2023: awesomeness awesomeness, and awesomeness 🤩

I planned, prepared, and executed. As I look back and reflect on the year 2023, I feel proud and happy for myself — proud because I executed the year properly, and happy because I enjoyed awesomeness every month.

2023 was a lot about traveling and exploring. I spent so much time traveling and enjoying new adventures, rather than getting lost in work loops. There were many procrastination breaks, where I took long breaks from work to rethink my approaches and priorities.

I prioritized myself in many aspects, and looking back, I feel glad that I took those breaks because, as I go through the journey of life, backtracking my emotions, I feel exhausted many times. But, hell yeah! 2023 was the year where I did awesome stuff, and maybe started living life a little differently.

Looking back to 2023!

Taking work in slow mode 🧑‍💻

Similar to the previous year, I didn’t push myself much in terms of work this year. As mentioned, I took many long procrastination breaks and focused only on important matters. Through Open Knowledge Nepal, we continued our work on the Integrated Data Management System (IDMS) project in Birgunj, Tulsipur, and Lekhbesi. Many thanks to our funder, Data for Development (D4D) Nepal, for their continuous support and coordination. We also successfully expanded the project to Janakpurdham Sub-Metropolitan City.

Through the Open Knowledge Foundation, I was active in the Open Data Day project and gladly supported 20 organizations around the world with a grant of USD 500 to cover the expenses of their events. We received 71 small grant applications this year from 30 countries and were greatly impressed by the quality of the event proposals. I hope the interest and enthusiasm of people remain the same for the open data momentum this year too.

After discussing and planning for some years, we finally expanded the Women in Data Nepal Steering Committee. We welcomed 10 organizations to join the mission to work as a coalition to create space for more women to advance in the field. By being part of the program committee, this year I also helped shape and organize the Youth IGF Nepal 2023 event — an annual multi-stakeholder open forum that provides a platform for young people to exchange experiences, learn about Internet governance issues, and amplify their voices in national and international policy discussions.

As the year comes to an end, I joined the Nepal-U.S. Alumni Network as Secretary and the Datasphere Fellowship Program.

So much international travel ✈️

I explored seven countries in 2023, and this time, I did not travel for work; instead, I visited, explored, and enjoyed. I began my international travels from India by visiting Delhi twice, and this year’s experience in Delhi was different. The diversity and messiness of Delhi always amaze me.

Traveling to Sri Lanka was also a great experience in 2023. I went there to attend the South Climate Concave, representing the Climate Action Campaign Network (CACN) Nepali cohort. Along with a few colleagues from the cohort, we explored Sri Lanka in a more local way, going around cities like Negombo, Kandy, Ella, Yala, Galle, and Colombo.

I also gathered the courage and money to visit Europe again; this time, it was Switzerland, and my goodness, that country is beautiful. The culture, the people, the place; everything was so great and perfect. In Switzerland, I spent most of my time in Zurich, Bern, and Interlaken.

Mid-year, I decided to go to Singapore for a proper vacation with no work commitments, to spend time and explore the country with my love. This was my second visit to Singapore, but the experience was very different from the first. Maybe people over places ❤

I also went all out to check off the bucket list of exploring Southeast Asia by visiting Thailand, Cambodia, and Malaysia. A big hug and kiss to my love for making the travel around these countries memorable. In Thailand, we explored Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Krabi, and Koh Samui; in Cambodia, we explored Siem Reap, Koh Rong, and Phnom Penh; and in Malaysia, we explored Langkawi, George Town, and Kuala Lumpur.

Exploring and as usual hiking x cycling 🏞️

The exploration began with my first proper trek to Pachpokhari with very little preparation, and it resulted in collecting lifelong memories. Looking back, it still feels like a dream — the journey and the place. Mountains always have a way of pleasing your heart and mind.

In 2023, hiking played a significant role. I successfully conquered all the surrounding hiking hills and routes of the Kathmandu Valley. I’m grateful to some of my close friends who helped me achieve this by organizing and inviting me to the hikes. Additionally, to make use of my cycle, I did quite a few cycling trips around the White Ghumba, Single Tree, and Ramkot areas.

This year, I also had the chance to experience camping in the most random way possible. My first camping experience, with new friends, created a bond that will probably last forever. Among many places, the exploration and experiences collected in locations like Kulekhani, Pharping, Janakpur, Pokhara, Surkhet, and Birgunj are the most cherished.

Visiting the Barahsinghe Beer Garden and Bandipur was also a great highlight of random exploration — drinking beer all night and going for a hike the next morning.

Not meeting reading and writing goals 📑

I perpetually feel guilty about not meeting my reading goals, despite acquiring numerous new books at the beginning of the year. Although I set a goal to read twenty books, I only managed to finish three (#shame). I started several books but left them incomplete and unread due to distractions and frequent bouts of procrastination throughout the year.

I hope to improve my reading habits in the coming years. My favorite read was ‘Rock Paper Scissors’ by Alice Feeney. It was my first thriller, and I enjoyed the twists more than anything else. I also loved reading ‘The Forty Rules of Love’ by Elif Shafak, as that book left me feeling a bit empty and confused.

Regarding writing, it has been a proper four months since I last wrote one. In 2023, I made an effort to keep my Instagram scribble account alive by posting around 10 new scribbles. I started writing with more broken stories, and as the year progressed, I attempted to write more hopeful stories but found myself stuck.

Similar to the past year, I was occupied with project proposals, reports, and work-related blogs, which have been published here and there.

Family x Friends x Festival x Chiya x Beer x Bodhi x SKY x ❤️

My elder sister got married in 2023, and I believe that was the family highlight of the year. I had the chance to enjoy the process of arranging and closely observing the marriage ceremony, handling and coordinating many things — it was both fun and hectic. Like every year, we went for the family picnic at Pharphing, which was refreshing.

The crazy club hopping in Pokhara, the trek to Pachpokhari, camping in Budhanilkantha, city exploration in Sri Lanka, and many more were the highlights with friends this year. Looking back, I feel blessed to have those friends in my life. To all the old and new friends, thank you.

After keeping it on my checklist for a long time, this year I witnessed the vibe of Indra Jatra for the first time and Pharphing Jatra after a long gap. These two Jatras, along with the activities I enjoy during Dashain and Tihar, are the festival highlights of the year.

The chiya in Gahanapokhari, beers in every possible place, and some ‘me time’ in Bodhi Books kept me going throughout the year. The companionship of love and the food at Sky Cafe gave me so many reasons to look forward to 2024.

That’s my 2023, and I’m looking forward to achieving in 2024.

— — —

Backtracking the journey; 2016 was amateur, 2017 was learning, 2018 was structuring, 2019 was ambitious, 2020 was realizing, 2021 was tough, 2022 was responsible, 2023 was awesome and the plan is to make 2024 achieving.