2023 Recap – Let’s get this over with

My desire to dig into thinking about 2023 is minimal based on what just went down the last few days but it’s a two decade plus tradition that I am not interested in breaking at this moment in time. Let’s see what my goals for this year were. This is made more arduous since my ex’s name is splattered all over last year’s entry.

I talked about hoping for better health this year. I hoped to play more pickleball. I talked about playing volleyball and I talked about gaining weight. I hammered out all of these things. This time last year my body weight was very low, scraping against 170. Through aggressive eating and working out I topped out at 182 or 183 lbs a few months ago. Unfortunately I have dropped maybe 5 of those pounds due to stress and modified eating habits that my ex enjoyed. Pickleball is now a 3-4 times a week thing and I have been playing volleyball all year without hurting myself in a significant way which is surprising.

I talked about future home improvements but I was still in my old house at this time. I have spent a small fortune on home improvements since moving however getting new cabinets, counter tops, gutters, ceiling fans, and hurricane shutters, just off the top of my head.

I hoped to include more travel this year. The only air travel I did was to Texas and California (it’s a long story not designed to be explained here) Otherwise I stayed in state for the rest of the year.

I talked about realigning my finances and doing a better job of controlling compulsive buying. That is a fail, a hard fail. I have spent more money than ever in 2023, it just was on different things. Between relationships and home improvements I have thrown dollars out at a torrent pace. One of the benefits of being single is I can close that spending valve significantly.

The last thing I talked about was relationship goals. I had come off a year of being depressed and lost. I was for the first time in a long time optimistic at that time with the new relationship I was in. I had a very positive outlook that got disintegrated about a week into 2023. Since that time I had off and on relationships with my ex and Christine the entire year. It was filled with alternating cycles of hope, sadness, joy, and disappointment. I have never had this much drama in my personal relationships as I have this past year and I hope to never experience it again.

Usually I go back and review month by month posts to give you more comprehensive years in review. I am not doing that this year, instead relying on what stands out in my mind as I sit here today.

The biggest change of this year was of course my selling the house I have lived in since 2001. Getting the house ready to sell was a monumental effort that I took on almost entirely by myself. I mentally and literally purged myself from years of things, tossing out items that I once deemed valuable and not thinking twice about it. That mindset has remained 9 months later, I am much more willing to part with things than I once was.

The house I bought is a third smaller, has a tiny piece of land compared to the nearly 3 acres I once controlled and I love it. It’s location has been life changing for me, putting me only a few minutes away from my job and close to nearly everything I need.

I now pay someone to maintain my grass and clean my house because I am at the point where my time is more valuable than money. My responsibilities have been streamlined in order to give me free time to do more of what I want, when I want. It’s been a significant mindset change, for the better IMO.

One of the things I thought I would have lots of time for was my electric wheels and One Wheel. Instead I have seen my riding time tail off, significantly so during the times I was with my ex as she had no interest in learning how to ride. My 3D printing hobby has been on life support as well. My 3D store is almost dead and just have not found the interest to do anything significant on my print farm either.

I have done a lot more drinking in 2023. The discovery of Cayman Jack as my new Zima resulted in me consuming the drink in large amounts, sometimes for fun, sometimes to drown my sorrows.

Along with physical things I have dropped some other things like watching a lot of tv. I used to have my DVR loaded up with enough content for days. Now I deleted all recording schedules and just watch stuff when I feel like it. Even Friday night pizza has become a more miss than hit thing in my routine.

My blog was yet another target for reduction. The negative feelings my ex had regarding it resulted in my making it private for most of the year as well as my being more willing to restrict what I wrote to more sterile subjects to not ruffle feathers. The blog has since once again been made public and will remain that way.

From a work perspective I am doing great. My first full year as the IT director has come and gone without major ripples. My boss appreciates me and I appreciate my employees. At this point I have 6 years and change until I can retire with a full pension and am counting down the days.

To be very honest my brain is not functioning at a high level right now as anything else I can think of is tied into my two failed relationships and I don’t need to expand on it further.

So what the F do I want my 2024 to look like? That is a good question.

I hope my good health and fitness trends that have creeped upwards in 2023 continue to do so. I usually find motivation to push myself more physically when I am angry or frustrated with other aspects of my life so I should be good to go.

Home improvements this year will likely be minimal. There are things that I want to eventually do like update the master bathroom but it is not a must do. I need to see what my tax situation is going to be this year before doing anything else. The capital gains from the home sale are going to make things tricky.

Would I like to travel more in 2024? Sure. Would I like to travel myself? Not really. Other than visits potentially to see friends or family I don’t see much happening this year.

Do I have personal/relationship goals in 2024? After seeing how opening myself up to relationships this past year has worked out for me I don’t really know that looking for one is something I have interest in doing. If the stars align and I manage to fall into something down the road with a quality human being that’s great but I won’t be actively seeking anything out. I am past the age where I need female conquests to make me feel better about myself. I need to feel at peace, whether that is with or without a partner. Going day to day not knowing which end is up is not a way to live, I can attest to that.

I know this recap more or less sucks.

I hope you and yours have a great New Year celebration. You can likely find mine occurring drunk on a live stream.