Lev Lazinskiy

2024

Here we are at another checkpoint. A chance to look back on the last year. I’m going to follow the same format I did last year, join me on this journey through the year of the dragon.

Friends and Family

Rollercoaster this year, weddings, births and funerals.

In January I lost my grandmother in Ukraine. Then in April my Grandfather passed away. At least with my Grandfather I was able to go to the funeral and be in the room when he passed. I don’t know when I’ll be able to properly say goodbye to my Grandma.

I made it back to Ohio a few times and spent time with Yuri and Nigina and the kids. My favorite memory was making scallion pancakes for the whole family from scratch and watching how quickly all of them were eaten. In August, Yasmin Lazinsky came into the world. She is precious <3 My oldest nephew played a few games of chess with me which was very sweet. It was fun to push all of them in swings while they screamed “im too slow!”

We were able to celebrate three different weddings this year. Unni and Isaac had a beautiful wedding in April. Joanne and Jason had a intimate ceremony in May. Nat and Sam had a very sweet event in October.

I got to catch up with a lot of previous colleagues over the year. I also grew a lot closer to many of my current team mates at Dagger. It was really nice to play chess with Dan’s daughter, share some great meals with Manuel, have dinner in Vegas with Steve, Pho with George, Mission Chinese with Jason, steaks with Joe and Tyler, a few happy hours with Nick. I felt lucky to get to see Eric and his family twice in the same year. Getting to cook for Jeremy and Guillaume, and then a few weeks later we played Captain Sonar at Guillaumes place.

Maian & Jason organized an LD reunion in Oakland, it was one of the best nights of the year. So nice to reconnect with so many folks.

CJ came to SF for a bit and we got to do a beer tasting and ate way too many sausages at Schroeders in SF.

I got to spend the night at Kevin and Le’s place where I had one of the best meals of the year. Still thinking about the chicken. Hot Tub, Chess, walking around the neighborhood, and then heading to Tacoma to take my Chinese test.

I got to spend a lot of quality time with Nathan and went back to his place for Thanksgiving after 8 years. Juciest turkey breast I’ve ever tasted.

Fun

I spent way too much playing Shapez, Europa Universalis 4, and Cities Skylines 2. I lost a bunch of money in slots and craps this year.

We only got a chance to go to one concert this year, Tinashe and Raveena. I also caught Weezer at AWS:reinvent. Was sad to miss the Sweat tour with Charli XCX. We did start the year by watching a Lunar New Year performance in Nanchong that ended with a very slay square dance. We also got a chance to see Romeo & Juliet on Broadway.

We saw some great movies this year. Including Wicked (I cried the whole time) and The Substance.

Another year of amazing food. Too many to name but here are the ones that stand out:

• BCD Tofu House in LA, always a banger. We went a few times this year.
• Siji Mingfu in Beijing, 四季民福 - best duck I’ve ever tasted.
• Ken Sushi in SF, still my favorite Omakase
• Le Village du 15 in Paris, this chef gives a shit about his food and it really shows. One of the best meals I’ve ever had.
• Got plenty of chances to go to Xi’An Famous Foods, Sichuan Mountain House, and Tai Er in NYC.
• Woodside Farm Creamery, Unni’s brother recommended it. It was worth the hype. Jersey Cows!
• Mina’s Fish House in Oahu for the fish somalier special. where Michael Mina himself cooked some stuff for us.
• Omakase By Aung in Oahu. One of the most intimate and delicious sushi experiences. Was very sweet to blow out a birthday sushi candle.
• Taste of Old Street in SF for Chinese BBQ. Was so good I wrote 好吃 out of oil on the plate.
• Benu, still worth the hype and price. Was very sweet to spend our anniversary there.
• Mission Chinese Food, I’m so late, but its so good, and the cookbook tells such a nice story.
• Kang’s Table Duluth, GA - korean army stew was life changing.
• Pho VN One in Beltsville, MD. Went back here for the first time in over a decade. Still going strong and still the best Pho I’ve had in the US. They make the best iced coffee and have pickled onions that you can add in.
• Thames St. Oyster House in Baltimore, MD. One of the tastiest oyster bytes.
• Fried Chicken Benedict at Ruby Slipper in New Orleans.
• GW Fins in New Orleans, fin wing comes from heaven.
• August in New Orleans Christmas tasting menu was simply delightful.
• Crawfish Bread at Landry’s Seafood
• Cafe du Monde

Health

Three years without any nicotine. Feels amazing!

Want to get back into a regular exercise routine, the last month has been a bit lazy.

Personal Growth

I spent a lot of time studying chinese. I found an amazing teacher who I meet with twice a week to practice. I’ve been using Anki inspired by Isaak. I took and passed the HSK1 exam and took the HSK2 test last week. I’m excited to continue my studies and put my skills to the real test when we visit China next month for Lunar New Year.

Reading

I did not read as many books as I wanted to this year, but there were still some good ones in there. So many memoirs this year.

