Today was a lucky day filled with good news. I received recognition for my 230 Tips project, and my visa interview was unexpectedly approved. Back in Beijing, I found out my promotion to Senior SDE was confirmed, bringing immense joy. My colleagues’ efforts to secure my presentation slot at the developer conference also moved me greatly.

In the evening, Xiaoyan and I enjoyed a delightful vegetarian dinner. Tomorrow, I’ll travel to Hunan to bring Hamer to my hometown. Despite a busy day, I feel energized and grateful.

Our company’s year-end party on Monday and Tuesday was packed with performances, games, and activities, but the dinner felt rather dull.

The next day, we visited Longqing Gorge to see the ice lanterns, where the frozen gorge turned out to be the highlight of the day. Later, two colleagues and I traveled to Shenyang for a visa appointment.

Today was calm and uneventful. I started the morning late, tidied up the living room. Xiaoyan got up and practiced piano, where she showed noticeable improvement.

Xiaoyan spent the afternoon watching Normal People, while I napped and bought fruit and dumplings.

In the evening, I practiced driving S-curves and felt much more confident compared to before.

Today started early as I tidied up the house and moved out the sofa. I received disappointing news that the conference schedule was refused, but my lead actively followed up.

My colleague’s gifted piano was delivered, and Xiaoyan even played a few simple tunes.

In the afternoon, Xiaoyan got a flu shot while I organized the house before joining her at our classmate’s place. We enjoyed the movie Her Story and a delicious homemade feast.

Today brought a sense of relief as everything I had worried about was finally resolved. I successfully rescheduled my visa interview and completed all the required documents.

Our show rehearsals went well, and I finished the last video, which turned out great. Unfortunately, one of my colleagues caught the flu and can’t attend the annual meeting.

In the evening, Xiaoyan and I enjoyed Luosifen at Guilin Restaurant. It had been a while, and I especially loved their crispy and flavorful Guo Shao. These past few days, Hamer has been having so much fun at hometown that we’ve had little chance to sit down and chat with her.

Today was filled with ups and downs. After preparing visa documents and adjusting my resume, I discovered a past visa denial, forcing me to redo the DS-160 form and postpone my interview by a day.

During rehearsal, a small incident occurred because of props. Later, I practiced another dance routine and struggled with reversing during driving practice, which left me feeling frustrated.

Today was mostly dedicated to handling my U.S. visa application after receiving the invitation letter. I spent the afternoon taking a visa photo, completing the DS-160 form, and scheduling an appointment for the visa interview with collegues.

In the morning, I joined our team meeting on AI topics and later brainstormed presentation ideas with the PEs. After the meeting, I rushed to meet a friend for a final frisbee game before the new year.

Today mirrored yesterday—busy but still leaving important tasks unfinished.

I spent much time rehearsing, especially improving the dance routine.

At lunch, Hamer video-called me in tears because her homework got wet, and she blamed Grandma. I comforted her and helped calm her down.

In the evening, I played men’s doubles with a colleague, and we had great teamwork with many exciting rallies—the best match so far. Xiaoyan unexpectedly came home early and went straight to bed, which surprised me.

Today was stressful due to unfinished tasks, especially the uncertainty around my presentation content. After discussing the AI transformation video with a colleague, she kindly took over the task. I unexpectedly spent much of the afternoon selecting photos and planning the presentation.

In the evening, Xiaoyan and I had a quick meal and practiced a challenging dance routine for over an hour.

Surprisingly, Xiaoyan’s company granted two extra days of annual leave starting on the 25th, so I quickly booked her ticket home.

This weekend, I felt quite tired after waking up early to send Hamer and Grandma off to Hunan. Xiaoyan and I dined at the uniquely decorated Don Quixote restaurant in Guomao but found the service lacking despite the great ambiance.

I spent Sunday binge-watching Speedsters and practiced narrow-lane driving in the evening. Though my AI video for the annual meeting didn’t turn out as planned, it might bring some laughs.

I’m very grateful that my colleague offered to give me a piano and a friend’s help in organizing our insurance policies.