New year, new weaknotes; here’s what’s going on with me right /now.
- I’ve been with Welocalize for around 15 months as I write this, and the time has flown for me. Maybe some of that’s down to the pandemic warping my temporal sense, but really I think most of it’s simply enjoying what I do (which I can’t talk about; NDAs and all).
- What I can tell you that it’s been a very encouraging time for me, personally, whether that’s getting to work with a great group of people, being valued for my contributions, helping to train new recruits, etc: the things in and around the role that show me I’m capable of more than I’d believed.
- And I won’t lie: annual leave is pretty nice for this erstwhile permalancer. As I write I’ve still got a few days left in what’s been my first extended break in, well, years.
- I’m also looking forward to a proper holiday some time in 2022. The budget’s there, but the pandemic will dictate when it’s time to make firm plans. We may be double vaccinated and boosted, but better to be safe than sorry.
- Since we’re more-or-less enforced as opposed to usually willing homebodies for the time being, we’ve made a few upgrades to our creature comforts. A big one was replacing the Enormotron (the trusty Toshiba 42-inch LCD from 2009 that we recycled a year ago) with a 4K monitor. In the kitchen we’ve also stepped up from the Pressure King Pro to an Instant Pot. With an air fryer! And our Bob dishwasher has become indispensable. What’s next? A robot vacuum cleaner?
- My vinyl collection grew in 2021, more in the first half of the year than the latter. Pressing plant delays mean I’m awaiting a few LPs bought and paid for weeks if not months ago, but it is what it is. In the meantime, I need to procure another Kallax unit as it’s a bit of a tight squeeze right now.
- Most of my purchases have been back-catalogue releases. I didn’t listen to enough new music in 2021, so if I’m going to make any resolutions for 2022 that will be a big one.
- On that same note, I really slacked off on Enlarged Heart Radio in the last year-plus. Sorry about that.
- My daily Duolingo is still a thing: I recently took the streak to 1,111 and I feel like my French is better? I’ve been sleeping on the Japanese side of things, I must admit, but I’m not beating myself up over it.
- I did finally get my bicycle serviced. But only after crashing on black ice. That was not a fun experience. More recently I had to leave the bike in the shop for a rear flat; ultimately the tyre needed replacing, too. I was advised to keep the tyre pressure up to avoid cracks in the sidewall, and that’s a lot easier to do since I got a standing pump with a gauge a while back.
- As I tweeted earlier today, I shall start 2022 as I mean to go on: eating cheese and watching wrestling.
You can find previous status updates under the #now tag.