At the start of 2024, I set myself one goal: try and new do one new thing each month. I would love to sit here and say that I did just that, but I didn’t – but I did some great things, in the months that I did.
January / the start of something new
I wanted January to continue what I tried in November: every middle-aged woman’s idea of a very, very good day out – Bungee Fitness! I went to two sessions – an introduction, and a fitness class. I have to admit, it was a lot of fun, and definitely does not deserve the rep it gets online – the music was punchy, the instructor and classmates were supportive, and it was hard work!
February / 1:18 personal best
February’s first was more intellectually challenging – my first speed cubing competition! I had two goals for this event: get under 3 minutes (the cut off period), and don’t come dead last. Proudly, I managed both things!
March / hello, new friend(s)
In March, I reached out to a random group of people at my work place who had posted on the internal forum about starting a Dungeons & Dragons weekly session. D&D is something I have always wanted to try, but have never had the opportunity to – until now! Every Wednesday, since March, I’ve spent my lunch break exploring strongholds and fighting demons, and just having a really fun, imaginative break from work – and I love it! We pick back up next week after a month-long Christmas break, and I can’t wait to see what Eirina, my peppermint-flavoured tobacco smoking elf, gets up to. And, hopefully, this year I won’t be late to any more meetings because we got carried away…
April / let’s learn!
I’ve always enjoyed fantasy (less so reading than watching and/or playing), and having written a few essays during my time at university on fantasy novels, I was excited when I heard about a Seed Talk that was going on in my town: The Epic History of The Lord of the Rings. I haven’t been in a webinar/lecture style environment for five plus years, so it was nice to be back in some kind of learning environment (and the beer was a plus!). What is possibly more interesting though, is a friend of mine was attending a different Seed Talks at the same time, up in Northampton – we had no idea we were both attending one that evening.
May / the horizon
May was quiet, but after welcoming Cunard’s Queen Anne to the shores of Southampton on 30 April, I was fortunate enough to be one of the first to step on board in early May, before watching her depart Southampton for her maiden voyage. And, I did fulfil a bucket list activity – seeing the Northern Lights – right from the park down the street.
June / the first shadow
In June, I took myself to the theatre in London to see Stranger Things: The First Shadow. When I say the SFX for this production were off the charts, I mean they were off the bloody charts. There were parts I couldn’t tell if they were pre-recordings or live on stage, until I was proven wrong by them being the other. The story line was also great, shedding light on some of Vector’s origins and Hawkins. I definitely recommend going to see this show, if you enjoyed the Netflix series. I also attended Queen Anne’s naming ceremony up in Liverpool, being fortunate enough to see DJ Craig Charles and Andrea Bocelli perform.
July / committing time
In July, I started volunteering for the British Horse Society, going to my first committee meeting. There’s only been 2 meetings since July, so I felt as though I haven’t gotten too stuck in yet, but I’m excited to see what happens. Also in July, I took myself on a solo trip to Belfast – you can read all about my whistlestop tour of the city, here.
August / wild swimming in the fjords
Another bucket list month, as I took a P&O Cruises cruise to a country I’ve always wanted to visit: Norway! From lots of hiking, eating good food (both on and off shore), enjoyable entertainment and, of course, swimming in icy cold fjords, I had an amazing time. I would definitely visit Norway again, though as the towns we went to were quite remote (naturally, being within the fjord navigations), I would love to do a big-city trip.
September / actually, there is some rest for the wicked
September was a relatively quiet month, and my new thing was to actually just rest as I was recovering from surgery. Two weeks of isolation, followed by six weeks of aftercare. As someone who hasn’t had surgery since infant school, this was bizarre to experience – especially being so far away from my mum.
October / basically a marathon
What I achieved in October will forever sit in my top five achievements – that is, until I get a faster time next year. In May, I bought a secondhand bike from Facebook marketplace so that I could cycle to work – and take part in Palace to Palace, a 45-mile charity ride from Buckingham palace to Windsor Castle. I had doubts, especially considering I couldn’t do any cycling or exercise in general from mid-August to mid-September, and, well, before May, I hadn’t ridden a bicycle in years. I absolutely did the bare minimum of training for this – a weekly cycle to work (7 miles round trip), one ten-mile cycle and two twenty-mile cycles. My bike was also not the comfiest, with very clunky gears and no shock absorption, but for five hours I sat in that saddle and I cycled across London, sipping water from my hydration pack backpack and digesting weird energy boosting goos. Next year, I’d like to do this challenge again – hopefully on a better bike – and definitely in less than five hours! (I paused my watch at every rest stop – my “official” event time was 5hr:00m:03s)
November / here’s to the new us
If you read my previous post, then you know I’m a fan of the TV show Arcane, and have played League of Legends on and off since 2012. So in November, I travelled to London to attend the Arcane fan event at Checkpoint Rivington! The atmosphere, the decorations, were SO good. I even managed to win a 2v2 game and get a skin from it. The venue was kitted out to look like The Last Drop, but there were pieces of wall art from Zaun and Piltover tacked up. I had such a fun time, and I’m so glad I went- even if I was by myself.
December
I did a few new things in December – from bathing, changing, and feeding my friend’s new born, to spending three days completing a St John’s Ambulance Emergency First Aid at Work course. But mostly, December was spend – as was many others – purchasing Christmas presents and travelling to see family.
