did you really think there wouldn't be a sixth annual thread for this
Happy new years to you all yet again! Like it or not, the years keep marching on and the next will soon rapidly manifest before us. As the days begin to lengthen in these somber winter months it offers us a unique opportunity to reflect on everything that composed the year that was: what we did well, what we did poorly, and what we failed to do. Those pages of our lives that proceed are as of yet unwritten and opportunity is fresh to seize, so in that wonderful spirit what would you like to see in the year of 2024?
I really disappointed myself this year, I'm just going to be frank. I began the year with an iron-clad will and blazed forward boldly while making many complex and risky moves to try and maneuver my position in a more permanent direction. I was damned poor and just scraping by, and at the close and turn of the previous year I wrestled with several personal and existential issues that ended up fucking with my perception much more than I initially anticipated. After things settled and I helped a few close friends resolve some personal problems, I suddenly found myself with no wind in my sails. I was lazy, rested on my laurels, and worst of all I allowed a pathetic angst to spoil all of the unredeemed time that I consumed so dispassionately and passively. Fortunately I still managed to get a few things done, but a majority of my time was spent trying to philosophically reconcile this sudden lack of motivation with the reality I was faced with amidst much more alcohol than I would care to admit. At the close of the year I began to see a start to that painful process of reconciliation and am still currently working on tackling the loose threads left over, but I am very happy to report that I've rekindled that fire within and am more than excited to make 2024 a productive year both for the body and for the mind.
Unfortunately as a result I didn't accomplish many of my goals from the previous year, though some have changed form a bit. Rather than plumbing Gabe's house we've decided instead to attempt purchasing a house from one of our neighbors who is looking to move, which will remove the burden from me to build and upkeep such a structure and will provide Gabe and his family with stability for the additional children they wish to have. I'm fine with this because I have enough things to worry about without having that dimension weighing on me as well. While I didn't build myself an entirely new cabin proper, I extended my current cabin and gave myself enough space to live comfortably while I continue to invest in further necessary infrastructure before I can build myself a proper cabin. This year was miserable for gardening as we often had stretches for 3 to 5 weeks of no rain followed by torrential downpours that would flood my fields and destroy most of my crops, though fortunately I still managed to get about a hundred pounds of white potatoes out of it along with plenty of tomatoes. Both summer and winter squash did extremely poorly this year due to the conditions so there was almost none to be had, even from those crops that usually provide so abundantly every year like zucchini. A very good friend from church donated the money to purchase a new breed of goats that we are currently in the process of switching to, though because of the diminished size of the new breed we need to alter our milking methods and implements to get the most out of this new breed. Gabe worked at the local Tractor Supply store and as a result got plenty of cheap birds and we discovered that ducks do incredibly well on our property thanks to the pond and the barn, and so we've doubled down on our efforts to pursue waterfowl even more adamantly than chickens, as the waterfowl can eat for absolutely free for over half the year thanks to the pond. The rest of my goals, however, were left undone, and as such my list this year looks very similar to last year's.
My goals for 2024 are:
• Continue tilling up more arable land
• Help acquire a house for Gabe and his family
• Paint and detail the barn, build second hay loft, repair the oldest sections of our fencing near it
• Build a separate coop lean-to on barn for the birds
• Run geese and ducks together, decide on dominant flock
• Begin stocking the pond
• Begin initial work on the orchard
• Stop drinking entirely you stupid piece of shit
last year's thread for reference
do not be lame and shy be COOL AND CUTE AND POAST EM UP
Happy new years to you all yet again! Like it or not, the years keep marching on and the next will soon rapidly manifest before us. As the days begin to lengthen in these somber winter months it offers us a unique opportunity to reflect on everything that composed the year that was: what we did well, what we did poorly, and what we failed to do. Those pages of our lives that proceed are as of yet unwritten and opportunity is fresh to seize, so in that wonderful spirit what would you like to see in the year of 2024?
