It’s the start of a new year and (cardinally speaking) a new decade – so it must be time to sit down and consider my goals.
Category Archive: Redux
Until Dave mentioned it on Twitter (thanks Dave), I hadn’t really thought about it being the end of a decade. Yes, this month my head has been stuck under a work rock, then full of head cold, then full of Christmas. I’ll try to get my head around epochs at some point, but for now let’s look back at December…
2019 has been a long old year, with a heap of challenges: a new job, a demanding client, lots of work travel, and political drama all left me wanting to bury my head in a book, but with limited mental energy for my blog. But before I close the door on 2019, I wanted to celebrate what I did achieve here at There’s Always Room For One More. Because in spite of all that, it’s been a pretty epic year.
I don’t like to do things by halves: November was SciFiMonth here on the blog, the final run down to a massive project launch at work, and saw family visiting from overseas at home. It’s been tricky to juggle and I’m finishing the month overtired and unwell – but hey, there are only 24 reading days until Christmas 😉
October was non-stop: my project at work hit the face-the-music phase (end-user feedback); I ‘popped’ to Kentucky for a weekend to see my dearest friend; I attended Bristolcon; we did some Kondoing as we got new wardrobes; and let’s not talk about the never-ending saga of Brexit. Can someone put the kettle on before we crack on with SciFiMonth?
September has been a bit of a blur – I’ve felt like I’m running to try and catch an accelerating bus in most aspects of my life, and it’s not my favourite. Add in the endless uncertainty of the world at the moment, and I could really do with some quiet time a long way away from everywhere. But first, October.
September is here, and 20 Books of Summer is officially over (even if I’m hoping summer itself may linger a few more weeks). So, how did I get on?
I started the dog days of August as a grizzly old timer with much growling and then switched track to happy dappy Labrador thanks to a wonderful first Worldcon. My reading has been dented, but my enthusiasm for genre and books is on fire!
July has been wall to wall work, with interludes of Oh My Word It’s Hot, emergency furniture shopping, and a long weekend splashing about with my nieces and nephews out-law. I’m looking forward to my August interlude: my first Worldcon! But first: more work.
Recent months have been dominated by work, and June was sadly no different (so much for this being an ‘easy’ job, what was I thinking?). Blogging has taken a back seat to documentation, with reading a much-needed diversion and a chance to take a break from trying to craft words myself. Before I knew it, I’d had a little unplanned hiatus – and I have no regrets.
The best thing to do when drowning on an intense project with lots of travel is co-host a month-long blogstravaganza celebrating all things fantasy across as many channels as possible. …I’m not actually kidding. Wyrd and Wonder was AMAZING and cheered up what could have been a miserable May.
The new job has remained incredibly intense and has added trips to Denmark every other week to its roster of unexpected demands. Now I’m a bit more settled, I am actually mostly enjoying it (and I love Denmark), but gosh I’m feeling the pressure. Easter was a godsend – four much-needed days off to decompress.
Well March has been a month. With Brexit looming, I knew this month would take quite a toll, but then I started a new job and that has also been rather bruising! Fair to say I have been mostly overwhelmed. This isn’t likely to change next month, so I suspect it will remain quiet around here on the blog until May.
February has been a big book haul month for me, but it’s been a dreadful reading month. I got distracted by some unplanned work re-insulating the house and a sudden flurry of work opportunities. So it’s been dashes to the DIY store and big decisions about my future; punctuated by a much-needed and rather extravagant weekend retreat to Scotland for my birthday.
I’ve had a slow start to 2019 as I’m still sorting out where I’ll be working this year, and UK politics is a shambles so who knows what context I’ll be working in. Instead, I’m having fun in the kitchen and allowing a little Marie Kondo into my life. I’m not watching the show, but I like asking whether things ‘spark joy’, although nowhere near my bookshelf (SO MUCH JOY SPARKING RIGHT THERE, EVERY TIME).
