Happiness is defined by oneself and does not depend on others. This is the change in my perspective on life since I entered university in 2017, and it is also my current attitude towards life.
Yesterday, I posted a tweet with the following content:
To summarize, my current work and hobbies mainly include the following points: coding, cryptocurrency trading (leveraged contracts), hanging out with my partner, and playing mahjong.
Here are some book recommendations for the end of the year.
1. Mahjong#
Starting with something relaxing, mahjong is a hobby I started cultivating last year (2022).
My learning path has been growing together with my partner. We started with Shanghai-style mahjong, then learned Northeastern mahjong, Japanese mahjong, and the difficulty gradually increased.
I am grateful to my partner and friends for accompanying me in my growth in mahjong. Mahjong has also helped me develop an interest in gambling.
PS: Anything that attracts people always has reasons behind it. If you have prejudice against something, you will not be able to learn about that interest. I used to have prejudice against mahjong a long time ago, thinking it was a game only played by middle-aged women. I thought it was a trick played by gamblers. In fact, mahjong is a competitive game composed of "skills" and "luck".
- Shanghai-style Mahjong
Shanghai-style Mahjong is the simplest form of mahjong. If you have a friend from Shanghai, they can introduce you to mahjong. The basic requirement for winning is to have a hand with 3 sets of 3 tiles and 2 additional tiles.
- Northeastern Mahjong
Northeastern Mahjong adds three additional conditions: 19, pung hand, and three suits. Once these conditions are met, you can win. Calculating the winning hand is easier in Shanghai-style mahjong. In Northeastern Mahjong, you need to calculate the scores for each player separately.
- Japanese Mahjong
The most complex form is Japanese Mahjong, also known as "riichi mahjong". In addition to the basic requirement of 3 sets of 3 tiles and 2 additional tiles, Japanese mahjong adds another condition: yaku (the most well-known is "all simples"). Therefore, Japanese mahjong is the most competitive form of mahjong.
If you have never played mahjong before, the recommended learning sequence is Shanghai-style mahjong > Northeastern or Sichuan mahjong > Japanese mahjong.
When it comes to Japanese mahjong, you must watch the anime "Akagi: Yami ni Oritatta Tensai" on Bilibili. This anime has multiple sequels. Some of my crypto friends also learned Japanese mahjong from watching this anime. (By the way, it also adds some gambling elements. I took a screenshot of my favorite quote, which sometimes inspires me when I lose in crypto contracts.)
After you play Japanese mahjong, I will recommend a mobile game called Maj-Soul.
Maj-Soul is a must-play game, especially when you are bored at home alone. I have been playing it for several months and it feels very relaxing.
2. Hanging Out with My Partner#
- Sports
Not very often, but due to my increasing weight, I need to exercise, not limited to bowling, swimming, and running. (Setting a goal)
- Food
This section will be shorter. My partner's Twitter usually has some posts about food. Hehe, we enjoy drinking delicious beer and eating ice cream together.
We also visit various shopping malls to try different foods.
These are some simple joys. Happiness is created by oneself.
- Switch
Starting this year, both my partner and I have a Nintendo Switch. Here are some recommended Switch games.
Overcooked is a two-player game that we both enjoy. We have completed all three stars in Overcooked 1 and 2, but we lost interest in getting four stars. We still play it occasionally in our free time.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is my favorite game this year, without a doubt. I still prefer 2D puzzle games, even more than The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Of course, this is just my personal preference. Different people have different preferences.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl is the game I am currently playing. It is also a casual game that I personally enjoy.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has much higher replayability than Xenoblade Chronicles 3. It is my favorite RPG game. The moment when the characters transform into fire/light immediately ignites my passion for the 2D world.
3. Cryptocurrency#
Contracts are what I started playing with after getting into crypto. I first encountered crypto in March 2021 when I was looking for a job after graduating.
- Bitcoin
In 2021, I probably saw a Weibo post by a teacher named Xiong Yue. At that time, I read some books about Bitcoin. Here is a recommended book list from that time.
- Web3
Later, I accidentally came across a website called DappChaser that K Erica participated in, which introduced me to dapps. So I quit my job and wanted to go all-in on web3. Currently, I am still a newbie learning about it.
- Contracts
Speaking of contracts, let's talk about gambling. Why is gambling important? Because it's an interest. Only with the spirit of never giving up can you continue to be a qualified gambler.
I highly recommend watching the anime "Kakegurui" to understand the risks involved in contract trading, similar to the risks depicted in the anime. Many people lose their lives to gambling, just like in the anime.
To become a qualified gambler, the most important thing is to fall in love with gambling, just like Yumeko Jabami. You must have a deep passion for gambling in order to succeed.
The psychology of a gambler is often the most important.
For technical analysis, you can watch the lessons by Inner Circle Trader. In addition, the book Natural Trading is a comprehensive and systematic guide.
Since I am still exploring this path of gambling, I can't give better advice at the moment, so I will share some books I have read about gambling.
First, I recommend Jesse Livermore's "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator," which can be considered a bible in this field. Here are the rest of the books in no particular order.
4. Coding#
In 2017, when I was a sophomore, I studied "Energy and Mechanical Engineering." At that time, a teacher taught us C language, and I fell in love with programming. So in my junior year, I was fortunate to transfer to the major of "Software Engineering."
I struggled with coding for a long time, and throughout my four years of university, I was learning piece by piece. I only managed to enter the field after graduation.
My attitude towards coding in school was to become a industry expert like those big shots. Time slowly wore me down, but it didn't wear down my love for coding. After all, "passion" is the key, isn't it?
For coding, whether it's frontend, backend, or AI training, passion should always come first. So even now, I still feel that maintaining web pages is both my job and my passion.
Although many times I feel that work can be challenging, I still want to continue, at a slower pace, and do something meaningful.
I started using macOS in my sophomore year, and fortunately, I saved some book lists I read in university in iCloud. I read some general books during that time.
I prefer to save PDF versions of books in iCloud, so it's easier to search and review them.
5. End#
I have never written an annual summary before, so this year-end summary includes content from 2021, 2022, and even my university years. In the future, I will move forward and strive to write a summary for the current year in 2023.