2019 - A Year In Review & Plans for 2020

[ZedLeg]

I’m a liability tbh.

I fucked up pretty badly around my birthday at the start of the year while on a bit of a mdma binge.

Don’t really like weed any more but my missus still smokes.

Going to be 37 this year, have to sort my shit out eventually.

Going to become one of those preachy teetotal vegans .

[Broccers]

I do stupid things all of the time when pissed or off my face - I probably always did. The actually caring about it kicks in as you get older.

Saying this I have met and continue to meet lots of interesting people while out out socialising so it has its plus points. I'm 47 this year so you have plenty of time.

[JonMad]

Car wise I managed a couple of track days in the Megane which were excellent. Hoping to get a few more in this year. I happen to have chanced on a few local guys to me who all have Meganes (R26s and 250s) so there's a bit of peer pressure to do more track days, as well as some handy local mechanical knowledge should I need it. No reason to change either of our cars that I can see - the Yeti is still interesting enough to drive and does the practical thing as we need it.

Outlook for 2019 is more of the same. The project I'm on, whilst not local, is interesting and the team is good. Talking about procrastinating, I said it to myself last year but this year I really do need to do the next career step otherwise I might start to get bored (so far it's 23 years in the same company) or just find more people who used to work for me start to become the ones I work for!

Well, in 2019 I did one track day in the Megane (Thruxton) then avoided that group's peer pressure but joined Mr Sundayjumper in autosolos and targa rallying instead. Man maths haven't quite meant the rally car has paid for itself (in track day costs not incurred) but it's a good excuse to have it around. Hoping to do more events this year.

Work wise I continued to procrastinate, career wise, and will probably do so again. Still on the same long term project, commuting 1 1/2-1 3/4 hrs each way every day. Sigh. Project itself remains a good place to be. Might pick up the photography again a bit more. Might learn to play guitar. That all sounds suitably non-committal.

[ZedLeg]

I do stupid things all of the time when pissed or off my face - I probably always did. The actually caring about it kicks in as you get older.

Saying this I have met and continue to meet lots of interesting people while out out socialising so it has its plus points. I'm 47 this year so you have plenty of time.

I’m not going to become I monk broccers .

Socialising might actually be more fun when I remember it and I’m not smashing my life and the lives of people around me to pieces.

[Broccers]

Socialising might actually be more fun when I remember it and I’m not smashing my life and the lives of people around me to pieces.

Its not - stay in lad.

[ZedLeg]

That's what I get for trying to have a sensible conversation with you eh?

[Broccers]

That's what I get for trying to have a sensible conversation with you eh?

I'm not kidding - I got a dog to 'grow up' and it worked but they are a bit of a full on responsibility. Gym health and other stuff is worth your focus, worked for me. Hidden benefit is not lighting fire to 600 quid a month on having a good time

[ZedLeg]

Ok broccers, thanks for the advice. I’m going to try and stop drinking anyway.

If I decide I’ve become a boring cunt I’ll get some coke for my birthday and cause some real carnage .

[Beany]

Ok broccers, thanks for the advice. I’m going to try and stop drinking anyway.

If I decide I’ve become a boring cunt I’ll get some coke for my birthday and cause some real carnage .

Sugar highs are a bitch!

[Swervin_Mervin]

12mo ago I was knackered and looking forward tot he Xmas break, after a hectic year splitting from my former employer (after what felt like a lifetime of notice - 3mo) and setting up a new company with 2 other former colleagues. We'd been going 3mo by Xmas 2018. Well, the company is now over a year old and, touch wood, is going very well. The first year trading was far in excess of where we'd forecast we might be even based on the best potential performance, so we're all thoroughly chuffed to bits and relieved.

This year I'm hoping for another solid 12mo for the company, hopefully diversifying our client base as we're perhaps a little too reliant on a couple of big clients at the moment, and we're a cautious bunch. We might also move offices, to one that's just come free in the building, which will allow the 2 current part-timers to work more comfortably in the office on the same days!

From a personal perspective last year was a great year for spending more time with family. Xmas was especially awesome, not least as it was the first one that the nipper fully understood what was going on from before December and right through. Further progress made on the house as well, albeit nowhere near as much as we'd have liked. We'll have been here 8yrs in May and still living with the same very tired kitchen. So..

