It sure as hell was an eventful year. Lots happened, some of it was great, some of it was really bad, but all years have their ups and downs.
I started 2024 just hoping for a better life, I was 1 year in my relationship and looking for a job. I had gotten an ultimatum from my ex that if I didn't find a job she'd dump me, and that's fair enough - no one wants a bum, but finding a job wasn't easy at all, I was looking for one throughout all the time and depending on HIVE and other odd jobs to be able to do stuff, but then I did find a really good part time job that paid really well.
She still dumped, because it was part time and not a "real job"
That's how my year started, pretty down in the dumps. I got so depressed for losing what I thought was gonna be my future wife that I quit that job and became an actual bum.
It was a low point, then I also got hit with some chronic sinusitis at one point and had headaches every single day. So just imagine being sad and in pain, every day, for months.
Well, eventually things seemed to let up and I got back to work - just as I did so, my knee surgery got confirmed by the national health service (of Brazil, I don't live in the UK), so there I went, with no expectations and no fear, this was my second knee surgery and this time they had to do it right.
After 3 hours(!!!) of surgery my knee was done, in 3 days I was back home, in 10 days I was doing physiotherapy and in 2 months I was walking normal-ish again.
A lot of things happened with my hobby as well, gaming.
I started 2024 really wanting a PS5, after owning a PS4 it just seemed like the obvious choice and it got me really excited when I finally got my hands on one... 4 months later I was getting rid of it for a PC again.
It's not that I didn't like it, I absolutely loved the Playstation experience and if I could I would've kept it, it's just that I needed a PC for work and my Steam library was already there.
But anyways, that's the videogame side of things.
Something really sad happened about a month ago, my grandma Maria passed away. That got the whole family sad.
When my other grandma died, the impact was far smaller, her family is all in Europe so we didn't really feel the impact of their loss, it was just a bummer to lose her but it was expected - she was 87 after all.
But Maria? She was barely in her 70s and she was the most active and lively woman I've ever known. I even worked for her whilst finding a job, at her club for old people. She ran that thing with love and every Friday I was there, serving drinks and food.
It was a great experience and it really got me closer to grandma. So it made seeing her sick with cancer all the more impactful - it was tragic, we knew what was coming and we just had to brace for impact.
Rest in Peace Maria Fraga, you will be missed.
Then there's my town, not much happened here. We had mayoral elections and next year the new guy's taking over with promises to keep doing what the current administration is already doing, which is good.
I have some distaste for the current mayor because of his nepotism when dealing with public works, but it's undeniable he did good for our small town. We went from 9 thousand inhabitants 4 years ago to 17 thousand, it's a pretty significant difference and all the infrastructure improvements near the beach are very much welcome.
Anyways, it's the 31st of December now, so not much use thinking about 2024 anymore is there?
Today we're making a barbecue, setting off some fireworks and having fun. My friend Ana, who I onboarded to HIVE is coming over (I forgot her user handle, sorry) and it's always nice seeing people you like.
What are you all going to be doing for the last day of the year? And what are your new year's plans?
I'm gonna focus next year on my mental health and try to get more and more stuff to work on so I can distract myself and also make some more money on the side.
I still have 9 months to go till my knee gets 100% stable again, so an actual stable job is going to have to wait.
Maybe I'll try finding someone to love, but the pain from losing Isabel is still too great.
Have a good one folks!
A happy new year to all of HIVE.