Lately, my dreams have been unusually vivid. Last night, I dreamed of Xiaoyan searching for her classmates before a movie, only for everyone to regroup in front of a barbershop.

The morning was packed with meetings, and I even forgot one due to being so focused on planning. I felt a bit down afterward, but a round of table tennis and casual chats with colleagues lifted my mood.

In the afternoon, I tackled data storage issues, upgraded Visual Studio, and fine-tuned GitHub Copilot. Using Cursor and Claude 3.7 Sonnet, I implemented a UI design from a mockup with great results.

In the evening, Hamer and her classmate played at home until 8:30 PM, reluctant to say goodbye.

This evening, Hamer was unusually energetic, laughing as her grandma helped her with a bath. She had eagerly insisted on her grandma’s help after finishing her homework.

My day was mostly spent refining and recording the demo. I organized data in the morning, then customized popups with Arcade expressions in the afternoon, allowing elements to auto-generate ArcGIS Earth App Links. Later, I finalized the recording.

Xiaoyan suggested a spontaneous trip to Thailand after her business trip, but I hesitated—I prefer well-planned travel over last-minute getaways.

Today was physically exhausting, and without a nap, I’m completely drained.

We all slept in until 9 AM, then Hamer and I met her classmatte for basketball. She was shy at first but gradually warmed up, running with the ball and having fun.

In the afternoon, we joined Xiaoyan at Urban Green café, where she wrote, Hamer drew, and I read—quiet but enjoyable. Later, I taught Hamer some badminton techniques before we all went out for luosifen.

In the evening, Hamer eagerly helped fix a door handle, showing a growing interest in DIY projects.

I started the day early with lingering thoughts about yesterday’s demo but quickly shifted focus to home tasks. Noticing a broken light, Hamer and I went out to buy bulbs.

We attended Into Ballet at Tianqiao Theater, where she was surprised to recognize moves she had practiced. The Butterfly Lovers rehearsal was mesmerizing, so I got tickets for the full performance in April.

After a delicious Hunan meal, I relaxed at home while Xiaoyan and Hamer went dancing and shopping. A long nap didn’t shake my fatigue—I’ll need an early night.

I started the day early, boiling eggs and sweet potatoes while structuring a solid plan for App Links with help from ChatGPT.

My main focus at work was bug fixing, both for the current version and the demo. I spent much of the afternoon on data processing, uncertain if everything would run smoothly.

Despite the workload, I made time for the gym at noon and followed Xiaoyan’s advice to eat dinner on time. Working late left my eyes strained, prompting Xiaoyan to joke that I should just marry my computer.

Recently, I also discovered two fascinating performers—magician Kyle Eschen and comedian Matt Rife—both of whom left a strong impression.

I started the day early, remembering that I had unused museum tickets from before the New Year and deciding to visit this Sunday.

Hamer and I made a fruit-based breakfast together before I dropped her off and headed to the office. My plan to finish the app link demo was delayed by a bug that took over an hour to fix. After discussions and focused effort, I finally wrapped it up by 4 PM. By 8:30 PM, I was mentally drained.

A midday table tennis match with colleagues, filled with laughter and a playful poem, was a bright spot in the day.

Today was fairly smooth, though I didn’t complete everything I had planned. I spent the afternoon refining the UI but got frustrated when things didn’t go as expected.

At noon, I played frisbee, enjoying the warm weather and noticing my throws improving.

In the evening, after shopping with Hamer and Xiaoyan, I planned to work at the office but forgot my access badge.

There was also a brief scare when my stepmother couldn’t find Hamer at the mall, but I reassured her, trusting that Hamer would find her soon.

This morning, I was startled awake by Hamer’s alarm clock and was surprised to see that it was already 7 AM. Yet, I still felt drowsy. I hadn’t gone to bed particularly late last night, but for some reason, I was still exhausted.

I spent the entire morning in meetings, discussing features and the schedule for next week’s meetings, only to realize there were still many details that needed to be filled in. At noon, I had lunch with a colleague and also grabbed a cup of coffee from her. In the afternoon, I was busy revising the PR I submitted yesterday and finally managed to merge it into the main branch just before heading out for badminton.

In the evening, when I got home, Hamer wasn’t too keen on eating dinner—probably because there wasn’t anything she particularly liked. After dinner, we watched TV together. During the music segment of Zombie 2, she started singing along, which really surprised me—she sang so well!

This morning started on a positive note after last night’s heavy conversation with Xiaoyan. I had expressed my feelings about her impatience, fearing it might create distance, but to my relief, she initiated a casual chat over breakfast.

At work, I finally submitted the first version of the Stream Service PR—over 5,000 lines of code, which should be split and will be a challenge to manage in the future.

At home, I had a discussion with Hamer about keeping our commitment to not eating out, leading to a tough but necessary decision. Later, she showed resilience in facing a setback while finishing her homework, proving that her adaptability is growing.

Our Sunday routine may now be set—badminton followed by luosifen!

The morning was slow, but I went to Xiaoguan Market to get fish before it relocates to “Seventh Market.” Lunch led to a small standoff between Xiaoyan and Hamer over brushing teeth, but they made up after badminton. While playing, I reminded Hamer to pick up shuttlecocks properly, and she eventually improved, which made me proud.

Dinner was fun, with the kids struggling through the spicy luosifen but finishing every bite. It was a simple but fulfilling day.

This morning, despite the gloomy weather, I went for a run with Hamer and later had breakfast at a bustling market. We met one of her classmates, who showed her around while I queued for pig’s head meat, a traditional dish for this lunar date.

In the afternoon, Hamer stuck to Xiaoyan, and I worked on Stream Service.