This year the main aims at home are to progress the kitchen planning with some urgency and get that undertaken within the next few months. It's the last truly big job on the house, so it will be nice to get it done. But it will need to tie with work on the rear garden/patio space, new windows (potentially all round) and an overhaul of the CH system. So I'm expecting months of awfulness. I also might try and sneak in an internal extension of the garage space as well

I'm also keen to get brewing again. It's been 10 years since I last brewed and that was for a friend's 40th. I've suggested I might do one for his 50th but I'll have to get a fecking move on. The plan was always to get a new system setup in the big shed at the bottom of the garden, but that's now full of the shit that was in the garage. As I'll need to keep the garage clear for the kitchen being done, I think I'll probably resort to brewing up in the garage.

Going to make more of an effort this year to get away for short breaks with the nipper. It's his last year before starting school proper, and he loves the outdoors, so a few UK breaks are in order I reckon. Will probably book the main summer break soon as well as we're going back to same place in Tavira as last year.

As for the car situation - the plan is to move the 330 on fairly soon. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for a 650i Gran Coupe in the interim. Work may be required to cut back the hedge at the front to get one on the driveway next to the Superb though. I'll get whinged at for getting a big car when we already have one, but fvck it. Careful timing in relation to kitchen project may be required.

[Jimmy Choo]

Well, 2019 was a bit of a pisser but I'm ending it much happier than I started it.

Decree Nicii was granted in November and it should all be over by the end of the month. I'm then going to have a party and throw my wedding ring in Gloucester docks.

I'm glad to be back in a car with some power and I've really missed it. The 9-3 is significantly more powerful than the Mini but the handling and steering are much worse. It's much, much more comfortable to do a 30 mile commute in, though. The next couple of years will be a rolling repair/maintenance project starting with rear bushes and springs this month before moving on to front bushes, air con and so forth.

My health is a bit up and down. The Graves is under control but my weight is up to 16 stone, which is bad. The pre-diabeties is also gone, which is a relief. I'm currently waiting on a referral to get my wrist cut open to remove a ganglian cyst (I'm not asking Zonda to help with his angle grinder!)

The finances are utterly shot from setting up a home but I'll be looking to get back on the property ladder when we know what's going on with Brexit. I expect the market to fall when Nigel and Boris have kicked out all those pesky darki.... foreign scroungers.

[Broccers]

House prices only going one way fella and that isnt down

[Pete_]

Overall 2018 felt like a bit of a wasted year for me. I had hoped to get a new job and move away from Northern Ireland, but neither of those things happened.

In January my job was cut to working four days a week, it was a change which I’d known was coming and I was quite happy about it - the extra day of not working I’d intended to use to apply for other jobs and maybe start some sort of side-project, but procrastination got in the way of doing very much of that (although I did become a director of a small Community Interest Company).

I did a few job applications, one for a job in Amsterdam and one working at Formula E, both of which would have been awesome but neither went anywhere. In August I had an interview for a job at our parent organisation in London, on paper the role looked suitable for me (although not quite what I wanted to be doing) and would have been a good opportunity, the interview went well and I thought I was going to get it, but I didn’t and that left me feeling rather dejected and I haven’t got round to doing any more applications since.

I’m the only person working on my work projects, and I’ve realised that I really need to be working in more of a team environment for me to push myself to perform better. I’ve had basically no professional development this year, and whilst I appreciate that a lot of that isn’t useful in the real world I’m still at the start of my career and without having a team of people working on the same sort of things that I am I feel like I need more structure for me to work out how to do my job better.

My contract ends in March, we expect our project contract to be renewed but it’s public-sector funded and nothing is certain. Not getting the contract renewed might be what I need to shake things up a bit.

I’m thinking now that perhaps I need to focus less on looking for the job I want and instead just move to a new country and let a job sort itself out when I get there… possibly not a great career move but I’m realising that my career isn’t the only thing I need to make me happy.

With working less this year I’ve been trying to spend less, I didn’t go on any proper holidays this year. I ended up saving a good amount of money this year, so need to have more fun next year.

