2025 is about to end, so I figured that it would be nice to look back at many things that happened this year.

(I skipped 2024 because I was travelling around the end of 2024, and early 2025 was very busy. By the time I have the time to write 2024 recap, I was already not interested in writing it.)

Research

Managed to publish a few papers this year. Also, first time I went to a conference to present my work. (2024 should be my first time, but I was too late in applying for visa.) It was nice to go and see people with similar interests. Though I have to say, it's still hard for me to talk with strangers...

After submitting the papers in early 2025, I figured that since it is the final year of my PhD, I should try to experience as many things as possible. Apart from presenting my papers at a conference, I also did a research visit hosted by Rachid in EPFL and gave a talk at a workshop. They were pretty fruitful, and definitely they were some of the most interesting moments during this year.

School-wise, I got two research-related awards from NUS this year. Really grateful for these.

Finally, I am left with wrapping up my thesis. I know there are only few things to do, but probably because of that (and the holiday season?), I can't find the motivation to finish the thesis lol. Anyway I have to finish it by mid-January so it should be done soon enough. And after that, back to writing paper.

Travel

Traveled to a bunch of places this year. Also, first time going to Switzerland and Mexico. Have to say, during times like these, I wish I had a strong passport... Anyway, the excitement offset the annoyance, so overall it's good.

June was pretty busy. I went to Lausanne, Switzerland for two weeks (research visit), and right after that, I went to Huatulco, Mexico for a week (conference). And for some... reason... in between, I went back to Singapore for a day. One thing I learned from this busy schedule is that, if you have a multi-entry visa from certain countries (e.g., Schengen visas), you can use it to enter Mexico. Which is nice, less headache for me.

Lausanne is very pretty. (Though I guess, that's my impression of most European cities.) Spent a day strolling around the city and Lake Geneva. Got lucky that I decided to do that earlier, as later on, the view across the lake was covered by some... smoke? fog? I forgot. Anyway, going to Switzerland from Singapore reminds me of when I went to Singapore from Indonesia. I felt poor :') Regardless, I think I would love to visit the city again in the future.

Next, I went to Mexico. I feel like it's pretty similar to Indonesia. I swear some of the sweets I bought have their Indonesian equivalent. Also, I had this conversation with a hotel employee.

Him: *speaks in spanish*
Me: "Sorry?"
Him: "Oh sorry I thought you are local."

Makes me question my Asian-ness but okay.

I spent a week at Huatulco, which is a nice resort area. It is around 1 hour flight away from Mexico City, so it's not that far.

During the conference, I gave the first two talks of the entire conference. So I should be able to enjoy my time in this nice resort hotel, right? Unfortunately, a hurricane hits the area. While it doesn't directly hit the conference hotel, it affects the weather; it rains heavily every day. We also lost internet connection at some point. Oh well, it is what it is. Nevertheless, I pretty much enjoyed the conference.

Late October, I went to Berlin, Germany (workshop). Technically not my first time here, as I've been here a few years ago during my research internship. But anyway, I decided to go sightseeing again, since the last time I was here I didn't see much. I had one regret from this trip though. During my last day, I was free for the entire day, as my flight was at night. I decided to just walk around the Hauptbahnhof and Tiergarten. However, as I took the train to the airport, I just realized that the one-week ticket I bought can also be used to go to Potsdam. Never been to Potsdam before, should have spent my day there...

Lastly, near the end of November, I went to Jakarta. Two days to attend ICPC Jakarta, then a few days of visiting UI and vacation. I also gave a guest lecture (for competitive programming course) and a talk at UI. I found it amusing that here, a lot of people would show up for a talk if there is food. Dunno why, but this doesn't work in UI. Anyway, it's always good to be back in Indonesia (mainly because of the local food).

Misc

It's 2025 and for whatever reason I still write competitive programming problems. Not actively writing though, so let's see how long I will complain like this. I also did testing for ICPC Jakarta; standard testing for INC, and "trying-to-solve-when-I-am-free"-kind of testing for ICPC Jakarta. I still did pretty well somehow, IIRC my INC (solo) testing result was comparable to the top 5 official contestants.

