My (Chaotic) 2025 Reflection
Well, here we are. It's the end of 2025: a landmark year... for me. Well, not really; if I'm being honest, the year had its ups and downs. A lot of downs (like, a lot), and that's okay.
By the way, yes: You're probably reading this in 2026. Well, I'm writing this on New Year's Eve 2025. While I probably will end up posting this early, I won't be refreshing the feed until the new year, so don't get confused. While you may be reading this after the fact, you are still ringing in the new year with me. Bathroom's in the back, there's Pepsi and pizza in the corner: Make yourself comfortable.
I wanted to reflect on this past year, talk about all the positive stuff that happened, what that means for the upcoming year and how I can start 2026 on the right foot. Then, I got hurt at work.
On the last working day of the year, and probably the only working day this week, my day was cut in half because of a nasty fall I took. I'm okay, but my right knee got badly scraped and my right thumb got really screwed up. Just like that, my brain flashed to frustration, infuriation and resentment. I immediately wanted to blow up on everything and everyone.
But, I didn't. After a few deep breaths and a cool down, I refused to let myself. So, we're sticking with the original plan. We are going to cover the good stuff that went down this past year. Because let's be clear: Despite all of the failure, setbacks and bullshit, I ABSOLUTELY FUCKING SUCCEEDED.
The Textbook Case
It's not much, but at the very least, it's a start.
And to me, that's all that matters. My problem with The Textbook Case is less about writer's block and more about... well, a litany of other issues I'm working on. So many versions of Part 2 have been discarded just because I didn't like the direction they were going in.
Is it perfection?
Is it a lack of confidence?
Could it be self-sabotage?
Maybe it's a complex mix of all three. Regardless: Small wins. And Part 1 being done is just that. Also, Part 2 is at least 80% done. We're talking mid-January, and I promise absolutely nothing.
This WHOLE PLACE!
Why don't we bring up the elephant in the room? This website, and the feed that broadcasts out of it. I was able to accomplish something that I've wanted to do for years, and do so in a way that I'm more than happy with.
For so long, concept after concept just didn't fit what I not only wanted this site to look like, but what I wanted it to feel like. And, yes: I did dabble in WordPress/Jekyll/etc. They either presented workflows that didn't gel with me, or couldn't do exactly what I wanted without extensive modification. I figured at that point, I might as well just make my own tiny CMS, which I did.
One day, I just began; and brick by brick, this place came alive. It does exactly what I want it to do, consistently and efficiently. So much so, that it led to the creation of another cool web design project...
hVmark
Of course, we can't talk about web site wins without bringing up hVmark. This site's backend had scaled so perfectly, that when I had the idea to give the site some Markdown-adjacent functionality, getting something up and running was relatively straight-forward.
Also, yes: the idea for hVmark came after the site's creation. Making a custom markup was never part of the original plan, but after writing this Batman post, I realized I liked writing in a style that felt like I was scribbling in the margins. But, hard-coding HTML longform markup sucks. A lot. But, what if I didn't need to do that, while also not having to rely on external dependencies?
Thus, hVmark was born. Then, it evolved over time, being iterated on until I felt comfortable releasing the vanilla spec as FOSS.
I just said it worked... for me.
What started as an experiment became a curiosity, which then became a useful tool. And I could not be happier with how this turned out.
"Yes, we get it: you're proud of yourself. You're turning into a broken record."
That's fair. I made some cool stuff and I'm happy. Though, it has admittedly overtaken a lot of the conversation on my end, and it is something I do have to work on heading into the new year.
But let's not get bogged down by all the easy wins. Let's get into the real thick of the thin.
The real shit in the gravy.
The real... meat... in the potatoes.
I'm bad at food puns.
Going (And Staying) Dry
Eight months now. I can't say I haven't been tempted, but it gets easier the longer it goes on.
I'll just leave it at that for now.
Gainful Employment
This was more of a late win. Throughout the year, consistent work was not easy to come by, so 2025 was full of isolated jobs and whatever I could make from the wonderful and lucrative gig economy. During peak, I got my foot in the door somewhere, and I'm hoping to slam it open.
...We really don't think about how violent that metaphor is, do we?
Yes, this was during peak. Peak means seasonal, and seasonal means temporary. I'm working hard to hopefully not be temporary. And, worst-case scenario, I opened up my network of references for the next opportunity that comes along.
Heading Into 2026
Despite the bumps in the road, I'm feeling good about the upcoming year. I'm constantly moving forward, and when it feels like I'm not, I'm at the very least doing my best.
And I hope you're doing your best. Happy New Year, get home safely, don't drink and drive, and if you hook up with anyone tonight, the child you end up producing is more than likely going to be a Virgo.
And Virgos are awesome.