we are officially closer to 2030 than to 1066
A very excellent latter-half-of-the-decade new year to you all! It seems nowadays that the years pass about as often as I blink, and 2025 was certainly no exception. It's fixing to a be long, hard winter, but with the warmth of the holiday season and the gradual lengthening of days we're graced with a comfortable reprieve right at the start. With the count of years climbing up and up whether we're ready or not, it's almost impossible let such a thing pass idly by without sitting back and examining ourselves, our hopes and dreams, and most importantly, our expectations for the year. So, what do you! want to see happen in 2026?
Gotta say right out of the gate that I did absolutely none of the things on my list from last year, and that was completely intentional. I lost my job early on in the year which stung quite bad, and I rebounded by taking a job doing large receiving at a walmart to bridge the gap. At first I was still dead set on tending to the farm, and I got as far as planting a few fields with potatoes, onions, and sunflowers, and I finished clearing out the alders in the pasture, fully opening it up; however, by about my birthday the mind numbing dead-end physical labor unloading trucks started wearing on me and for my birthday I gave myself an excuse to just goof off on the computer instead of laboring out in the fields before work. As it turned out, I enjoyed slacking off so much that I kept doing it! I relocated myself to my friend's trailer up the road so I had access to mains electricity, a first in six years, and for the most important part of early summer for a farmer I just goofed off instead of working the land. The wild grasses at the margins grew tall, the fields got overgrown with weeds, and I just didn't give a damn. Really started wondering what I wanted out of life, especially considering I'm constantly in a position where I'm paying for a bunch of things I don't use or care about for the sake of my friend and his family, but I'm out in the sticks living like a peasant.
Fortunately after only two months of working that demeaning job I got a tip from a buddy I downstacked freezer pallets with, there was a maintenance position at a local nursing home his wife worked at they needed filled. Given my prior experience I threw my resume at them and was quickly hired, and I quickly discovered it was a pretty awful place full of miserable people punching the clock and throwing the days away. I once joked to a friend that the place was full of residents waiting to die and workers waiting to retire, and it really felt that way. Shortly after I began there I got a call from the camp that fired me essentially begging for me to come back because they didn't realize how much I was actually responsible for (:3) and I agreed (for an enormous pay increase of course (>:3)). For months I worked both jobs at once, often putting in 80 or more hours a week because of how fucked up everything was at the camp. Because I worked all three shifts at the nursing home depending on the day it was essentially like an elaborate form of torture because I could never sleep at regular times, and it was chipping away at my mental and physical health. Eventually I got caught sleeping on third shift by a nurse that didn't like me too much and they fired me for that, which was a really strange thing for the manager of the department because I was extremely giddy that I didn't have to endure that fucking torture anymore. I pretty much did everything short of directly thanking the guy for firing my ass, he was so confused by my reaction.
At this point I was sleeping at the camp in a dusty corner above the maintenance building office where we store beds because I didn't have enough time to ever go home, only to briefly sleep between both jobs. There was a back highway that connected both places quickly that made it inefficient for me to go home, so I just didn't. I didn't bother leaving except for some weekends once I was only working at the camp, and I had my buddy Gabe running the farm while I was busy working. Eventually my boss got fired for gross incompetence (rightly), and now I'm the interim running the entire maintenance department at the camp for an even higher wage than before, which is the most insane rags-to-riches type fucking story arc I've personally seen in such a short span of time. I'm living on-site right now, in a really quaint cute little cabin with running water, electric, washing and drying machines, the whole works, again a first for six years. My interview to assume the position proper is on 1/6, and whether or not I become the de facto property manager here will ultimately affect the path my life takes going forward, but by all accounts it seems like I'm essentially a shoe-in as I've impressed everyone here by how quickly I assumed the position and began rectifying everything that was in total disarray.
Of course by the end of all of this I realized that I already had what I wanted with the land, but at this point I'm on the hook for a house occupied by people that don't know how to manage their finances for at least another 18 years, and I'm tired of stressing out about money. The latter half of the year I've been making money faster than I could throw it away (and believe me, I was really trying), and while I do not care about money nor do I really want anything, it's pretty nice to just throw money at problems and make them go away, especially because I am responsible for a lot of irresponsible people that don't know what they're doing. I would love to return to the farm and whip everything back into shape, but honestly I'm also tired of scraping by when I really don't have to. If I'm going to be forced to work a full-time job to keep everything from falling apart, at least it can be one that I actually like. This has been the only job I've ever worked that I actually somewhat enjoy, but if the board of directors wants someone else to take the responsibility, I'm just as happy to go build my own house on the land and go back to farming.
That all said, I have two branching resolution Path Ways depending on what happens.