I spent two weeks in Geneva in July at a UN Summer School which was led by my cousin - so that was a great experience and met lots of interesting people.

Took a fairly impulsive five day trip to the Netherlands and Germany in May to spend some time with a Dutch girl I’d met a few weeks before, it was fun but didn’t end up going anywhere after that.

In 2019 I need to do more travelling. The Philippines look nice, I want to spend at least a month there. If that goes ahead I might try to get some tips from you Marv!

I entered a gym for the first time in May. I’ve always been a super skinny skeleton person and realised that it was affecting my self confidence, I’ve been doing weights training regularly since then, my body weight has increased more than 10% in that time and I’m feeling much better because of it, so that’s something I want to keep up next year.

What happens with cars will very much depend of where I end up living, so can't predict what's going to happen with that.

Edit: these things always end up a hell of a lot longer than I'd expected!

Overall it’s been a good year for me.

In the first week of 2019 I found out that my organisation had got some money for a new project based in our London office. My friend, who worked in the London office, had said to the directors that I’d be interested in the role – I had several follow up conversations over the next few months but things weren’t in place for me to begin until the middle of May.

The timing was fortunate, because the previous project I’d been working on in Belfast came to an end at the same time, so I’d have been out of my job there anyway! The new job is the same sort of thing but more interesting than my previous one so I’m really enjoying it, and I’m now working in a team – although the other person in my team left in November, and it looks like their replacement won’t be starting until March which isn’t great. The pay is slightly more than the job I interviewed for last year and didn’t get, which is a bonus.

I got really lucky with finding a flat to rent a room in through a friend of a friend so had that all sorted before arriving in London. The landlord had said that I could get an on-street parking permit form the council, but when I arrived, I found out it was a car-free property so the council wouldn’t give me one. Renting a private space near by would have been silly money so I put the car up for sale. I miss having it, but it’s really not necessary for me to have one at the moment.

The landlord moved back into his flat at the end of October so I had to find somewhere else, it was a stressful process but I ended up with a room in a really nice flat which is a 30 minute walk from work. I’m living with one other guy who I met for the first time when we both moved in, but we’re getting along well so far.

I’ve made some good friends since moving to London, and my social life has improved.

I still haven’t found ‘the one’ but I reckon I’ve been on more dates this year than any other year.

My only holiday was one week in North Macedonia and Kosovo at the beginning of October – I’d highly recommend going there. Want to get a longer holiday in this year now that I’m more settled.

I’ve continued going to the gym, albeit inconsistently. Need to get better at that this year.

I’d never learnt to play a musical instrument before this year but am now a fairly proficient ukulele player.

I got an audible subscription this year which is great, so I’ve probably ‘read’ more books in the last five months than in the five years previous.

This year I want to manage my money better. I’ve been good at saving up over the last few years but it’s just been sitting in my current account and cash ISA. Need to work out whether buying a property in London is realistic in the next few years (I suspect not, at least for one that I’d want to live in), and if not look to invest the money I’ve saved somehow. I want to give more of my monthly income to charity as well.

[drcarlos]

A better year last year than 2018 but then again I didn’t have to watch my fathers health deteriorate and him pass away like I did in 2018.
We’re booked for 3 weeks in Florida this April for a Orlando, plus gulf coast and the keys trip so that should be good, the usual trip to France in the summer is only a week but again should be good.
Job wise although I’m settled and have some additional responsibilities Im hoping that a recent change at the Means that some of the cocks might also be disposed off (too many greasy pole climbers) to make things better. We’ll see what happens and after bonus time I might start looking to move, I pretty much hate IT now and really want to do something else so if the wife’s venture is taking off I may take the dj thing full time and start doing weddings and such like.
The eldest will be 18 next June and has decided to learn to drive so they’ll be another car to buy there, nothing special probably an aygo or yaris, we might need to build the driveway extension we talked about though.
Racing wise I’ll compete in the new animal championship next year and see how I get on and I’ve got what could be a fast team for the 12hr (if it happens this year).
I’ll try and stick with the gym over the winter and get back out riding in the spring. Doing some of the Evans off road rides building up to London to Brighton off road in September. Then get my liver checked again (I’m suffering some of the things that got to my dad although to a lesser extent somewhat because genetics) to see if diet and exercise have improved it.

