2018 was a difficult year for me in many areas. With a mix of set-backs and accomplishments. But the headline of the year would be: Letting Things Slip.
Travel
After two years of some very big, expensive trips, 2018 was much more low-key. We kept things closer to home for much of the year, saving everything up for a larger trip back to the US for Christmas.
- Barcelona, London
Every year seems to have at least a few trips to Barcelona and London. This year was no exception. In September my in-laws came out for a visit and we took them to Barcelona to show them the city, which my Father-in-Law hadn’t seen in nearly 40 years.
- Dusseldorf
Now that we live closer to the Germany border, turns out it’s a lot easier to catch at rain to Germany for a short visit. This December, we headed to Dusseldorf to see their many Christmas markets over a long weekend. It was a terrific weekend, we drank a lot of gluhwein. It’s probably our #2 favorite Christmas Market now behind Prague.
- A bit more of the Netherlands
We hit up Maastricht and Valkenburg in the far south of the country to visit some Christmas Markets this year.
- Back to the US
For the first time since Spring, 2015, we are back in the US for the holidays. A 3 week whirlwind trip through DC, Pennsylvania and Michigan to see family and friends we haven’t seen in years.
Professional
- Hard Cuts
The year opened with having to make some hard cuts to my team. In the end, we came out stronger, but it was an incredibly difficult period to go through. - Reforging and Moving Ahead
Coming out of the cuts and the release of our game in the spring, We had to do a big reset on things, essentially build a new team and charge directly into a rather ambitious new free to play project. The effort has absolutely paid off though and we have a stronger team than ever, and a very promising game planned for 2019.
Personal
- Best friend moves back to the US
In the spring, my best friend and her family had to rather suddenly move back to the US. This has had a pretty big impact on my stress and happiness as having them nearby was a very welcome relief from the rough days.
- Moving Closer to Work
For over a year, I had a 1.5 hour commute each way to/from work, for a total of 3 hours on the train every single day, at a minimum. In March, we made the move closer to work, and now I have a 20 minute door-to-door commute and it’s fantastic.
- Pinched Nerve, Back Issues, Exhaustion
Early in the year, I pinched a nerve in my neck that put me out of commission for weeks, and have had lingering back issues as a result all year. To top all of that off, stress and a lack of rest over the year put me on the edge of exhaustion by the end of the year.
- Weight Issues
For the first time ever, I topped 200 lbs. My weight has been inching up over the last 15 years for sure, but this year was a spike. Poor eating, stress and lack of activity from injuries all combined together to a weight that puts me on the edge of further health issues.
2019…
Everything in 2019 comes down to one word: Wellness. I ignored a lot of warning signs this year in physical and mental health that led to a very rough time.
So for this year there are three core things I’m focusing on:
- Take Time Off (and not all in one go)
I took 2/3 of my annual holiday allowance at the end of the year. Leaving only a few days here and there across the rest of the year. This meant I never got a good break or rest at any other point in the year. Given how everything else in 2018 went, I needed to do more regular maintenance than I did. So in 2019, I’m going to take more, smaller breaks over the whole year.
- Eat Better
I actually started on this one in October and have been making some very solid progress. I’m back under 200, and got as low as 187 before Christmas happened and that was wiped out by cookies, beer, wine and lots of other treats. But in general I’ve already started to correct a lot of my bad eating habits from 2018, and plan to keep it going in the New Year.
- Be More Active
This is a tricky one, since it’s so easy to just… not. Especially in the cold, dark winter months. I’m not sure how I’m going to do this exactly, but at the very least I’m going to work to get back to a minimum of 10k steps per day.
I want to end 2019 at or below 175 lbs, and in a much better mental & emotional place than I did for 2018. It’s going to be a long road, but that’s where I’m putting my focus and effort for the next 12 months.