If I end up as property manager, my goals are:
• Continue botanical research on-camp in a more scientific, controlled setting
• Raise a few turkeys for the fall and winter feasts because they are cute and I like them
• Determine a ten-year plan for the property with Gabe so it doesn't just sit and rot
If I end up as the assistant property manager, my goals are:
• Build or modify a structure on the property to make my living situation less brutal
• Fix everything that wasn't done during my absence (of course why would anything ever get done if I don't do it after all)
• Figure out stable employment for the winter
No matter what happens, my goals are:
• No drinking alcohol alone for any reason except on full moons, after which anything left over must be destroyed. I'm starting to have serious health effects because of my retarded behavior on this front and it has to change immediately
• Repair the exterior of the ironwood house and unfuck everything that got fucked up by the negligent tenants (aka my friends)
• Get down to 200 lbs, this will be much easier if I end up returning to the land because there's a lot of hard manual labor to do to fix everything but otherwise I'm just going to bike more often and split wood by hand every day for the camp. If I'm not drinking alcohol this will probably be a trivial goal because I don't eat much
• Get back into baking because it is fun and I need to make challah again
last year's thread for your fyr reference
pls pls PLS !!! do not be shy, it's both cathartic and motivating to commit thoughts and plans to the written word. we should all be rooting for each other!
A very excellent latter-half-of-the-decade new year to you all! It seems nowadays that the years pass about as often as I blink, and 2025 was certainly no exception. It's fixing to a be long, hard winter, but with the warmth of the holiday season and the gradual lengthening of days we're graced with a comfortable reprieve right at the start. With the count of years climbing up and up whether we're ready or not, it's almost impossible let such a thing pass idly by without sitting back and examining ourselves, our hopes and dreams, and most importantly, our expectations for the year. So, what do you! want to see happen in 2026?
Gotta say right out of the gate that I did absolutely none of the things on my list from last year, and that was completely intentional. I lost my job early on in the year which stung quite bad, and I rebounded by taking a job doing large receiving at a walmart to bridge the gap. At first I was still dead set on tending to the farm, and I got as far as planting a few fields with potatoes, onions, and sunflowers, and I finished clearing out the alders in the pasture, fully opening it up; however, by about my birthday the mind numbing dead-end physical labor unloading trucks started wearing on me and for my birthday I gave myself an excuse to just goof off on the computer instead of laboring out in the fields before work. As it turned out, I enjoyed slacking off so much that I kept doing it! I relocated myself to my friend's trailer up the road so I had access to mains electricity, a first in six years, and for the most important part of early summer for a farmer I just goofed off instead of working the land. The wild grasses at the margins grew tall, the fields got overgrown with weeds, and I just didn't give a damn. Really started wondering what I wanted out of life, especially considering I'm constantly in a position where I'm paying for a bunch of things I don't use or care about for the sake of my friend and his family, but I'm out in the sticks living like a peasant.
Fortunately after only two months of working that demeaning job I got a tip from a buddy I downstacked freezer pallets with, there was a maintenance position at a local nursing home his wife worked at they needed filled. Given my prior experience I threw my resume at them and was quickly hired, and I quickly discovered it was a pretty awful place full of miserable people punching the clock and throwing the days away. I once joked to a friend that the place was full of residents waiting to die and workers waiting to retire, and it really felt that way. Shortly after I began there I got a call from the camp that fired me essentially begging for me to come back because they didn't realize how much I was actually responsible for (:3) and I agreed (for an enormous pay increase of course (>:3)). For months I worked both jobs at once, often putting in 80 or more hours a week because of how fucked up everything was at the camp. Because I worked all three shifts at the nursing home depending on the day it was essentially like an elaborate form of torture because I could never sleep at regular times, and it was chipping away at my mental and physical health. Eventually I got caught sleeping on third shift by a nurse that didn't like me too much and they fired me for that, which was a really strange thing for the manager of the department because I was extremely giddy that I didn't have to endure that fucking torture anymore. I pretty much did everything short of directly thanking the guy for firing my ass, he was so confused by my reaction.
At this point I was sleeping at the camp in a dusty corner above the maintenance building office where we store beds because I didn't have enough time to ever go home, only to briefly sleep between both jobs. There was a back highway that connected both places quickly that made it inefficient for me to go home, so I just didn't. I didn't bother leaving except for some weekends once I was only working at the camp, and I had my buddy Gabe running the farm while I was busy working. Eventually my boss got fired for gross incompetence (rightly), and now I'm the interim running the entire maintenance department at the camp for an even higher wage than before, which is the most insane rags-to-riches type fucking story arc I've personally seen in such a short span of time. I'm living on-site right now, in a really quaint cute little cabin with running water, electric, washing and drying machines, the whole works, again a first for six years. My interview to assume the position proper is on 1/6, and whether or not I become the de facto property manager here will ultimately affect the path my life takes going forward, but by all accounts it seems like I'm essentially a shoe-in as I've impressed everyone here by how quickly I assumed the position and began rectifying everything that was in total disarray.
