Has been a awfully awesome year for me. I’m not going to lie, this year has changed me so freaking much that it’s insane. There has been lots and lots of challenging parts in 2018, however there has been also a lot of great memories, great beginnings and challenges and so much more. But where to begin … I’ve decided to break this year into blocks, blocks that have meant the most to me and where have I grown the most throughout the year – so here is my year in review.
… and Casting
One of the first things I saw when I scrolled through my picture library on my phone was me and Rasmus “TopeltR” Rüngenen(enenen) taking on a cast in our mother tongue and it was Electronic Sports League’s major (if I recall correctly) short for ESL – one of the big things that changed in 2018 for me and for my casting hobby was the part where we started to get paid for what we do. For the most part, about 8 – 10 years, I had been doing it pro-bono but this year changed quite much about it. ESL brought us the offer of paid-localized casts to our tables and we were sure to take it. Additionally an Estonian league started up who needed us to be on their sides and we were super excited to start casting local leagues for money as well. In the big picture one could say that all of the hard work we had put into the casts had finally started working out and BoomCast was flying high.
But there’s two sides to every story, and penny
Shortly after we got the offers that we could actually make some living out of our hobbies, things started to fade away and we became neglected from the eSports in general. I’m not even all that sure what drove us to this point where we didn’t want to cast anymore – be it for money or for free. Something had just changed. Something wasn’t the same anymore.
It’s kinda sad, kinda not – we had grown such a great team of casters that it’s sad that we did not carry on with this group. It’s kinda not, because it shows that most of us have outgrown the things we have done, be it family, career, etc. But why am I emphasising the word we – it’s simple, when Boom started it was always a we because I did start this flight with Imre and Marten – one of my long time college mates and big time brothers from another mothers. And truth be told, we built a mafia, Estonian eSports caster mafia, if you can say it like that. We did good, we covered all the major (and minor) eSports events in Estonia and we did it good.
Thank you my brethren for it ’twas the ride of a lifetime. Boomers til’ we die!
… and eSports
This might overlap a lot with my last paragraph but it kind of stays different, as I did grow in my own way during the past 365 days. With most notable thing being the event held in Saku Arena – HyperTown Tallinn, which was the first ever event for me where I was a stage host and dear readers, this was one of the changing points of my life. My friends from Latvia, to whom I ado the utmost love and thankfulness for inviting me into their show as a host, are one of the forerunners of eSports as we know it in the Baltics, and it is my pleasure to call them my partners, friends, buddies and co-workers in the same space where I am.
Thank you Andris, Katya, Janis, Edjis (and everyone else behind the scenes) for making such amazing event happen!
And yes, Andris, if you happen to read it, you did beat Estonians on their own soil with bringing huge event to here. You guys are the best!
… and Investing
This is one of the things that I wanted to bring up during this post, not because I excelled at it, but rather because it was something that had intrigued me for the better part of my life and I finally managed to start doing it.
It wasn’t an easy road to start – to say the least, but it was pretty darn interesting one.
I have ranted about how I dislike the “new year, new me” thing, but went ahead and made myself a yearly wager of “new year, new skill/hobby/thing” kind of a way for every year. And last year it was about investing – I learned a lot, burned money at some parts, opened up investing accounts in 3 banks, learned that I have no idea what I’m doing and somehow managed to profit 150% off of my stupidness with some deals.
It’s safe to say tho that my first step into investing market was a total mishap and a total bummer. In January 2018 I invested some money into Extreme Networks which my friend had talked about a lot and it seamed like a feasible place to put my money into, but shortly after March I lost half of that investment. In Estonian we have a saying “Esimene lehm läheb ikka aia taha” – roughly translated “The first cow will turn up badly”. Often used in the first-born context. But so did my first investment – didn’t go as expected, but what did I hope for when I was buying stocks off from the sheer idea that my friend likes a company because of its products.
… and Love
Love has many meanings, most of them are beautiful – one of the most beautiful moment about love should be when a man and a woman are standing in front of an aisle – ready to make their life into one big mess – together.
Thankfully I got the chance to have one part of it this year. During the summer me and my fiancee got the invitation to our friends wedding. It was blissful to say the least. Good old Hiiumaa in its glory with all the mosquitos and places to visit. Even the ferry ride to the island is a trip on its own.
Once again congrats on placing rings on each others fingers Tarmo and Klarika.
PS! Tarmo, I still think that this photo would’ve looked good on my wall instead of your old mans!
… and Life
I got to vacate this year guys. Went to a vacation with my close ones and we went to Bulgaria, which in essence is a post-soviet country like any other. But with a slight difference of it being stuck in the 90’s. I liked it, a lot even. It had the vibe that I was looking for and it was warm – to say the least.
Also I had the chance to bring myself back a new souvenir – a new tattoo.
I made a move with my family. We decided to move to another town in Estonia and as of today we finished with renovating and the great move itself – at least for me, my fiancee and my daughter.
The move itself might be a challenging one to understand to some, because we moved from 220 sq meter house to a 47 sq meter 2 bedroom apartment, but at least it’s now ours and we are living by ourselves under our own terms. And this is priceless.
… and Hobbies
2018 was the year when I picked up the camera, once again. This is one part why this blog even got the start to be honest.
Photography has always been one of the things that I have loved and admired for as long as I can remember. But since my old camera was stolen and I did not have the time, money or other non-binary issue to start clicking again I decided that this year will be the year where I can start to shoot some frames again and try to improve myself as much as I can.
… and Work
I did pick up second job as a teacher in Haapsalu Kutsehariduskeskus as a teacher of vocational studies (computer networks and network gear) which made a big green check-mark in front of one of my bucket list items. To be a teacher.
I have nothing much to say about it in this post, besides that I’m really grateful that they (the school) decided to take me on board and I’m loving every freaking second of it.
… and the ThankYous
I would like to conclude the post with the list of thanks …
My parents, without whom I wouldn’t have much
My fiancee, who keeps on being the best part of me and supporting me in whatever I decide to do
My friends, who keep me on track and who still are beside me
My students, who keep my life challenging
My peers, who are just plain-old-awesome