[ShockDiamonds]

Got another busy year planned workwise and as for cars will start seriously considering a replacement for the Panamera once we're into summer. Last year was pretty good all told and this year I can already see the travelling commitments ramping up - have plans to do India and several US locations by around mid-April.

[duncs500]

Managed to accelerate plans to move house which I didn't really expect to do last year, but really wanted to. The old place just needed too much work to be nice, and the area wasn't great anyway so I was loathe to spend any money on it. So the Seven went, the house got sold (nice little profit and a lot of stress), and with a bit of evonomics we bought a new place. We're totally made up with it, it's in a small new build development, and the houses seem put together well and the neighbours are really nice (a few socials have taken place since we moved in Sept). Location is perfect for us, being a village on the edge of a town, so we've got a few nice old local pubs and a good sized / nice town centre which is walkable or a cheap taxi.

Work was supposed to be a big focus of 2019, but it turned into a bit of a disaster really. Started ok, but after putting a lot of work in the part of the project I was working on was shut down for various political/commercial reasons, the decision created a huge divide in the Joint Venture, and the way in which the decision was made was pretty shambolic really. This left me scratching around for work for the second half of the year as my team was gradually stripped away from me by senior management (understandably so given the lack of work, but it's not nice when people don't know when/where they're going). The whole thing, and other things have left a lot of people frustrated and the atmosphere is pretty toxic now. So I've been looking for jobs, but the industry is pretty slow at the moment and I can't find anything that really floats my boat. I've been feeling pretty low about it, but not a lot I could do.

Last week before Christmas I got a little work thrown my way and the office restructured, so we will see how that works out, but I know there's no future where I am now. The money is ok, and the commute is good, so it's hard to know whether to tough it out and wait for the industry to pick up again, or make a move now. I've been talking to my old boss about going back there, but the only project he has at the moment would mean staying away. So I really don't know whether it's worth the hassle, although could be a good move in the long run.

Did fuck all on my Chartership stuff, which is an incredible effort in the procrastination stakes given how much time I have had on my hands at work. I guess there's no point in making any commitments, but I still want to do it.

Health wise, lost a good bit of weight at the beginning of the year, but as work went downhill so did my lifestyle. Too many nice lunches and too much booze (the devil makes work for idle hands), has seen be put on a fair few pounds by the end of the year.

Things are still good with the wife, although her commute is taking it out of her, so we need to figure something out there.

So, 2020. House is good now, and should be pretty low maintenance apart from needing to by a shed to free up the garage. I just need to try and do some saving, I want to have some cash in the bank to deal with changes in circumstances (now whether I tie it up in a car temporarily we'll have to see! ).

Need to lose all the weight I've gained so that will be an early priority for the start of the year.

Work wise, frankly I've got no idea what to do, I hate the feeling of not having my next promotion or move mapped out, but in these uncertain times and with a mortgage to pay it seems foolhardy to move without giving it a lot of thought. We'll have to see what happens there.

[tim]

I'm then going to have a party and throw my wedding ring in Gloucester docks.

I sold mine for scrap and blew the money on some crap or other. Super cathartic. Can recommend!

[Rich B]

I'm then going to have a party and throw my wedding ring in Gloucester docks.

I sold mine for scrap and blew the money on some crap or other. Super cathartic. Can recommend!

i wouldn’t be able to do this even if I wanted (I’m Still happily married with no intention of changing that!!) by getting a Wedding ring that cost about £20, knowing full well that I don’t really like jewellery and would never wear it anyway.

As it stands Right now, I have no idea where my wedding ring is!

[tim]

Mine was needlessly expensive, like everything else had to be, and I didn’t pay for it. Which made it all the sweeter

[Simon]

I'm then going to have a party and throw my wedding ring in Gloucester docks.

I sold mine for scrap and blew the money on some crap or other. Super cathartic. Can recommend!

I was gonna say, at least chop it in and spend the money on a nice meal out or something.

Or a fish and chip supper if your name is Rich