Of course by the end of all of this I realized that I already had what I wanted with the land, but at this point I'm on the hook for a house occupied by people that don't know how to manage their finances for at least another 18 years, and I'm tired of stressing out about money. The latter half of the year I've been making money faster than I could throw it away (and believe me, I was really trying), and while I do not care about money nor do I really want anything, it's pretty nice to just throw money at problems and make them go away, especially because I am responsible for a lot of irresponsible people that don't know what they're doing. I would love to return to the farm and whip everything back into shape, but honestly I'm also tired of scraping by when I really don't have to. If I'm going to be forced to work a full-time job to keep everything from falling apart, at least it can be one that I actually like. This has been the only job I've ever worked that I actually somewhat enjoy, but if the board of directors wants someone else to take the responsibility, I'm just as happy to go build my own house on the land and go back to farming.
That all said, I have two branching resolution Path Ways depending on what happens.
If I end up as property manager, my goals are:
• Continue botanical research on-camp in a more scientific, controlled setting
• Raise a few turkeys for the fall and winter feasts because they are cute and I like them
• Determine a ten-year plan for the property with Gabe so it doesn't just sit and rot
If I end up as the assistant property manager, my goals are:
• Build or modify a structure on the property to make my living situation less brutal
• Fix everything that wasn't done during my absence (of course why would anything ever get done if I don't do it after all)
• Figure out stable employment for the winter
No matter what happens, my goals are:
• No drinking alcohol alone for any reason except on full moons, after which anything left over must be destroyed. I'm starting to have serious health effects because of my retarded behavior on this front and it has to change immediately
• Repair the exterior of the ironwood house and unfuck everything that got fucked up by the negligent tenants (aka my friends)
• Get down to 200 lbs, this will be much easier if I end up returning to the land because there's a lot of hard manual labor to do to fix everything but otherwise I'm just going to bike more often and split wood by hand every day for the camp. If I'm not drinking alcohol this will probably be a trivial goal because I don't eat much
• Get back into baking because it is fun and I need to make challah again
last year's thread for your fyr reference
pls pls PLS !!! do not be shy, it's both cathartic and motivating to commit thoughts and plans to the written word. we should all be rooting for each other!
oopsie poopsie I forgot to actually make one for 2025. But I did realize the last goal in the 2024 thread! I am currently living in Japan.
As the past 5-8ish years have been mainly lived through helping others while not doing a lot for my self, this year will be (hopefully) all for me.
Unexpectedly fast have I been offered a job by the owner and main instructor of the judo place I train at. While it is parttime for now, I hope to leave a well enough impression that this may be turned into a fulltime position that is even willing to help me get a proper working visa later down the line.
So resolution number 1: Get employed full time!
Resolution number 2: keep on improving my judo!
Resolution number 3: start running more often again and hopefully do a half (or if I somehow become goated, a full) marathon here in Japan.
Lastly, I don't really want to call it a resolution, but befriend more people here. Outside of the dojo as well as outside of the shared house I'm living in.
As the past 5-8ish years have been mainly lived through helping others while not doing a lot for my self, this year will be (hopefully) all for me.
Unexpectedly fast have I been offered a job by the owner and main instructor of the judo place I train at. While it is parttime for now, I hope to leave a well enough impression that this may be turned into a fulltime position that is even willing to help me get a proper working visa later down the line.
So resolution number 1: Get employed full time!
Resolution number 2: keep on improving my judo!
Resolution number 3: start running more often again and hopefully do a half (or if I somehow become goated, a full) marathon here in Japan.
Lastly, I don't really want to call it a resolution, but befriend more people here. Outside of the dojo as well as outside of the shared house I'm living in.
hosimati suisei please
my goal for 2025 was not to let the year pass by and to find the spark to enjoy my hobbies again. i didnt really achieve this ;p there were factors involved - my year was plagued by health issues that resulted in several trips to the hospital for the first time in my life (making it sound worse than it is for dramatic effect, it's migraines lol) but i am in the books for it now and receiving medication so fingers crossed things improve. but there was also a lot of the usual being inexplicably reluctant to step up and engage. (adhd???)