I really disappointed myself this year, I'm just going to be frank. I began the year with an iron-clad will and blazed forward boldly while making many complex and risky moves to try and maneuver my position in a more permanent direction. I was damned poor and just scraping by, and at the close and turn of the previous year I wrestled with several personal and existential issues that ended up fucking with my perception much more than I initially anticipated. After things settled and I helped a few close friends resolve some personal problems, I suddenly found myself with no wind in my sails. I was lazy, rested on my laurels, and worst of all I allowed a pathetic angst to spoil all of the unredeemed time that I consumed so dispassionately and passively. Fortunately I still managed to get a few things done, but a majority of my time was spent trying to philosophically reconcile this sudden lack of motivation with the reality I was faced with amidst much more alcohol than I would care to admit. At the close of the year I began to see a start to that painful process of reconciliation and am still currently working on tackling the loose threads left over, but I am very happy to report that I've rekindled that fire within and am more than excited to make 2024 a productive year both for the body and for the mind.
Unfortunately as a result I didn't accomplish many of my goals from the previous year, though some have changed form a bit. Rather than plumbing Gabe's house we've decided instead to attempt purchasing a house from one of our neighbors who is looking to move, which will remove the burden from me to build and upkeep such a structure and will provide Gabe and his family with stability for the additional children they wish to have. I'm fine with this because I have enough things to worry about without having that dimension weighing on me as well. While I didn't build myself an entirely new cabin proper, I extended my current cabin and gave myself enough space to live comfortably while I continue to invest in further necessary infrastructure before I can build myself a proper cabin. This year was miserable for gardening as we often had stretches for 3 to 5 weeks of no rain followed by torrential downpours that would flood my fields and destroy most of my crops, though fortunately I still managed to get about a hundred pounds of white potatoes out of it along with plenty of tomatoes. Both summer and winter squash did extremely poorly this year due to the conditions so there was almost none to be had, even from those crops that usually provide so abundantly every year like zucchini. A very good friend from church donated the money to purchase a new breed of goats that we are currently in the process of switching to, though because of the diminished size of the new breed we need to alter our milking methods and implements to get the most out of this new breed. Gabe worked at the local Tractor Supply store and as a result got plenty of cheap birds and we discovered that ducks do incredibly well on our property thanks to the pond and the barn, and so we've doubled down on our efforts to pursue waterfowl even more adamantly than chickens, as the waterfowl can eat for absolutely free for over half the year thanks to the pond. The rest of my goals, however, were left undone, and as such my list this year looks very similar to last year's.
My goals for 2024 are:
• Continue tilling up more arable land
• Help acquire a house for Gabe and his family
• Paint and detail the barn, build second hay loft, repair the oldest sections of our fencing near it
• Build a separate coop lean-to on barn for the birds
• Run geese and ducks together, decide on dominant flock
• Begin stocking the pond
• Begin initial work on the orchard
• Stop drinking entirely you stupid piece of shit
last year's thread for reference
do not be lame and shy be COOL AND CUTE AND POAST EM UP
After such huge post mine is about to be underwhelming but my new year's resolution is to be more social and more independent in preparation for #reallife.
2024 and 2025 are basically about to be the same as all the last 4 years but im predicting 26 is gonna be the mandatory military service year and after that would probably be job and legit living alone on the big house while parents move out for good and I'm not ready for either (abolish mandatory military service please)
Being honest though I probably won't do anything like with all new years resolutions beforehand lol
2024 and 2025 are basically about to be the same as all the last 4 years but im predicting 26 is gonna be the mandatory military service year and after that would probably be job and legit living alone on the big house while parents move out for good and I'm not ready for either (abolish mandatory military service please)
Being honest though I probably won't do anything like with all new years resolutions beforehand lol
This year had a lot of ups and downs. But overall im quite satisfied. Not only have i realized a life long dream of just going to Japan, I also studied there and been out a lot. I personally felt like it would be a waste of my time to make my own blog website for this small adventure, so I am grateful for Flash hosting this wonderful site. I took less pictures than anticipated, but I think the pictures in The Small Eastern Experiment (Sorry reemom for hijacking the name of your topic) do provide a nice summary for my short but great time in Japan. While i have not really made connections with locals for the future (i think), I did make a lot of wonderful new friends, to whom i still regularly speak. Sadly one of my longest standing friendships took a blow here (not gone, but definitely, not the same as it used to be), but i do not resent him for it. As long as he is happy the way he is now, then all is well.
