure of potential

mobilization⁠

weighs on me, I remain calm and steadfast and continue to support:

⁠

Despite facing difficulties, Ukraine is making progress toward victory. I believe the key achievements for 2023 include significantly weakening the

Black Sea Fleet⁠

, enhancing air defense provided by partners, and eliminating

terrorists⁠

from the Far East to

Sudan⁠

. Crimean Bridge was attacked for the second time but is still functional. — All in good time! Additionally, there was a shitty revolt started by

Wagner⁠

mercenaries. Long story short,

Prigozhin⁠

failed and later was killed. — What a story! Last but not least, I hope blowing up the Kakhovka dam will give the AFU more tactical maneuvers in the future.

I want to finish this chapter with another accomplishment. We often learn more about people close to us in tough times. This is especially true in the case of Ukrainians. We’re ranked as the 2nd generous country in the

World’s Giving Index⁠

⁠

⁠

This small success makes me proud because Ukraine is at the top and it's a significant rise, as last year the country held the 10th position. It also feels great to contribute to my country's success and maybe even the world.

2. Career and self-development

In 2023, I worked with quite an impressive technology stack at first glance:

⁠

Made by

wordclouds.com⁠

(Font size approximately corresponds to time spent)

This is because GitHub Copilot and ChartGPT exist. Before, if someone asked what my favorite software development tool was, I'd say Git. Now, I'm sure it's AI. So, here is more info about my activities in 2023...

1. Built a simple landing page using
`Midjourney`⁠
and
`no-code`⁠
tools

⁠

AI and Creativity: A Look into the Future coda.io⁠

⁠

Midjourney inspired me to do a fun project with a focus on creativity — more info in the above post.

2. Tested a better way to analyze data with
`Pandas`⁠
and
`Matplotlib`⁠
⁠

⁠

Loading coda.io⁠

⁠

I worked with a lot of raw data and looked for a better way to analyze and visualize it for insights. Pandas and Matplotlib offer extremely useful features.

3. Created a desktop app with
`PyQt`⁠
⁠

⁠

I've used Qt for years and always appreciated its simplicity, power, and great documentation. PyQt made things even easier.

During my university years, I had difficulty with programming. Qt was the first tool that helped me move beyond "Hello World" applications. It inspired me to keep learning. Without Qt, I don't know who I would have become.

4. Made a Chrome extension prototype with
`React`⁠
&
`TypeScript`⁠
⁠

⁠

I participated in developing a Chrome extension, which also served as an opportunity to refresh and improve the React and TypeScript skills. I like React's approach to UI creation. If I had to choose something other than C++, I’d pick React.

5. Learned the basics of
`Rust`⁠
⁠

⁠

Learning Rust was really up and down for me. At the beginning, it felt too hard. I almost cried and even thought about updating my resume as a backup plan. Sometimes, I felt like giving up. But after about 2-3 months, it all started to make sense.

Moreover, while I was learning, I found out about

Dioxus⁠

, a React-inspired library for Rust. Even though this combination might sound daunting for those not familiar with Rust or React, it’s a powerful and yes, a bit complicated, library for creating modern user interfaces for everything including desktop applications, e.g.

⁠

Sourced from the

DemoApp GitHub repository⁠

⁠

These are 2 usual buttons for toggling the theme and opening the sidebar menu but Dioxus enhances them with the latest HTML/CSS in my opinion. The shit is awesome!

3. 10 years as a software engineer

One meme is worth a thousand words:

⁠

10 years is just another milestone, keep going on.

4. Financial health

Continuing my yearly tradition, I'll begin by giving an overview of my expenses:

⁠

⁠

In my previous posts, I emphasized my investment account, but not this time. I had to close it because

EXANTE⁠

was sanctioned by the

National Security and Defence Council⁠

. The original plan was to be a long-term investor with a horizon of at least 10 years and use a dollar-cost averaging strategy. As a result, I withdrew all my money and split it between deposit and government bonds.

That was a useful experience with both positive and negative outcomes:

⁠

⁠

⁠

After closing all my positions I learned about foreign exchange gains. For example, if I invested $10K in 2020 and took out the same amount in 2023, it would seem like I hadn’t earned anything. However, since I live in Ukraine, the value of the

Ukrainian currency⁠

likely devalued during those years. So, in 2020, $10K was equal to 270K UAH (at an exchange rate of 27 UAH per dollar), but when I withdrew the money, it was worth 360K UAH. This means I made a profit of 90K UAH, therefore, I have to pay taxes on it.

It was a great year for

crypto hodlers⁠

and possibly for

degens⁠

too:

⁠

⁠

Image source:

coin360.com⁠

⁠

Overall, my financial health is quite good as it was before. Based on approximate calculations, I'm heading towards financial independence as my passive income covers 24% of my essential expenses.

Final word

In 2023, I didn't make any significant progress towards my goals, nor did I fall behind. I would describe my 2023 as “slowly but surely”. But that’s not a point these days. Most importantly, I want to thank all of Ukraine's defenders who are fighting now and are no longer with us...

⁠

Героям cлава! Дякую!

Previous summaries

⁠

2018⁠

2019⁠

2020⁠

2021⁠

2022⁠

⁠

Intro

1. The war is going on

2. Career and self-development

1. Built a simple landing page using Midjourney and no-code tools

2. Tested a better way to analyze data with Pandas and Matplotlib

3. Created a desktop app with PyQt

4. Made a Chrome extension prototype with React & TypeScript

5. Learned the basics of Rust

3. 10 years as a software engineer

4. Financial health

Final word

Previous summaries

Want to print your doc?
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Try clicking the ⋯ next to your doc name or using a keyboard shortcut (

CtrlP

) instead.

My 2023

Intro

1. The war is going on

2. Career and self-development

1. Built a simple landing page using Midjourney⁠ and no-code⁠ tools

2. Tested a better way to analyze data with Pandas⁠ and Matplotlib⁠⁠

3. Created a desktop app with PyQt⁠⁠

4. Made a Chrome extension prototype with React⁠ & TypeScript⁠⁠

5. Learned the basics of Rust⁠⁠

3. 10 years as a software engineer

4. Financial health

Final word

Previous summaries

1. Built a simple landing page using
`Midjourney`⁠
and
`no-code`⁠
tools

2. Tested a better way to analyze data with
`Pandas`⁠
and
`Matplotlib`⁠
⁠

3. Created a desktop app with
`PyQt`⁠
⁠

4. Made a Chrome extension prototype with
`React`⁠
&
`TypeScript`⁠
⁠

5. Learned the basics of
`Rust`⁠
⁠