Highlights:

• Dear Girls by Ali Wong - Brilliant, and laugh out loud funny. I don’t recall ever laughing this much while reading a book. Wonderful collection of essays to her kids about life. My favorite book of this year.
• We Were Dreamers by Simu Liu - Made me cry as often as Ali Wong’s memoir made me laugh. A story that all immigrants can relate to, just beautiful.
• Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain - One of my favorite books, I re-read it often, love the audio book version since Anthony reads it.
• How to Live by Derek Sivers - This one is so good, made it to my list of 5 books every human should read. I think if Derek Sivers started a cult, I’d join it. A book of contradicting philosophies, it inspires me, makes me angry, and provokes lingering thoughts every time I read it. Reading this book is how to live.
• Down with the System by Serj Tankian - Amazing memoir by my all time favorite musician. Dives deep into the history of the Armenian struggle, the meaning of reasons undefined, and life on the road with System of a Down. Fans will love it, everyone can appreciate it. One of my favorites of the year.

Travel

I thought I traveled a lot last year but looking through my photos makes it feel like I spent more time outside of SF than inside of it.

Stared the year by driving down to LA due to the weather, spending a few days getting settled and hanging out with Eric and Joanne. Then flew to Chengdu on Sichuan Airlines. Had an awesome time with the family in Nanchong, Chongqing, and got to visit Beijing for the first time. This was a really special trip because it was my first lunar near year. I got to spend some high quality time with my chinese family and participate in some special moments like when we visited Aosheng’s grandparents graves. His dad showed me how to cook a bunch of stuff. Beijing was truly lovely, I still think about that crispy pancake and the beautiful vista of the summer palace.

I went from Beijing to Austin for Civo Navigate and then popped into Houston to spend some time with Yelena and her family.

Shortly after that I flew to Paris for the first time for KubeCon EU. I wish I got a chance to spend more time in the city, but the time I did get to spend there was magical. Its a truly wonderful place. I am incredibly jealous of the 2 minute headways on the subway.

In April we went to New York, Philly, and Delaware for a combination work trip and Unni and Isaac’s Wedding.

In May we went to Santa Monica for a few days to celebrate Joanna and Jason’s wedding.

In June we went to Hawaii for a few days to celebrate my birthday. It was as beautiful as always and I am so happy to get a chance to explore the island with Aosheng.

I hit up Montpilier Vermont in June and later in July I visited Madison, Wisconsin and officially finished visiting all 50 state capitals.

In October we went to San Diego for our company offsite. Then Aosheng and I went on a mega trip starting in Atlanta for Nat and Sam’s wedding. I went back to SF for a few days and then met him in New York for a week. After that we took the train and explored Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Atlantic City and back to New York City to see Romeo and Juliet on Broadway.

I then went to Salt Lake City for KubeCon NA and Vegas for Re:Invent.

We wrapped up December by spending a week in New Orleans getting into a food coma and hanging out with family in Ohio.

I can’t wait to buy a house so I feel less guilty leaving for weeks at a time when we pay so much in rent.

Career

I am happy to be at the same company for a whole year. I continue to feel motivated by the team at Dagger. I feel very lucky to work with these folks each day. I am looking forward to what 2025 brings.

Last Years Goals

• Keep exercising regularly, reintroduce 8 counts into my life.
  • ❌ Did good most of the year but fell off toward the end. Ironically after getting an Apple Watch to track more fitness.
• Read 52 books, I’ve already finished one!
  • ❌ Got off to a great start but did not even hit 30 this year.
• Pass HSK Level 1
  • ✅ I did it! Also took the HSK2 exam.
• See more concerts.
  • ❌ Could have gone better, but did catch a few good ones.
• Take lots of pictures.
  • ✅ this years personal highlights was 249 photos and videos compared to 129.
• Write more.
  • ❌ Could have gone a lot better, but I did blog more than the previous year. I wish I wrote more meaningful things though.
• Laugh once per day.
  • ✅ I am going to say this happened most days. In many parts thanks to Aosheng. <3
• Travel as much as I can.
  • ✅ so much travel, including finishing the Tralev project. I hope to continue the streak in 2025.
• Spend quality time with family and friends.
  • ✅ year was filled with high quality time with friends and family.
• Vest some stock options :)
  • ✅ made it to a year at Dagger

This Years Goals

• Reach move goal every day.
• Stop eating so much junk & cook more.
• Buy a home.
• Read 52 books, for real this time.
• Find product market fit at Dagger.
• Give a conference talk.
• Write something I am proud of.
• Study Chinese every day, make it to HSK level 4.
• Stop wasting time getting sucked into YouTube black holes.
• Spread positivity.

Overall I look back on 2024 fondly. It was difficult to lose two grandparents. Those were some low points. The rest of the year was filled with friends, family, amazing food, good music, joy, beautiful places, good memories.

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year. I hope 2025 brings you lots of joy.