This year, I decided to watch some anime (I prefer to read manga or novels nowadays). Partially because I want to "switch-off" my brain for a while. I think I finished around 5 in the span of 2 weeks? Anyway, my favorite among them is Secrets of the Silent Witch. Pretty easy to digest, has a good mix of action and comedy, and the soundtrack is good. I seem to like anime where the main character is an introvert (relatable?)

Now, I originally wanted to write a "game review" since I played a lot of games this year. In fact, I am currently trying to finish one right now. Initially, I wanted to write the review before writing the year recap, but alas, I can't finish the current game fast enough. 70+ hours in and I still don't know how far I am from the ending...

Anyway, for a quick summary of the games I have finished:

• Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist: I enjoyed Ender Lilies, so I was pretty excited to try this. I think it's easier than Ender Lilies, but anyway, still a pretty solid Metroidvania. Really liked that they let you know whether you have found everything in an area.
• Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream: I actually bought this after I finished Atelier Ryza 3, but I got busy and I forgot I had this. The game was pretty standard until I spent some time in the alchemy (i.e., item synthesis). Spent like 80% of my playthrough just doing alchemy. I can see why people like tile-based puzzles.

It also have some very good soundtracks. Game single-handedly made me want to play more Atelier games. At least, the Mysterious series. Also, just to note, you don't need to play Atelier Sophie 1 first before playing this one.

• Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings: I bought this after I finished Atelier Sophie 2, as I craved for more of the alchemy. Game made me realize that, 1) there are a lot of QoL-improvements in newer Atelier titles (e.g., knowing what item would drop from gathering), and 2) I should have played Atelier Firis and Atelier Sophie 1 first. Still, a pretty good game.
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: I initially watched my roommate play it. My first impression: "turn-based + Sekiro?", so I wasn't that interested. Still, out of curiosity, I tried it. It was then I realized it's more like "turn-based + rhythm game", which are the two genres I really liked. So I blasted through the game, finishing it faster than my roommate. The game is pretty darn fun. For me, the strongest selling point is the soundtrack; I really liked lots of the OSTs, but I guess Une vie à t'aimer and Une vie à peindre stand out the most. Finally, I peaked when I beat Simon without cheese-strats.

• Hollow Knight: Silksong: The long-awaited sequel of Hollow Knight. I know I should be ready for a world of pain after dying 5+ times to the second boss (Bell Beast). Game is pretty adrenaline-inducing with how most of the enemies hit like a truck. It's pretty fun though, since Hornet's movement is pretty fluid. Some boss fights feel like dancing, like First Sinner and Skarrsinger Karmelita. When in doubt, spam poison cogflies and tacks. Looking forward to the DLCs.

• Hades II: Hades was pretty fun, so I decided to try this one. It's pretty fun, though I have to say, most of the time I don't know what I am doing and just spam attacks. Still cannot figure out how to use the axe properly. Also, I believed that I almost first-tried Typhon (already at the last phase when I died). When I finished playing the game, the new ending hadn't come out. However, by the time it came out, I already moved on to other stuff. Maybe I should get the new ending sometime in the future...
• Hollow Knight: A lot of people said Hollow Knight is far more chill compared to Silksong, so I decided to play it again. For the record, the last time I played Hollow Knight was in 2019. I don't know whether it's due to Silksong or because I watched a bunch of Hollow Knight contents, but somehow, the game felt a lot easier than I remembered... like, apart from the dream bosses, I think I only died around 10 times throughout the game, and most can be easily avoided. I also first-tried a bunch of bosses I remembered were hard in my last playthrough, like the Watcher Knights and Hornet Sentinel. I am also surprised that I can 112% the game (Pure Vessel is hard tho). Haven't tried P5 or Path of Pain though, maybe will do in the future.

So yeah, many things happened in 2025, and overall, I think it was a good year. Hoping that next year will be better.