2023-2024 Retrospective

I never wrote a year-in-review for 2023. In hindsight, I think that was helpful for writing one for 2024. In many ways these past two years have been a fairly cohesive time block, ripe for joint reflection. This will probably be long, so let’s go.

Health and fitness

2023 was undoubtedly the Year of Chance in the fitness domain. I ran (and PR’d) one of my toughest half-marathons in La Jolla, CA, winding up a never-ending climb to Torrey Pines and crossing the finish line strong to the coast. It was my best race performance to date, and it gave me a ton of motivation to push my runs harder moving forward.

I spent the following months doing more speed-centered workouts. I focused on shorter races, starting with a 46-minute 10k (PR!) and ending the year with a 5k in a little over 21 minutes (huge PR!). I set an ambitious goal to get down into the 20s by the end of 2024.

But then came Father Time. And with him, a more humbling 2024.

At the beginning of the year, I was halfway to 38. I was in better shape than ever, but the harsh reality is the clock never stops ticking. Over-training led to a foot injury, which required a more extended period of recovery than in the past. My next 5k was a step back, clocking in shy of 23 minutes.

I ran another half-marathon in June resulting in another PR, but it was a struggle despite consistent training and a much easier course than the year before. It also led to hip flexor issues that stopped my running completely for almost two months. Shortly after recovering came the shin splits. More rest and a few more weeks of training, and it was a torn calf muscle.

I finished the year doing far more sitting than running. A real bummer. And a tough reminder of where I am in life. I did manage a few slow miles on NYE, so perhaps I can ease back into training with a bit more caution in 2025.

It wasn’t all bad though! I started lifting in 2023 to start training more holistically, with a focus on longevity and mobility. Proud to say I’ve been hitting the weights consistently (3-5 times per week) ever since.

TL;DR: Father Time is undefeated. Heed his warnings and adapt accordingly. I’m very grateful to have this body and its abilities. I’d like to hold onto them for as long as I can.

Professional life

2023 marked a shift. I had been working full-time on open-source developer tools since 2019 (Reach UI, Radix UI, React Router, and finally Remix still React Router). Surrounded by brilliant folks, I was super fortunate to be in that position and learned more about this job in a few short years than I’d have expected in a decade.

At the same time, it had its limits. I had been free of the pressures of product work for some time. Few deadlines, no big growth demands, no paying customers. Despite my expertise, I wasn’t sure I could remember how to build and ship a real product.

So I bet on myself. In mid-2023 I left a great job at Shopify, where I landed after the Remix acquisition. I went to work at a scrappy, early-stage startup no one in my circle had heard of. Replo, small as it may have been, was a real product with real, paying users and a clear growth story, and I saw it as an opportunity to get closer to end-users and help shape a promising product with a great, scrappy team.

Given the success of Remix, some of my peers were confused. Hell, so were a few of my new colleagues! But that move was exactly what I needed at the time. I’m proud of the work we did and I’m bullish on Replo’s future. Shout-out to Noah and Yuxin for letting me be a part of it. I learned a ton, both on the tech side (paying down technical debt, performance profiling, building really complex carousels ☠️), and business/product marketing.

In mid-2024 I had another opportunity that felt ripe for the taking. WorkOS had been on my radar ever since they acquired my previous team at Modulz, and subsequently the Radix brand. They had a very compelling product in an unfamiliar domain, and a huge pool of talent including many ex-colleagues who I deeply respected. After a few lengthy conversations with my old boss Stephen, I was sold. I took my second professional leap in a year and joined the WorkOS dashboard team.

Again, no regrets. Within the first two months I shipped my first big feature, directly talked to dozens of customers, and managed to find my voice on a deep bench of talented folks. It’s been great to see a successful startup at a different stage of growth. And based on my first two quarters, the future looks very strong.

Relationships

Moving across the country in 2019 was a great experience, but starting over is always hard. 2020 and the pandemic compounded that, and for a long time it was difficult to find a close community. 2023 is when that really started to turn around, and 2024 has solidified many great friendships. Extremely grateful on that front.

Also: I’m engaged! I am profoundly fortunate to feel reciprocated love. It’s the most rewarding feeling I can imagine, and I’m going to work hard to see that it lasts a lifetime.

We’ll be married well before my 2025 year-in-review. We’ve been living together for quite a while, so I don’t expect much to practically change. But this process has brought us closer together than we’ve ever been. It has strengthened my relationship with both her and her family, and in turn given me an extended family I dearly love.

I’m not one to share too many personal details online, so I’ll leave you with a photo and a few general thoughts on relationships I’ve formed over the years. YMMV.

1. Communication is everything. Literally everyone seems to acknowledge it, but it’s so much harder to actually live. The more we talk about hard things, the stronger our trust and the closer we get in the end. Do not avoid hard conversations.
2. Be kind. Being kind to strangers is sometimes easier than being kind to the ones you love. It takes a lot of patience (not one of my natural virtues). While we struggle at times and often disagree, we rarely fight. I credit 95% of that to simple kindness.
3. Take time for one another. Even just sitting next to each other is often enough. Seems silly, but I am pretty independent and it took me a while to realize the importance of just being present with each other. Speaking of independence…
4. Take time for yourself. As much as I love her, I need alone time. Or even time with other people. This can be particularly hard if your partner needs less time away than you. See points 1 and 2 to better navigate this.
5. They are probably not the one. Whether you're single and looking, or partnered up, do not expect them to be your everything all the time. It's just not possible. You'll find small things that annoy you, hit rough patches, and be tempted to look elsewhere from time to time. If the big things are where they need to be, just work on the small things, respect one another's individualism, and focus inward. Having strong relationships outside of your romantic partner can really make a difference here.

Final thoughts

Internally I'm a bit of a chaotic mess. My mind lingers on negativity, which I try to compensate for with relentless outward positivity (way easier in writing!). Just know that as I type this, I'm fighting myself to acknowledge the truth. Which is that I am excessively fortunate.

I stumbled into a profession that I enjoy and—turns out—pays very well. I have people who love me, and I get to return that in kind. I am a member of more than one privileged class, which I try to use to uplift others as best I can. I am in good health and all of my needs are met. I hope I use these advantages to make life a little richer for those around me.

Other 2024 highlights

• Travelled to 11 states and 5 countries
• Attended 3 conferences, spoke at 1
• Attended 2 weddings
• Got to be in a developer reality show with friends!
• Went snowboarding, surfing, hiking, and snorkeling
• Prioritized personal relationships over work