I just reread my last year review and could copy first two paragraphs with few changes. I am still fine, loved ones less so and there were new horrific organisational experiences to replace old ones.
Without wish or intent to go into much detail, this was a year in which our home had to be listed as a no-go location in a restraining order and I observed Slovenian police and justice system dealing with credible threats to life and continue failing miserably to this day. Not all failures come down to sex, but being a woman certainly seems to make things worse for you.
Still, I ended last year in a much better mood than I started or was for much of the year. No doubt visiting Madagascar and Réunion, while physically taxing, helped a lot. As did summer visit from friends, hiking more than ever, building Legos and working on a new project.
Recently a British minister was ridiculed for playing with Lego sets, but I can only recommend it, especially to those under stress. Calming effect of putting bricks together and satisfaction of building something is truly relaxing. I don’t know what I might do this year, but last year I build Taj Mahal:
This year I would also like to build something more useful and less tactile. I made prototypes to test the idea of an email Instapaper at the end of last year and hope to get it running some time this year, if I can resolve problems around financially tolerable and reliable email delivery. It might even lead to some fresh content on this website if I write up an idea or two after I test it with this service.
Last year I did not read much, but we hiked often which really paid off in Réunion where a bout of dengue led me to carrying heavier than expected backpack for days at end. Possibly was the fittest I’ve ever been and if I could get into the same shape this year while improving my diet and losing some weight, then that would be great.
My main goal last year was to take care of loved ones. I cannot remember why I felt it necessary to state this as it is, will be and should be most important thing I do every year.
I do not want to give myself a pass again for not doing much else. I felt getting stupider this year, which was a wholly unenjoyable experience. 2019 is the year of my new, less flattering demographic age bracket, but I will not be remotely old enough that dulling of intellect would be expected or acceptable. I suspect this “development” had a lot do with what and how much I read last year and I will focus my efforts there to expand my general knowledge.
Speaking of learning, I did not make much progress with Spanish last year and won’t first few months of this year either. At some point (spring?) I’ll have to if I don’t want to forget what I already learned.
My plans for 2019 are unintentionally vague so there is a good chance that I could in some sense fulfil more than usual including another long trip abroad. There is one thing I want to change from 2018 and that is just being more intentional in whatever I will do. Nothing seems to make time feel wasted so reliably than spending it without a forethought.