The year 2024 in pictures

As has become a long-standing tradition, every December I order a wall calendar made from photographs of the past year—one to three photos for each corresponding month. And, as is now customary, a blog post based on the same photographs.

The year, as usual, was interesting and eventful, with plenty to remember. There were many good and bad moments. I lost and found a job. I traveled a lot: 79 days, almost 22% of the entire year. 

So, here's our calendar. All images are clickable.

January

At the end of December last year, I was informed that I was being removed from the project I was working on—not because I was doing anything poorly, but simply because the client had decided to cut costs. So, starting January 1st, I would be moving to the bench. This wasn't a bad thing, really: I could learn new technologies and work on my own projects. I was relatively confident about my future because I had both reputation and experience, and it wasn't the first time I'd been between projects: I was always quickly reassigned to new ones. Meanwhile, we headed to the northernmost part of our state—the Keweenaw Peninsula. My child was turning 20, so we went to celebrate, go skiing, and enjoy the winter: thanks to the El Niño weather system, our winter had been unusually warm and snowless. As it turned out, we were showered with winter joy in abundance: we arrived just as a massive snowstorm was winding down. But our Toyota performed admirably, and thanks to the snowfall, a nearby ski slope opened soon after our arrival. So, the trip was a success!

February

Natasha and I have birthdays in February. This year, as a gift to ourselves, we decided to go to Hawaii—a trip we'd been planning for a long time. Incidentally, the flight there is 15 hours long (including layovers)—longer than to many European cities. But it was worth it! We swam, I scuba dived, and climbed one of the highest volcanoes in the world…

You can read the Hawaii trip report at our blog.

March

March in Michigan is unpredictable: it's warm, flowers are everywhere, and then suddenly it snows...

April

The main event of that April was the total lunar eclipse. It wasn't total for us, but right next door, in Ohio, we were already getting four minutes of totality, so we went. As it turned out, we weren't the only ones who were smart: a trip that usually takes 50 minutes took us two and a half hours. But the main thing is, we made it!

May

Another significant astronomical event is the aurora borealis. It would seem that the pole is far away, and where are we? So, we went to our local Holland—to Tulip Festival.

June

Summer is time summer festival, backyard breakfasts and harvesting.

July

Another long-planned trip has been completed - a leisurely (two-week) route around Lake Michigan (with stops at Lake Superior). A full report is in our blog.

August

August is the season for beautiful sunrises during morning jogs.

September

Lots of events.

• First, the unpleasant ones: in the middle of the month, they tell me they can't find me a project (I interviewed three times with potential clients, and all three times they told me I was assigned to a project, and all three times the project was canceled: something's wrong with the economy). So, as of October 1st, I'm unemployed. But it's not all bad—I'll be paid severance pay for another 10 weeks after I leave, a week for each year I've worked.
• Secondly, at the end of September we began another long-planned trip – a two-week itinerary across mainland Greece. The full report is in our blog. Of course, the layoff didn't work out entirely well, but on the plus side, I won't have to work part of the trip, as I'd planned. However, I will have to spend time looking for a job.

October

A lot of events.

• We're continuing our trip around Greece. Now, in addition to completing our mainland route, we're spending a week on the island of Crete. This is how we're celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary.
• My job search is bearing fruit. In early October, I interview with a recruiter, choosing a quiet location in the Athens port of Piraeus. Then, back from Copenhagen, I undergo a three-hour technical interview. And, upon returning home, I receive an official job offer. In today's crappy job market, finding a new job in 24 days isn't so bad. Well, okay, not 24 days, but a little over a month—I started my job search immediately after the layoff announcement, even before my official employment ended.

November

I don't start my new job until the 12th, so two weeks after returning from Greece, we're going on a new trip: Skyline Parkway, Shenandoah National Park, and the capital, Washington, D.C.—combining business and travel.

December

We hadn't planned anything, but unexpectedly, our old friends invited us to a rented house, so we went for one night. On the way, we stopped for some New Year's spirit at a store in the town of Frankenmuth (aka "“Little Bavaria”") - This huge store, all built on the theme of Christmas (and for us, of course, all this is associated with the New Year).