In terms of independency this was a really good thing for me. Whereas other people fully relied on their assigned Japanese person who should have helped them with stuff like registering at town hall etc., I decided to do this all myself. Not only improving my real-use daily Japanese, but also figuring out what is what and what is best for me.
As for my last statement in last year's edition, I did try karate in Japan, however I do not think it is the sport that i would like to pursue in terms of a striking based martial art. So i will look into trying other sports in 2024.
In the last few months I have been doing a lot of volunteer "work". Assisting with the special needs people groups in Dutch national judo. The joy they have for everything they do is so nice to see, that while being there, I can not help but being happy as well. So I would like to continue doing stuff like this on the side or maybe even as a main thing if things work out in the future.
For my own achievements with judo and other fitness related stuff. I would like to dedicate this year to kinda fixing up my body. At least for the first few months i am gonna take it easier on my body and lower the weekly amount of trainings, in the hope that my knees and hips will slightly improve. After these months i wanna return to competition again, both kata and regular ones. Having finished 5th in my kata from the Dutch national championships, it left me hungry for the podium and even maybe the win after having come so close.
For 2024 in terms of Japanese language proficiency, i would like to take the proficiency test JLPT N2 this year, as i feel like i matured a lot in the language and think i could get a acceptable score on the second hardest version of this test. While this is more than enough proficient for foreigners to even consider a job in Japan, I wont stop with N2. After that i would like to dedicate a lot of my time to go to the hardest level N1, as well as branch out in other proficiency tests. For example the kanji kentei. However, these other tests are just for fun as opposed to actually being for proof of proficiency.
A long term goal which i probably wont realize in 2024, but do want to make a lot of progress in, is moving to Japan and finding a job there. I want to try this for atleast a good amount of years. The time i spent there was some of my most genuine happiest times i had in the past few years. For this sake im doing the above mentioned proficiency test, as well as actively looking at the job market and housing market in Japan.
To sum it all up:
- pick up a striking sport that is not karate
- fix up my body
- compete more
- officially become smarter
- find possibilities i would like to pursue in Japan
- and as last addition. Be happy.
I wish everyone a happy healthy and well 2024.
In terms of independency this was a really good thing for me. Whereas other people fully relied on their assigned Japanese person who should have helped them with stuff like registering at town hall etc., I decided to do this all myself. Not only improving my real-use daily Japanese, but also figuring out what is what and what is best for me.
As for my last statement in last year's edition, I did try karate in Japan, however I do not think it is the sport that i would like to pursue in terms of a striking based martial art. So i will look into trying other sports in 2024.
In the last few months I have been doing a lot of volunteer "work". Assisting with the special needs people groups in Dutch national judo. The joy they have for everything they do is so nice to see, that while being there, I can not help but being happy as well. So I would like to continue doing stuff like this on the side or maybe even as a main thing if things work out in the future.
For my own achievements with judo and other fitness related stuff. I would like to dedicate this year to kinda fixing up my body. At least for the first few months i am gonna take it easier on my body and lower the weekly amount of trainings, in the hope that my knees and hips will slightly improve. After these months i wanna return to competition again, both kata and regular ones. Having finished 5th in my kata from the Dutch national championships, it left me hungry for the podium and even maybe the win after having come so close.
