New Year's ruminations
Dec. 31st, 2017 11:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
missroseroseIt sounds like a humblebrag, but really it's not - I haven't been doing reflective New Year's posts the past few years, in large part because my life is going pretty darn well. It's not that overall-positive years aren't worth reflecting on, but it feels a little like tempting fate - if I outline all the ways my life has gone well and how fortunate I've been, perhaps the deities of misfortune will see it and remember that they haven't got round to me yet. Silly, yes, but a very real feeling nonetheless. And that's not even taking into account the fact that many of my friends haven't been half so lucky, and probably aren't super into the idea of listening to me go on about my awesome life.
But I want to state, for the record, that - a couple of smaller-scale failures and misfortunes aside - I have been happy, and I'm well aware of how fortunate I am. I'm lucky enough to have two jobs that provide ample opportunities for both growth and rewarding moments. I'm lucky enough to have the kind of fiscal support that makes self-employment enjoyably challenging rather than stressful. I'm lucky enough to have a community of people who generally like me - asosprey_archer was mentioning, when you've never been a particularly popular person, it's surprising how great it is to walk into a place and have people be genuinely happy to see you. I'm lucky enough to have a supportive spouse I adore and live in a city I love in a country that remains a great experiment - inconclusive as yet, but worth fighting for nonetheless. I'm lucky enough to be in excellent physical health, in easily the best shape of my life. Most of all, perhaps, I'm lucky enough to have many interests and the time, opportunities, and supportive environment to explore them. And for all of this, I'm grateful.
I've never really been a big one for resolutions, but a post someone made on Facebook caught my eye, suggesting that, rather than make a general goal like "lose weight" or "read more", your resolutions be in the form of nine specific things: three things to read, three things to learn, and three things to do. So I think I'll break with my (non)tradition and set those goals.
To read:
--Yoga Sequencing. I don't feel I'm doing too badly just winging it, but I know I have so much room for improvement on this front.
--The Master & Margarita. I've heard from several people how excellent this book is, and I've been putting it off largely because I haven't felt I'd have the context for it. So I may need to brush up on Russian history first, but I will get to it this year. (It's not even that long a book!)
--Gentleman Jole & The Red Queen. I've been putting this one off because I know I'm going to love it and I know I can only read it for the first time once - but really, that's kind of a silly reason to not read it. Life is uncertain!
To learn:
--Some new massage techniques. This is rather vague, but it's going to happen regardless - I need to do some continuing education in preparation for my license renewal this year, so what I learn is probably going to depend on what opportunities I can find that fit into my schedule.
--To play "Same Old Lang Syne" on the piano. Simplistic? Maybe, but it'll take me a good amount of study to get there, so there's a fair amount of work implied here.
--More Swedish - specifically, more spoken Swedish. I'd like to get my spoken understanding up to where my written understanding currently is: enough that I can follow the gist of most conversations.
To do:
--Recruit some friends for karaoke. I've missed singing, and would like to do it more. Bonus if we can make it a semi-regular thing.
--Buy a house. Brian and I have been dip-toe-squealing about this for two years now, but this spring we're going to get pre-approved and start looking in earnest.
--Take guitar lessons at the Old Town School of Folk Music. I've been saying I want to do this since before we moved to Chicago. And I hear one of my friends is interested in doing the same, so I think I'll coordinate with her and see if we can't do it together.
But I want to state, for the record, that - a couple of smaller-scale failures and misfortunes aside - I have been happy, and I'm well aware of how fortunate I am. I'm lucky enough to have two jobs that provide ample opportunities for both growth and rewarding moments. I'm lucky enough to have the kind of fiscal support that makes self-employment enjoyably challenging rather than stressful. I'm lucky enough to have a community of people who generally like me - as
osprey_archer was mentioning, when you've never been a particularly popular person, it's surprising how great it is to walk into a place and have people be genuinely happy to see you. I'm lucky enough to have a supportive spouse I adore and live in a city I love in a country that remains a great experiment - inconclusive as yet, but worth fighting for nonetheless. I'm lucky enough to be in excellent physical health, in easily the best shape of my life. Most of all, perhaps, I'm lucky enough to have many interests and the time, opportunities, and supportive environment to explore them. And for all of this, I'm grateful.I've never really been a big one for resolutions, but a post someone made on Facebook caught my eye, suggesting that, rather than make a general goal like "lose weight" or "read more", your resolutions be in the form of nine specific things: three things to read, three things to learn, and three things to do. So I think I'll break with my (non)tradition and set those goals.
To read:
--Yoga Sequencing. I don't feel I'm doing too badly just winging it, but I know I have so much room for improvement on this front.
--The Master & Margarita. I've heard from several people how excellent this book is, and I've been putting it off largely because I haven't felt I'd have the context for it. So I may need to brush up on Russian history first, but I will get to it this year. (It's not even that long a book!)
--Gentleman Jole & The Red Queen. I've been putting this one off because I know I'm going to love it and I know I can only read it for the first time once - but really, that's kind of a silly reason to not read it. Life is uncertain!
To learn:
--Some new massage techniques. This is rather vague, but it's going to happen regardless - I need to do some continuing education in preparation for my license renewal this year, so what I learn is probably going to depend on what opportunities I can find that fit into my schedule.
--To play "Same Old Lang Syne" on the piano. Simplistic? Maybe, but it'll take me a good amount of study to get there, so there's a fair amount of work implied here.
--More Swedish - specifically, more spoken Swedish. I'd like to get my spoken understanding up to where my written understanding currently is: enough that I can follow the gist of most conversations.
To do:
--Recruit some friends for karaoke. I've missed singing, and would like to do it more. Bonus if we can make it a semi-regular thing.
--Buy a house. Brian and I have been dip-toe-squealing about this for two years now, but this spring we're going to get pre-approved and start looking in earnest.
--Take guitar lessons at the Old Town School of Folk Music. I've been saying I want to do this since before we moved to Chicago. And I hear one of my friends is interested in doing the same, so I think I'll coordinate with her and see if we can't do it together.
no subject
Date: 2018-01-05 06:59 am (UTC)