1602: New Year Similar Me

It's been a good start to the new year! I've got a good scattering of resolutions, have done a lot of planning for the more project-y ones, and have so far managed to stick to the more 'do a thing x times a week' ones. One of those is writing—but it's not really about the output, it's about remembering that writing is one of my favourite things to do and one of the things I'm happiest while doing, so I should do that a bit more. In general, that's what I'm hoping this year is.:I've got a few Big Projects, but a lot of what I'm hoping I can do is nudge myself into patterns of being that are aligned with what makes me truly happy.

Throughput

• New Year's Eve was cracking—a nice lunch out, blew off the Viennese gala concert we were going to go to in favour of a nap, which was honestly the right decision as we'd not full recovered from Christmas, and then popped to see our pal Aisling whose birthday it was, and then on to Kat and Josef's famous New Year's party which was loads of fun :)

• We went to the pier on New Year's Day while feeling a bit ropey, but it was good to get some fresh air, get rained on, see the starlings etc.
• For some reason I got no sleep the following night so the first day of work I felt like I was on something. Got through it all OK, though—all good there, currently winding down the last of last year's contracts in preparation for Exciting New Stuff this year 🎉
• Lots of doing little bits and bobs—union admin, Seagull admin, but I'm feeling in a good place with all of it.
• A lot of stuff is setting myself up for one of my resolutions which is to try, as much as I can, to have Sundays off from habits and task lists and phones and just do what want. I've not quite achieved that—I'm writing this on Sunday morning rather than Saturday as planned—but as I said above, I really like writing, so I don't think this is a major L.
• Yesterday we went to the vegan market at the Open Market and found that there's a kissa (japanese jazz cafe) that's opened there (that's the picture at the top)! Had some coffee there and it was absolutely smashing; big recommend.

Output

• I tried to articulate something I don't think is procrastination but might in fact just be me special pleasding about procrastination.
• I talk about my various attempts to gain focus over the last year.
• I've thought of another way that I think social media is bad.

Input

• After burning out on Baldur's Gate 3 for a bit over Christmas, I've mostly been confining my playing of games to chess, which I'm trying to learn properly with the Dr Wolf app, and Boltgun and Cultic and those various retro-style shooters which are great fun and can be enjoyed in short bursts.
• I read To Be Taught, If Fortunate, which was a Christmas present from Shona (thanks Shona!). I can see why Becky Chambers' other books took off, it's very pleasantly low-key and manages to have dialogue that's banterous without tipping over into being full Whedon. A bit IFLS in places for my liking, but a nice afternoon's reading.
• Currently on Machine's Last Testament (a loan from my old housemate) which is good fun, though a bit "the author's kinks on the page"; How To Read A Book, which CM keeps saying I should be reading before all the other ones, but has some really useful insights; and Moby-Dick, which is an absolute banger.
• I did Sasha Chapin's self-acceptance course, a collection of exercises designed to help foster what he's called "deep okayness", which I found really useful, a positive way to start the year.

---

Keep it real! Over and out.