For 2024 in terms of Japanese language proficiency, i would like to take the proficiency test JLPT N2 this year, as i feel like i matured a lot in the language and think i could get a acceptable score on the second hardest version of this test. While this is more than enough proficient for foreigners to even consider a job in Japan, I wont stop with N2. After that i would like to dedicate a lot of my time to go to the hardest level N1, as well as branch out in other proficiency tests. For example the kanji kentei. However, these other tests are just for fun as opposed to actually being for proof of proficiency.
A long term goal which i probably wont realize in 2024, but do want to make a lot of progress in, is moving to Japan and finding a job there. I want to try this for atleast a good amount of years. The time i spent there was some of my most genuine happiest times i had in the past few years. For this sake im doing the above mentioned proficiency test, as well as actively looking at the job market and housing market in Japan.
To sum it all up:
- pick up a striking sport that is not karate
- fix up my body
- compete more
- officially become smarter
- find possibilities i would like to pursue in Japan
- and as last addition. Be happy.
I wish everyone a happy healthy and well 2024.
hosimati suisei please
This year was actually pretty nice. In 2022 I was contemplating whether I was doing the best thing for myself and wasn't really sure where I would be now. I can say that I have progressed further into my job than I thought I would have and made lasting friendships that I'm sure later in life will still be there. I do have a confession I have touched the piano only a handful of times this year and not much has come out of it. The few times I did try, were to remember how to play; including songs like the Hyrule theme and The Office, but nothing challenging. I am fully committed to playing the treble and bass clef together this year and I will not disappoint. Another lackluster promise was keeping up with drawing, I have witnessed my peers get exceedingly better (yes i'm talking about you osk) and it has resparked a drive in me to attempt to draw something every other day for the next year. My mental state this year was headstrong if I had to say, did many things outside my comfort zone and continue to push the boundaries of what I feel comfortable. Fortunately, I have begun revisiting the gym since August and I physically feel better than ever, and i will continue going until I can run a mile under 6 minutes again.
Summary of Goals:
- Draw something every other day
- more challenging piano pieces
- become a piano (this time for sure reemom)
- run mile under 6 minutes
Summary of Goals:
- Draw something every other day
- more challenging piano pieces
- become a piano (this time for sure reemom)
- run mile under 6 minutes
last year: [i]idk. I would say "my resolutions are to regain growth, invest more into those new things i find passion through and get more into UI design now that I am offloading other work to others, and get a grasp on sleep schedule and the physical" but i feel like i'm kidding myself there
i don't think it really makes sense to think about. i just hope the year is kind to me and giving out some work allows me to get more control over myself. we'll see
nonetheless i wanna draw & design more ig idk[/i]
in all honesty, this year also felt like a blur. kind to me it uh, definitely wasn't :))))))))))))))))))))) but... i think the second half has been an improvement. planning my days more, getting on ritalin, etc. are all good. i also did end up drawing more and improving there, and i did do a bunch of UI stuff even if i didn't end up being able to release anything major of it. it's tough and i don't have much to show for it this year but honestly my only resolution is for the momentum to stay and for there to not be a big fuck you again. i'm seriously over them now, i don't know how many more i can handle lol
just need to finish rewrite replay so i can get to harvest festa, fuck it thats my resolution
i don't think it really makes sense to think about. i just hope the year is kind to me and giving out some work allows me to get more control over myself. we'll see
nonetheless i wanna draw & design more ig idk[/i]
in all honesty, this year also felt like a blur. kind to me it uh, definitely wasn't :))))))))))))))))))))) but... i think the second half has been an improvement. planning my days more, getting on ritalin, etc. are all good. i also did end up drawing more and improving there, and i did do a bunch of UI stuff even if i didn't end up being able to release anything major of it. it's tough and i don't have much to show for it this year but honestly my only resolution is for the momentum to stay and for there to not be a big fuck you again. i'm seriously over them now, i don't know how many more i can handle lol
just need to finish rewrite replay so i can get to harvest festa, fuck it thats my resolution
Hell yeah new years optimism! See like new years is like the best 'holiday', it's the only one that involves any kind of self-reflection and improvement. It's not about purchasing anything (maybe a gym membership for some), it's solely a way to look at yourself and where to go in the future. I like this kind of stuff.
