2012 to 2013: Looking back and looking forward

Reflecting on 2012 is a big task. It was a jam packed year. A year ago I wasn't even engaged, and now I am married (and 4 months married at that). A year ago I had hopes of travel, and now I am fortunate to have hundreds thousands of photos and memories of sights that I didn't know existed last January. There are many other, smaller scale experiences that add up to 12 amazing months. I quite seriously believe that 2012 was my best year yet.

Of course, in amongst the highs there were also lows. Most of those I won't document here, being too difficult to explain or too trivial, in the bigger scheme of things, to deserve attention. I will mention, however, the December death of one of my sister's friends, an event that shook her and in so doing shook me. Earlier in the year, there was a frenzied month of work in February, and those crazed, long days took more out of me than I care to admit. In November, we heard that those days of work were for nothing anyway. My job is such that rejection is routine, part and parcel of the research world, but it hit particularly hard in particularly important ways over the last few months of the year.

On balance, though, I can only say that 2012 was a year in which I was blessed, more content than I knew possible, and acutely aware of my good fortune. To reflect more specifically, here are the goals (or aspirations, as I called them) that I formulated at the start of the year, and how they turned out.

In work -
1. Make the most of opportunities without over-committing myself.

2. Use work time to its maximum potential, so I can shut the door at home.

3. Achieve several specific work goals.

4. Be more social at work.

Each of these was achieved to some extent, and I think I am getting better at the first in particular.

In fitness -

5. Keep cycling and keep making it to Body Attack.

I have kept up cycling, but dropped Body Attack for reasons explained here. 

6. Run in the Perth City2Surf for the second time, in August.

I had to revise my City2Surf plans because it clashed with the work conference I needed to attend in Adelaide. I ran the 14km Perth Run for a Reason race in May instead.

In life -

7. Fulfill emerging travel plans: Exmouth at Easter, and Europe and possibly Morocco in September, around a conference in Portugal.

Who knew that Mr Bite would propose in Exmouth, or that the Europe trip would become our honeymoon? We had to skip Morocco due to safety concerns, but our travel hopes were most definitely fulfilled. In addition to Portugal, Spain was a first time visit for me and returning to the UK with Mr B was fantastic.

8. (Possibly) buy a house with Mr Bite...not in Australia, to add a twist.

I have been very quiet on this point, but it is actually a goal that we achieved. It has been hard to mention it on the blog because our year has been so eventful and a property purchase just seemed like too much to throw into the mix. I will post about it in the future, though, because the logistics of buying overseas were a challenge and I would like to document what we found helpful.

For now, let me say that we are the proud joint owners of a one bedroom flat in south-east London, which we bought in April but didn't see in person until out recent trip in September. It is rented out and we are still not used to thinking of it as truly ours!

9. Continue learning how to use my camera.

Ongoing. Oh, ongoing.

10. Continue expanding horizons in the kitchen, especially with main meals.

I will call this one a success...although as with photography, it is an ongoing sort of goal.

As for 2013? Here are the things I'm hoping for over the next 12 months.

1. Run the Bunbury half marathon on the 14th April.

I am registered to do so!

2. Drive from Darwin to Cairns in an Australia-based holiday with Mr Bite.

I have never been to the Northern Territory, and Mr Bite has never visited northern Queensland.

3. Make work count. 

There is a lot I want to achieve this year, and it is an important year in terms of setting myself up for another job after my current position ends (which happens in May 2014, after which we are looking to make our move to England).

4. Make money count. 

From middle adolescence until a few years ago, I had a spreadsheet that documented everything I earned and everything I spent. A cup of coffee was logged under 'food and drink'. A movie ticket went under 'entertainment'. Yes, I am a little obsessive. That system slowly dropped off, no longer feasible when working full-time and having less time to log and more expenses to try and keep track of. I am still a careful spender, but would like to work harder at saving, particularly as 2012 was a big year financially. I don't see a spreadsheet returning, but will be monitoring things a little more and trying to cut down on over-priced vegan foods in particular.

5. Stop buying tinned legumes and switch to dry.

This is more about saving on pantry space and packaging than money, but may help slightly with (4) too.

6. Enter previously read books into Goodreads.

I have a whole bookshelf worth of books that aren't yet listed as being read...

7. Schedule in pilates, in some form, on a regular basis.

I have been saying this for years. This year I intend to focus on it properly.

8. Read more history.

I fell in love with historical fiction in 2012, mostly in the form of British Tudor period literature. I am now reading a non-fiction book on that period and realise that I know very, very little about history outside of Australia and Asia. European and North American history are on my list after Britain.

9. Play the piano at least every other month.

The piano I played on as a child and teenager is still at my parent's house, largely unused. I played a few times before Christmas and loved it, despite significant deterioration in my skill level. I would like to try and re-learn what I have forgotten over the next year.

10. Practice photography.

Building on last year's goal, I now realise that I need to sit and play with my camera, trying different settings and accessories on the same scene, to get better at learning what works and what doesn't. I enjoy this, but need to plan for it if the practice is going to happen regularly.

So there we have it, 10 goals for 2013. Most of them will be enjoyable to strive for, and all of them will be rewarding if I can tick them off.

Do you have any aspirations for this year? Do you already do any of the things on my list? 

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