River: Goodbye, 2023. And good riddance.

[mdlbear]

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Along with a lot of procrastination (see below), 2023 was notable for

• A trip to the Netherlands with N and G, taking in Leiden, Utrecht, and Amsterdam. Its final week was marred by...
• The untimely demise of our household's pocket panther, Desti.
• Several other deaths, not in my immediate family, but not far from it either.
• My battle, officially from the end of September, with prostate cancer. As of a couple of weeks ago I appear to be winning, but October, November, and about half of December were exceedingly uncomfortable.
• The sale of Rainbow's End North, our house on Whidbey Island. The last house I'll ever share with Colleen.

On the whole, it wasn't a very good year.

And now it's time to wrap up the year's accomplishments procrastinations, and see how I did -- or more accurately didn't -- against the goals I laid out last New Year's Day.

Dismal details:

1. The new top goal is getting the Whidbey Island house sold. This one has sub-goals: 1. get the Stuff cleared out -- combination of estate sale, eBay, and junk-hauling; 2. landscaping -- the yard has been basically abandoned for three years; 3. repairs -- floors, garage door, garage roof, painting, power-washing; 4. putting it on the market -- that's the easy part.
   Well, the house did get sold -- to filk friends who paid cash and bought it as-is. So technically I could count this as fully accomplished, despite the fact that two of the subgoals are moot, and the cleanup is still in progress. I'm going to be generous and give it 75%.
2. Finishing the EOL paperwork: find a lawyer (who hopefully can serve as an executor as well), and get the will and advanced directives done, as well as documenting my files (which I gave myself credit for at least starting last year).
   The paperwork hasn't been done at all, but I did get the files etc. mostly documented. 40%
3. Better time management. That mostly means controlling doomscrolling, blog-scrolling, rabbit-holing, and general reading. There has to be time for self-care, writing, and music.
   Ha! zero.
4. Self-care, as usual. Including but not limited to exercise, walking, journaling, and music. And, at N's strong recommendation, being deliberately optimistic.
   I'm going to give myself 80% for this one -- I've fallen down on the music for the most part, but I've at least somewhat kept up on the others. And I'm going to let maintaining my sense of humor since my cancer diagnosis stand in for the optimism. So maybe 80%, even though I've passed off most of the medical side of the care to Fred Hutch.
5. Writing. This includes a new verse in QV (see below), but also more introspective journaling (see above).
   Well, I've kept up my journaling, but little of it has been introspective. No songs written. 40%
6. Music. Includes guitar, singing, remote and maybe even live filking, and recording at least one album: Amethyst Rose. (Which also requires a new verse for QV, so songwriting as well.) (Also, I'm signed up for a course in recording at North Seattle College this quarter.)
   I did take the recording course, but did no actual recording, and very little practicing or performing. And I forget what I had in mind for QV. So maybe 25%, and that's being generous.
7. Get back in touch with some of the many people I've lost touch with.
   Maybe 10%.
8. Reorganize my to-do lists. N says that I should trim my list down to something I can see all at once, and pick off 1-3 items per day to work on.
   Zero.

So all-in-all, 75+40+80+40+25+10 = 270, out of a possible 800. Terrible. I'm not sure prostate cancer is much of an excuse, but I'll grasp at that straw anyway.

Comments

[wyld_dandelyon]

It was so good to have you join us for the NYE filk!

[mdlbear]

Thanks! I've been neglecting music for far too long.

[wyld_dandelyon]

You've had other things on your mind and heart. But I'm very glad to see you're getting back to it.

Have you considered joining FAWM this year?

[mdlbear]

I don't think I'm quite up for that. Maybe.

[wyld_dandelyon]

The real goal of FAWM is to practice the art of songwriting in good company. Everybody I know there considers each song a win, even if it's just the musical equivalent of a doodle.

And sometimes you sit down to just doodle, and get something you love. Of course, other times you get a doodle, but it's still fun. FAWM turned my Februaries from a cold, dark, lonely time of year to a very social and satisfying time of year. And being online, you control how much socializing you do, so you can ignore the forums and challenges and such on days you don't feel up to them.

Anyway, I encourage you to try it. I'm WyldDandelyon there (or Wyld_Dandelyon), as I am in most other internet places, if you join, I'll want to follow you. :)

[mdlbear]

I'm mdlbear. Doesn't look like there's anything on the site yet.