Ok, it’s only the end of 2013’s days. It’s just that that sounds less impressive somehow.
It seems not too long ago that I was well entrenched in the lands of the G Men, eking out a miserable existence between the barriers of politics and tyranny. Not much has changed there! But, as it happens, I’ve knocked off a number of personal achievements that make me proud to have 2013 in the bag.
- GOT ENGAGED That’s right: 2013 saw my girlfriend attempt to make an honest woman out of me. We’re engaged, planning to tie the knot in the not-too-distance future.
- HOME RENOVATIONS Our bedroom and lounge have seen an extensive overhaul, making them less “old people” by adding just a dash of hipster. The rest of the house is in our sights: be warned.
- EPIC LEVEL UP I celebrated my 40th birthday in 2013, with a smattering of friends to help me with the bar tab.
- EXPANDED MY MIND The fiancé and I spent a month in Italy (incidentally, with me popping the question in Venezia). Amazing place, not just for kicking back but for learning things: about where we come from, and how to make good food, and that alcohol should be cheap.
- NEW JOB Not content with one group of soulless G Men, I traded them in for… another group of soulless G Men. This, friends, is what we call progress.
- FASTER, STRONGER I felt like I hadn’t had enough attention, so I managed to secure myself a fairly brutal thoracic spine injury. Still recovering from that one by putting myself back together with physical training: martial arts, weight training, running. It’s hard, man, but I refuse to go quietly into the night. I’d gone from being able to run a half marathon pre-injury to not being able to run a single km post-injury. Look at me now; it’s no where near race pace, but I’m back to moving without stopping.
- NIGHT’S FAVOUR Let’s not forget: I wrote a book, a book I’m very happy with. It’s too early to see how the SJVs have turned out, but I’ve been nominated for Best New Talent and the book itself for Best Novel – I’m touched beyond words that people thought that well of the book, and overall I couldn’t be more pleased with how it’s worked out. Thank you for your positive reviews and encouragements: it makes it all worthwhile, more than you could know.
As we march into 2014, what should we expect? My personal goal is to finish Upgrade, which is well on target (about 80,000 words at the moment) – perhaps taking a break in a nice island for a holiday, and following through on getting married (you can’t just stop at putting a rock on her finger, right?).
Wherever you are, I wish you the best for the next year: may all your dreams come true.
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Add to the book a new way of working or place to work that allows you a better life, less stress, less BS.
Yeah that would work for me too 🙂 I’m liking more and more the idea of this “part time work” thing that would let me write more and stress less.