so i'll reinstate 2025's goal, which is essentially to find my whimsy again, alongside:
seek meaningful employment
not because i want to, but because i have been living solely off savings for a year and a half and it's not sustainable lmao. would like to be able to move out of home and have my own space, and just space in general somewhere along the line
write write write
doesn't matter what about, but as a child i was actually really passionate about writing and its upsetting how ive fallen out of practice and struggle more with the ability to use my words. i WILL have a blog this year, bully me in chat about this
travel a little
i am open as hell to hanging out with you guys if the feeling's mutual, but besides that i think it'd be cool to go to iceland around august and catch the total solar eclipse there. (there are other other locations to see it from, but iceland's def got the rizz factor.) money's a concern for sure though, so might have to get on goal #1 first
good luck to everyone else setting goals this year. take it as you can. this year's the one for sure : ) )
Last year's resolutions thread I was quite positive mainly through realizing how awful 2023 was and how well I got through 2024 in return, and I think that this year still warrants positivity too, but at the same time I worry to not slump too much. 2024 was a very productive year for me but in turn 2025 feels like I did a bit less. part of that being caused by having to do things for events and the like, which is what cost some of the early parts of the year as well as some later.
Where I do think I'm moving forward is in making myself a much clearer split between work and personal life. While owning a BigThing™ means you always end up being on call to some extent, I did many things this year that try to pull the two apart more, ie. getting a Switch, changing username here, doing daily work sessions at specific times, doing all other work time on a pomodoro timer, the works. I wouldn't say I'm there yet, I'm definitely noticing problems I still have to overcome (worsened sleep schedule, less time spent on work in general (though I'm still more productive just by nature of the time spent being consistent)), but I do have the idea that this year can be good in this.
In the meanwhile, another issue I have is agency and independence, mainly with regards to my parents. While I don't think it's realistic to say I'll be moving out yet (have to make actual money first...) I do want to try and keep moving toward it. Part of that is in making sure I earn enough to, another part is in convincing myself, which is the hardest part, enough traumas to bridge there. I am doing driving lessons again now, which I hope will give me at least some tangible benefit in this direction.
From last year: "one thing i do want to do is to draw more again, ive been slumping this year which is a shame, i do enjoy doing it"... It turns out I actually drew just as much as I did last year (22 sessions). So still something to aim for there?
Where I do think I'm moving forward is in making myself a much clearer split between work and personal life. While owning a BigThing™ means you always end up being on call to some extent, I did many things this year that try to pull the two apart more, ie. getting a Switch, changing username here, doing daily work sessions at specific times, doing all other work time on a pomodoro timer, the works. I wouldn't say I'm there yet, I'm definitely noticing problems I still have to overcome (worsened sleep schedule, less time spent on work in general (though I'm still more productive just by nature of the time spent being consistent)), but I do have the idea that this year can be good in this.
In the meanwhile, another issue I have is agency and independence, mainly with regards to my parents. While I don't think it's realistic to say I'll be moving out yet (have to make actual money first...) I do want to try and keep moving toward it. Part of that is in making sure I earn enough to, another part is in convincing myself, which is the hardest part, enough traumas to bridge there. I am doing driving lessons again now, which I hope will give me at least some tangible benefit in this direction.
From last year: "one thing i do want to do is to draw more again, ive been slumping this year which is a shame, i do enjoy doing it"... It turns out I actually drew just as much as I did last year (22 sessions). So still something to aim for there?
its not february yet so i'm still allowed to make new years resolutions (and i'm finally done with a lot of the things that were hanging over my head this month)
you really did go through one hell of a rollercoaster last year reem, i keep forgetting that the official walmart box stacker arc was in 2025 and not way earlier. really cool to see you actually living your dream arysil, i'm sure you have it in you to get those resolutions realised! rooting for you to find your whimsy again nook, and i'm also excited to see you get your blog going again, even your shitposty blog from back in the day had a certain je ne sais quoi to it. i'm happy you're beginning to figure out a balance between things ikagin, it does seem like also having the switch as a dedicated distraction machine has been good to you, and even if you haven't drawn more quantitatively your drawings do continue to be nicer and nicer qualitatively!
now that i've gotten the glazing out of the way, time to review my own progress.
- "I'm going ... my handwriting." -> the diary thing didn't end up happening, but i've been trying to write again regardless and its more legible in the process, wouldn't call this a success story though lmoa
- "I'm hoping ... the process." -> still a work in progress, not really a quantifiable goal anyway but its going I SUPPOSE
- "Continue the ... is overdue." -> same as above, but things have definitely been happening
- "Figure out a more consistent stream schedule." -> still need to do this too, but ikasti has significantly lowered the bar for just firing something up, so thank you for that ikagin!!!!
- "3024x1964, it is time for the macboob." -> holy shit (shout out to reemo :D)
if i had to grade these resolutions i'd have to give myself a failing grade because these are NOT quantifiable goals, however i don't care so i will be carrying half of them forward;
- continue making da aforementioned improvements in life
- get some regular form of excercise going again
- i should really get that blog going...
- actually stream at least once a month forreal real proper with model forreal actual
this feels like barely anything but you know how it is
