Why not? I do actually like writing them. I’ll use last year’s format.

Push

Did two half marathons. That was my distance goal for this year. Made it.

Program

Sadly still not enough. I’ve learnt a LOT more technical skills, but actual programming time is still, bizarrely, way down on past years. I did fix some long standing niggling issues with Haskerdeux though and made some useful changes to Bozohttpd.

Picture

After that nice period at the start of the year where I got films up from last year I finally gave up (or more correctly: “admitted defeat”) on film photography and decided to just start using my phone. I’ll always miss film, but I actually don’t mind some of shots I’ve made.

Prose

  • Northanger Abbey (Finished, had started last year)
  • Valley of the Dolls
  • Orlando
  • Catcher in the Rye
  • Wind up bird Chronicles
  • To the Lighthouse
  • The Trick is to Keep Breathing
  • Handmaid’s Tale (half way through the series being broadcast; I knew I’d read some Margaret Atwood as a teenager, but couldn’t recall for sure if I’d read this; Still can’t, but it was very good).

Gave up on reading over half way through the year (with good reason!) to try to re-learn Italian; After being fortunate enough to go to Italy again on holiday and being frustrated that I’d let it all slip again I got back and basically invested all my reading time into DuoLingo and completed the Italian course (just the other day; Subjuntive Imperfects nearly had me though) in less than half a year.

Phonographic

Loads of good albums (last year I picked just songs):

  • Highly Flammable - Nadia Rose (my album of the year)
  • Nobody Ever Really Dies - NERD (Admittedly I only ever really knew Lap Dance, but Lightning Fire Magic Prayer is superb)
  • South City - Too Many Ts
  • Instant Pleasures - Shed Seven (If I’m honest, Nothing to Live Down far outshines everything else)
  • Prophets of Rage - Prophets of Rage
  • Visions of a Life - Wolf Alice
  • Dumb Days - Tired Lion
  • Jenks - DBFC
  • Lotta Sea Lice - Courtney Barnett, Kurt Vile
  • Out in the Storm - Waxahatchee
  • Ubai - Ibibio Sound Machine

Wow, that’s a great year in hindsight.

Plans

  • A marathon at some point (well, in distance - I’m only racing myself).
  • I really could do with finding a Go project I’m actually motivated to do. Have half plans forming in my head.
  • I’d like to get some nice portrait photos on my phone, I don’t think it’s cut out for it though (I miss using my F2.8/135mm lens).
  • Tone the Italian learning down a bit and just practise that course over the next year (as ever I need to do more of the spoken practice) so I can pick reading back up and read the remaining Virginia Woolf novels.
  • Listen to Marmozets all February.

Owtelse

Almost forgot: Perhaps the biggest achievement of the year was finally finishing our Christmas jar of pickled onions - has taken me at least three years.