This year had a lot of ups and downs, mental health all over the place but ending it off really well. It's been a year of a lot of learning and soul searching, trying to figure out life and love. I've had a lot of fuckups but I've managed them decently all things considered.
2023's accomplishments:
- Lost 55lbs
- Got back into practicing music and improving at sight-reading, theory, etc.
- Moved to a place where I practically have no rent, so I can hopefully build up some real savings
- Made a bunch of progress on some software I'm hoping to ship in the near future
Next years goals:
- Keep losing weight; there's no reason I can't hit my goal by the end of 2024
- Release my software
- Release more music
- Indulge in more media (books, film, animanga and vns, games, anything)
That last bit I particularly want to work on cuz I'm really bad at allotting time for myself to actually enjoy things. I spend so much time working that I end up feeling guilty or lazy or like I should be doing something productive, and it's resulted in me being so detached from the zeitgeist I almost feel out of touch when interacting with people anymore. What's helped change my mindset a little is viewing it more like a skill than pure leisure.. if you watch more movies you'll get better at analyzing them and enjoying them, if you play more games you'll get better at playing them and enjoying them. There's a pattern here.
That's enough rambling bout myself though. I hope life treats you guys well, and if it doesn't then make it ur bitch
This year had a lot of ups and downs, mental health all over the place but ending it off really well. It's been a year of a lot of learning and soul searching, trying to figure out life and love. I've had a lot of fuckups but I've managed them decently all things considered.
2023's accomplishments:
- Lost 55lbs
- Got back into practicing music and improving at sight-reading, theory, etc.
- Moved to a place where I practically have no rent, so I can hopefully build up some real savings
- Made a bunch of progress on some software I'm hoping to ship in the near future
Next years goals:
- Keep losing weight; there's no reason I can't hit my goal by the end of 2024
- Release my software
- Release more music
- Indulge in more media (books, film, animanga and vns, games, anything)
That last bit I particularly want to work on cuz I'm really bad at allotting time for myself to actually enjoy things. I spend so much time working that I end up feeling guilty or lazy or like I should be doing something productive, and it's resulted in me being so detached from the zeitgeist I almost feel out of touch when interacting with people anymore. What's helped change my mindset a little is viewing it more like a skill than pure leisure.. if you watch more movies you'll get better at analyzing them and enjoying them, if you play more games you'll get better at playing them and enjoying them. There's a pattern here.
That's enough rambling bout myself though. I hope life treats you guys well, and if it doesn't then make it ur bitch
I once shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.
reviewing last years resolutions i did indeed lose weight and then gain weight and am sitting at the exact same weight i was at before treatment so i think thats an improvement(?) i will continue strength training and bench 200 pounds
i said i would love to have a portfolio of graphic work and i will relatively soon but most of it is for a book but that is fine so i guess last years resolutions, as simple as they were, were 90% met
i said i would love to have a portfolio of graphic work and i will relatively soon but most of it is for a book but that is fine so i guess last years resolutions, as simple as they were, were 90% met
This year had some bullshit in regards to my studies but it thankfully wasn't that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. I'm pretty much done with my studies which is cool I guess. I'm not sure if I will do anything with this web development degree I'm getting considering the internship I have right is pretty much perfect for me, even if it has nothing to do with webdev. My boss at my internship has made it really clear to me that he wants to hire me full time once I'm done with my studies. With how close my workplace is to my house and how lenient the times are it's a no brainer for me to go work there, it feels like a once in a lifetime chance.
Besides that the other big thing that happened this year is that my dog died. It's been like half a year now and I still think of him daily. Right now I still feel like adopting a new pet would be disrespectful to him since it still feels like such a short time. Maybe I'll feel different towards such a thing at the end of this year.
