June was a fulfilling and busy month. I did a lot of things, met many people, and made some important decisions. There were gatherings and separations, laughter and worries, the normal state of life.
Company Team Building#
At the beginning of June, the company's product development department organized a team building activity. Instead of going to a party venue, we chose to go to Chaoyang Park. I had never been to Chaoyang Park before and thought it was similar to ordinary parks, filled with elderly people, leisurely and boring. But after going there, I discovered that the park was so big and there were many recreational activities, which was a bit unexpected and pleasantly surprising.
The team building activity was divided into two parts. The first part was the park's recreational activities, where we could participate in kayaking, playing football, and other amusement facilities, or choose to play freely. I and most people chose kayaking. Kayaking was divided into double kayaking and triple kayaking. I formed a team with Alan and Felix. After a simple demonstration by the coach, we started to paddle freely and adapt to kayaking operations.
I have to say that although the operation seemed simple, it was not that easy when actually doing it. For our three-person kayak, if the coordination between the front and back was not good, we couldn't even make a turn. In comparison, it seemed easier to operate the double kayak.
The kayaking activity had two games prepared by the coach. One was a speed competition to see who could paddle back and forth the fastest, and the second one was to catch small yellow ducks to see who could catch the most. In the first game, we didn't grab the top three places because we were not familiar with the operation, but it was a joyful sprint. After gaining practical experience from the first game, we gradually mastered the difficult operations such as turning and reversing. As a result, we won the first place in the small yellow duck catching game.
During the activity, something "funny" happened, which was a member capsizing while catching the small yellow ducks. This seemed to be expected because before the activity, everyone joked that such a small kayak would easily capsize. And it actually happened.
In addition to the kayaking activity, I also played other amusement facilities in the park, such as roller coasters and pirate ships, which were thrilling and exciting. I had ridden a pirate ship many years ago, and the feeling of weightlessness still lingered in my heart. This time, it wasn't as uncomfortable as before. The most exciting was the roller coaster, but it was too short, only about 30 seconds. It ended before I could fully experience it, like a beautiful first love.
In the evening, we had a barbecue and crayfish for the second part of the team building activity. To be honest, most of the dishes in the restaurant were average, but the crayfish was still acceptable.
Dragon Boat Festival in Beijing#
During the Dragon Boat Festival, I hosted my girlfriend and her family for a visit to Beijing. It was the first official meeting, a different way of meeting. According to the initial plan, I intended to take them to visit popular attractions such as the Palace Museum, the Summer Palace, and the Great Wall. However, I later found out that they were only staying in Beijing for one night and two days, so I had to exclude the time-consuming Great Wall.
When it comes to traveling, it's all about eating, drinking, playing, staying, and transportation. I arranged accommodation in a homestay not far from Tiananmen Square, which was suitable for family travel, especially with a baby. As for food, I originally planned to take them to the well-known Quanjude Roast Duck, but the waiting time was three hours. So I turned to another famous roast duck restaurant called Quanjude, which was expensive but worth the price in terms of taste and service. We relied on taxis for transportation and spent more than four hundred yuan in total, which was acceptable because the time should be spent on sightseeing rather than on the road. In terms of activities, I didn't plan well this time. Firstly, I shouldn't have separated the group because the main purpose of the elderly people's trip was to be with the children. Even the best scenery would feel less enjoyable without that feeling. Secondly, there was too much walking involved, whether it was in the Palace Museum or the Summer Palace, there was a lot of ground to cover, which the elderly couldn't handle.
After a day of walking, I got up at 2 am the next day to accompany her father to watch the flag-raising ceremony. In their generation, there was still that persistence, which I also felt when I accompanied them through the Palace Museum. The grandeur of the Forbidden City stirred up waves in their hearts, perhaps not as much as stopping in front of Tiananmen Square for a while.
It was my first time watching the flag-raising ceremony. I searched for a guide in advance and got up more than two hours early, thinking that I could secure a spot in the front row. But when I arrived, I realized that it wasn't enough to arrive early, you also had to be fast. Because security personnel set up barriers outside the square, restricting access until the designated time. After the barriers were lifted, a crowd rushed into the square, and the front row was quickly occupied. However, the best view was actually from the back, and there was no need to fight for it. Leaving half an hour in advance to watch from the back was more than enough.
Analyst Certification#
June was quite busy. In addition to work-related matters, I also had to prepare for hosting my girlfriend's family. Coincidentally, the Sensing analyst certification exam was also taking place, so I had to make time to prepare for it. The certification process involved studying a course and taking the exam after about two weeks. The exam had a total score of 100, and a score of 80 or above was considered a pass.
I found the course content to be quite basic, consisting of 19 lectures that mostly introduced the use of various analysis models. These could also be learned from the official documentation. In addition to the course lectures, there were stage tests after each chapter, totaling three tests. I managed to finish the course and take the first test in about two hours on weekdays, scoring 88. I didn't have time to do the remaining tests due to being busy, so I did them as a last-minute review before the exam. The main purpose was to understand the question format, but there were no teachers available to review them at that time.
Finally, I chose to take the exam on the evening of June 19th, together with Kaye. I have to say that although the course was simple, the exam questions were somewhat challenging, especially in terms of details. If you weren't careful, it was easy to fall into traps. The certification exam focused on various analysis models, especially funnel analysis, attribution analysis, and session analysis. Fortunately, I had prepared for these and used them frequently in my work, so I was familiar with them. After completing the exam, there were a few multiple-choice questions that I wasn't sure about, so I didn't have high hopes for passing.
Four days later, the results were announced, and I passed the certification. When I looked at the answers, it turned out that I had made mistakes in those few questions, which was expected. It had been two years since I last took this kind of exam, and it felt unfamiliar, to the point where I didn't know where to start preparing. However, fortunately, the result was good.
House Purchase Settled#
In fact, I decided to buy a house at the beginning of the year, but the down payment was delayed for a few months. Finally, in June, I handed it over.
Buying a house is one of the major choices in life, so it requires careful consideration. Of course, this decision was also made after much thought, considering my current stage, the focus of the next stage, and the amount of risk I can bear - financial risk and retirement risk for my family. My bottom line was to do what I could afford at the current stage and provide enough security for my family. There was no need to achieve everything at once or burden the next few years with too much risk.
After making the decision, I suddenly felt relieved. The days of repaying the mortgage were actually easier than saving money before. Before, it was an uncertain state, and uncertainty easily led to anxiety. When everything settled, I calculated the borrowed money, planned the repayment time, and everything was in order. Then I could proceed according to the plan, which brought a sense of certainty and inner peace.
New Colleagues and Departing Colleagues#
Last month, two product colleagues left the company, and this month, I was surprised to hear that a front-end colleague was also leaving. Although it is said that all good things must come to an end, when familiar people choose to leave, there is still a sense of reluctance in the heart. At the same time, our department also welcomed a new product manager this month, who partnered with me in growth-related work, allowing me to delegate some of my tasks and reducing my workload.
During this busy period, the most obvious change was that I hadn't picked up a book for a long time. Every day, I woke up thinking about the progress of the things I needed to do, one after another weighing on my mind. When I finally picked up a book to relax, I couldn't remember where I had left off or what the content I had read was about, which made me feel guilty.
Fortunately, June has passed, and July is about to come, with wonderful things happening.