I didn’t do this at all in 2024 so let’s get back on that horse.
2025 Theme
My annual theme this year is CORE which is a short-hand way of asking myself “what is the essence of ________” or “what is the most important thing about _______”. I see it as a way to guide my activities while also sparing myself from fretting over what isn’t important.
While CORE has been in the back of my mind and I’ve pulled it out on a few occasions, I haven’t been using it as actively as I could be. I’m almost sure I’ve missed more than a few chances to reflect on the CORE of something.
Shoulders and Legs
I’ve had some long-standing pain issues with my shoulders and legs that I’ve been semi-successful at managing. The past 3 months have shown some improvement but what annoys me is that I still don’t know what really helps and what really hurts. It’s almost a crapshoot any time I try a certain exercise or stretch. I have some idea but nothing concrete. Perhaps at this juncture I should be happy that I have a collection of things I can try out because some of them work some of the time. More experimentation needed I suppose…
Cooking with a Thermomix
In a pleasant surprise a casual chat with a friend led me to dragging out my mum’s old Thermomix. My friend had been singing its praises for how it easy it is to prepare good meals in a short amount of time. My mum bought one years ago but stopped using it and it had been gathering dust ever since. After some very generous help from my friend and their network I was able to sauté a cabbage and carrot dish that I used to cook on the stove. And it was so much easier that I’ve been won over. I’m still experimenting with different recipes and the recent broccoli dish I tried did not turn out too well though I deviated significantly from the steps so perhaps the fault is mine.
Here comes a new challenger
For various reasons I wanted to play more Street Fighter 6 this year especially online matches which I’d been avoiding. I’m happy to say that I discovered that playing online was a lot more fun than I thought. It’s also a good example to recall anytime I’m facing something daunting and scary: could it be more fun and less fearful than I think?
Advancing Projects
There are a few work-related projects that really excite me this year and I’m happy to say all are advancing nicely.