Patrick Niyongabo

Patrick Niyongabo

hit-or-miss: my miscellaneous projects and random ideas

04 Jan 2025

2024 - Wrapped

I have been meaning to write this for the last 5 years or so. But I always ended up being preoccupied with something else. Work, school, travel, life ups and downs, you name it. All that to say that this is the first holiday season where I have enough free time to post something.

2024 was an eventful year. And so was 2023, and the pandemic era that preceded it. A lot has happened in my personal life. Similarly a lot has happened in the world, especially in the tech industry where I make a living.

At first, I thought I would write this post as a collection of learnings from my personal experiences, but that felt like too much pressure after such an extended hiatus. Instead I am keeping it light with a “Spotify Wrapped” style overview of my 2024 highlights and 2025 goals.

BOOKS

  • Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
  • The Weight by Jeff Boyd
  • The Road by Cormac McCarthy
  • Men we Reaped by Jesmyn Ward
  • Be Free Where You Are by Thich Nhat Hanh
  • The Power Broker by Robert Caro (only read a few chapters and listened to the 99% Invisible podcast series)

SONGS

  • Not Like Us by Kendrick Lamar
  • Escapism by RAYE ft 070 Shake
  • Le Mystère abyssal by MPL
  • About us by Le Youth ft EMME
  • Urabaruta by SEBANANI André

ALBUMS

  • The Köln Concert by Keith Jarrett (recorded in January 1975 and released later that year)
  • Getz/Gilberto by Stan Getz (recorded in March 1963, released in March 1964)
  • Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves (released in 2018)

MOVIES

  • Conclave (2024)
  • Perfect Days (2023)
  • Batman (1989)
  • Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
  • Twisters (2024)

TV SHOWS

  • The Penguin (S1)
  • The Sopranos (rewatched S3-S6)
  • Shogun (S1)
  • Mr and Mrs smith (S1)
  • Tokyo Vice (S1-S2)

TO DO IN 2025

  • Travel (Highway 101 road-trip)
  • Play soccer regularly (at least once a week)
  • Summit Mount St Helens
  • Meditate daily! Read daily!
  • Write more (on this blog and elsewhere)

MEDITATION TOOLS (BONUS)

  • “check-in” EDA body responses (feature on Fitbit smartwatches)
  • Healthy Minds app by the University of Wisconsin at Madison (The Center of Healthy Minds)