At night, we watched Nezha with Hamer’s uncle, enjoying the film and a refreshing walk home.

TGIF.

Today, I completed most of the UI and workflow setup for Stream Service. My leader has been asking for the last chance for me to attend the Dev Summit, though unsuccessfully.

In the morning, Xiaoyan’s response left me feeling a little down.

Today, I made a hearty breakfast. It was also our English day, mixing Chinese and English in casual conversation.

Work went smoothly, with regular breaks and good interactions with colleagues. I played table tennis during lunch and worked overtime in the evening on displaying attribute table content.

My day was challenging as I faced issues converting strings to Geometry while adding a stream service via JSON. It consumed my entire day, and I even skipped lunch. After rewriting a class to manually implement the FromJson and ToJson methods, the problems were resolved.

Additionally, with my colleagues' help, we successfully connected to the on-premises version of S123, which was a relief.

This morning, after dropping off Hamer, I arrived at the office early to work on the Stream Service’s add and save functionalities, making significant progress.

In the evening, I enjoyed a relaxed badminton session. Hamer called to ask permission to dine out with classmates; despite my initial hesitation, she made the decision to join them, responsibly consulting us beforehand.

This morning after Hamer woke me up, I prepared breakfast while she got ready.

Work was fragmented; I intended to work on the Stream Service feature but spent unplanned time on the S123 feature due to pending tasks and discussions.

A table tennis session with colleagues at noon left me a bit tired since I skipped my usual nap.

In the evening, Hamer hadn’t planned on doing homework, ended up working on her math assignments instead of taking a bath as intended.

Today, Hamer and I had a busy day filled with activities.

After getting fissure sealants for Hamer’s teeth, she saw pictures of her classmates making pizza and decided to join them. Initially shy, she was encouraged by Linlin’s mom and ended up having a great time. Later, the kids played in the park for a while.

In the evening, Hamer and her classmates joined us for a badminton game, and though it started a bit chaotic, everyone gradually found their rhythm. Xiaoyan enjoyed the physical activity and plans to continue next week.

Today, Hamer made her own version of “pizza” for breakfast and was very proud of it. After depositing money in a fixed account, we went to the library.

In the afternoon, I took Hamer to dance, after which I handled errands for Xiaoyan and myself. Hamer seemed a bit disappointed when she didn’t see us after class but later shared that dancing was the most stressful part of her day. She then asked why both parents always accompany her after class.

At home, I continued learning about large language models and tidied up the house. In the evening, Hamer got excited about having her own phone, feeling grown-up.

It was freezing today, and even the short walk to drop Hamer off at school felt tough.

I worked on Stream Service support, and discussions with PE helped clarify things. In the evening, I started on S123, and after that, I got home at 8:30 PM—my first overtime this year.

I enjoyed classical music in the morning and kept my headphones on all day. At noon, I hit the gym and focused a lot on my leg muscles.

Today is Thursday, and time has flown by quickly. Though I’ve made progress, I still don’t see the end. Sprint 3 has begun, and it’s moving fast. By the way, I noticed that RT group has a practice of congratulating promotions, which is something we could improve in our Beijing office.

I played ping-pong with colleagues at noon, and it was fun.

In the evening, I let Hamer choose which poems to recite, allowing us both to relax.

A special thing today was our agreement to speak only in English every Thursday at home. Hamer and Xiaoyan fully supported this.

During the day, I continued working on developing new features. While I’ve managed to get part of the process working, the connection and loading parts still need rethinking, and time is running out.

After work, Xiaoyan shared that she might be moving abroad for an extended period, and the company’s management has approved it. Now, it’s just a matter of how to proceed. This will be a new experience for her.

Recently, I’ve been reading A Road to Classical Music and trying to follow its suggestions by listening to some classical music.

In the morning, Hamer was confused about the early lights but went back to sleep. Before she fell asleep, I said, “I’m sorry,” and she immediately replied, “It’s okay.” When I said, “I love you,” she got a little shy, buried her head, and went back to sleep.

During the day, I focused entirely on developing new features, resolving TOC display issues, but realizing much of the code needs rewriting.

In the evening, Xiaoyan was worried because Hamer skipped dinner after eating too many snacks. They argued again, and their recent conflicts seem to have become more frequent over the past week.

Today was Hamer’s first day of school for the new semester. She woke up early and prepared a lot of things on her own.

During the day, I focused on work and finally started diving in new feautres.

Hamer spent the evening organizing her supplies until 9:30 PM. After losing a shirt and feeling exhausted, she fell asleep. Later, I noticed she had left some books for her classes. When I reminded her, she became upset and cried, fearing I would take them. I comforted her and had her finish organizing, but she remained upset and eventually fell asleep at her desk.

Seeing her so sad made me feel guilty, realizing I had overlooked her feelings and needs.

In the morning, we accompanied Xiaoyan to renew her passport, which was quick and hassle-free.

Instead of visiting the crowded Yonghe Temple, we explored the Confucius Temple and Imperial College, which she visited for the first time. Lunch at La Casa Verde was delightful—spacious and delicious. The “Deep Water, Danger!” sign in a dry lake amused her. After playing in the park, we napped until 6 PM

In the evening, we worked together to organize Hamer’s school prep, sorting through materials and working on time-consuming hand-copied posters.

Today, I finally completed my Performance Review and felt the relief of Friday.

Hamer seemed better in the morning but still wasn’t feeling well during the day.

In the evening, Xiaoyan and I went to a live house event featuring Taylor Swift’s greatest hits. The music was captivating, and we had a great time. However, on the subway ride home, I unintentionally said something that completely ruined the mood of the night.