31.12.2023
Should have signed up for frequent flyer rewards.
2023 was busy. Some highlights:
Took 26 flights, averaging to one every 2 weeks. Accumulated airtime of 115 hours. That’s around 4.81 days spent hoping a baby doesn’t exercise its vocal chords. Fly.
Interned at Tesla in the Bay this summer. Worked on some cool projects and features. Also got a ride in the Cybertruck. Found housing a week before I flew in, made new friends, cooked a fair bit, and traveled around a lot. Peak technology brother experience. Felt like I could truly take care of myself. “Adulting”.
Took my favourite college course so far—Computer Architecture (EECS 470). Learnt that hardware is…hard. Chose a particularly difficult final project, but also had a great team that made it worthwhile. Taking the follow up (EECS 570) next sem. Might try out HPC research as well. RISC-Y.
Led an FPGA lab section for Digital Logic (EECS 270) both sems (fall + winter). Teaching is fun. Also convinced the prof to let me co-build the autograder for the course. (Logic) gatekeeping.
Started writing Hindi/Urdu poetry. Being able to think in different languages is riveting. Intend to get better at Tamil/Malayalam next. Word.
Resumed playing Carnatic music on violin. Also started singing, and performed a few times at UMich. My sister still insists I’m terrible—motivation to get better. Violin-ce.
Organised a couple of fun events and programs as a Contrary VP. Attended retreats in Austin and the Redwoods. The people remain superb. Ad-venture.
Shuttled around the midwest playing squash for Michigan. Sometimes well. It’s a lovely game, hope to play more in the years ahead too. Courtship.
Another year of watching cricket. Pain.
All of the above was punctuated by time spent with friends, family, and music. Some new, some old, all incredible.
Change is generally good. Personally, I feel I’ve changed a lot in the last 12 months, mostly for the better. Nevertheless, as I write this from back home in Mumbai, I am grateful for some constants in my life.
My mom’s coffee remains immaculate; my dad’s jokes, awful. And my sister, annoying as always.