sixteen

At the end of last year, I wrote a post about my 2015 goals, and how I did reasonably well with them, and about what I wanted to carry over to, or aim for, in 2016. You can go and find that post if you want, but I’m not linking to it from this post because I realised that I didn’t really try very hard at these “goals” this year.

Well, for one, I only read one of the four books I’d assigned myself. I also have not been able to surpass a five-minute plank.

Umm, ok, they were the main two, I suppose. I actually got majorly side-tracked with other books, particularly recommendations from others. At least I still managed to read one of the books I’d intended to (David Copperfield). I fully intend to read Anna Karenina in the first half of 2017.

Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever set myself a reading list before, and maybe that’s where I went wrong. I am too easily tempted by other books to be able to stick to a reading list, so there’ll be none of that next year. But, seriously, I will read Anna Karenina next year, even if it’s the only book I read (which it won’t be because I already have a book picked out and reserved for my Japan trip next year).

And maybe I didn’t improve on my planking from last year, but I’m no less fit – or am I? I dunno. Who’s counting, anyway? I improved on other things: twenty push-ups (on my toes) in one set is no longer a big deal (unless it’s in the middle of a boxing class and we’ve already done a heck of a lot of upper body stuff…)

Besides, there have been a lot of other good things this year. I know a lot of people didn’t really enjoy 2016, and a lot of major things have happened, but I reckon I’ll remember 2016 as a good year – at least on par with 2015 (or maybe better? That’s a bit of a tough call, though…) I did take slightly more time off work than I did in 2015 (?) I think I did, anyway. At least I actually went somewhere with my holidays this time. That’s a plus, right?

Hmm.. I don’t really want to spend too much time contemplating and reflecting here. I think I did enough of that throughout the year, and it’s a little bit overwhelming to delve too far into it again. Suffice to say that, thinking back on 2016, I feel kind of sad – sad about certain things that have happened, but also sad that the year is coming to a close. But, you know, it’s not really an end; time is a continuous variable; one year flows into the next.

(Reading Jane Eyre these last few weeks, I’ve discovered that Charlotte Bronte was rather liberal with colons and semi-colons, so you must please excuse me if I randomly start using lots of these in my own writing. It’s generally a good indication that I’m enjoying a book if the writing style seeps, subconsciously or otherwise, into my own.)

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