In regards to my new years resolutions I feel like I have pretty much completed all of them.
I have kept up with my studies to the best of my ability, had a good enough sleeping schedule whenever it was necessary, however during breaks it definitely did still do a 180.
My forgetfulness and procrastination still isn't the best but I have gotten professional help in regards to my suspicion of it being caused ADD/ADHD which indeed was the case, so that's cool.
For this year I have these goals in mind.
- Read more literature
I bought an e-reader a few months ago and I still haven't used it a ton. I'd like to change that this year.
- Try to keep my surroundings more organized and tidy
I struggle with this a lot. It's just too easy to pick things up and place them down on the nearest available surface without putting any thought into it. It really hurts my productivity with non computer related hobbies. I'd also like to completely redo my computer desk as well which I guess I can lump into this. Having things be disorganized also discourages me into getting new hobbies cause I'd have to get new items which would eventually also get sucked into the vortex of my disorganization. I sadly haven't been able to get into any new hobbies this year cause I was afraid of this.
- Keep up with the goals I set for myself last year
Even though I succeeded last year I still feel like I could get better at the things I wanted to improve last year, especially the sleeping schedule part considering that I'm writing this at 3am lol.
Besides that the other big thing that happened this year is that my dog died. It's been like half a year now and I still think of him daily. Right now I still feel like adopting a new pet would be disrespectful to him since it still feels like such a short time. Maybe I'll feel different towards such a thing at the end of this year.
In regards to my new years resolutions I feel like I have pretty much completed all of them.
I have kept up with my studies to the best of my ability, had a good enough sleeping schedule whenever it was necessary, however during breaks it definitely did still do a 180.
My forgetfulness and procrastination still isn't the best but I have gotten professional help in regards to my suspicion of it being caused ADD/ADHD which indeed was the case, so that's cool.
For this year I have these goals in mind.
- Read more literature
I bought an e-reader a few months ago and I still haven't used it a ton. I'd like to change that this year.
- Try to keep my surroundings more organized and tidy
I struggle with this a lot. It's just too easy to pick things up and place them down on the nearest available surface without putting any thought into it. It really hurts my productivity with non computer related hobbies. I'd also like to completely redo my computer desk as well which I guess I can lump into this. Having things be disorganized also discourages me into getting new hobbies cause I'd have to get new items which would eventually also get sucked into the vortex of my disorganization. I sadly haven't been able to get into any new hobbies this year cause I was afraid of this.
- Keep up with the goals I set for myself last year
Even though I succeeded last year I still feel like I could get better at the things I wanted to improve last year, especially the sleeping schedule part considering that I'm writing this at 3am lol.
I had a fairly 50/50 year, a lot of the momentum I had was slammed back in my face by external factors but I did make progress on some of the stuff I was looking to do so it wasn't a complete wash like 2022. I still face a lot of logistical challenges that keep me from pushing for more long term goals but I do still have stuff I wish to do.
-Get my walks going again (this was my biggest failure of last year)
-take better care of myself overall, not letting depression or ADHD win as much
-spend more time with wife (once a month is fucking both of us up pretty bad)
-curb my drinking further (i made a lot of progress in the last couple months of last year)
-1280x800 (dailying the macboob now)
I'm feeling the best I've felt about going into a new year in a long time, I just hope this early promise doesn't lead to soul crushing defeat like it has in so many years, most notably that year.
-Get my walks going again (this was my biggest failure of last year)
-take better care of myself overall, not letting depression or ADHD win as much
-spend more time with wife (once a month is fucking both of us up pretty bad)
-curb my drinking further (i made a lot of progress in the last couple months of last year)
-1280x800 (dailying the macboob now)
I'm feeling the best I've felt about going into a new year in a long time, I just hope this early promise doesn't lead to soul crushing defeat like it has in so many years, most notably that year.
Dying of boredom, I'll try it all...