OV9

Posted: **Sat Dec 31, 2022 6:46 am**

Posted: **Sat Dec 31, 2022 5:09 pm**

Family

My family escaped the worst of Covid in 21. My aunt who is clinically vulnerable managed to survive infection without hospitalisation. The kids are doing well at School. Oldest is loving his video games design course at college, middle son is in the top 10 in his year for attitude. Youngest is a gifted and talented gobshite who is displaying some worrying tendencies of only child entitlement from how his mum dotes on him. It's hard on him because he's smarter than the average 9 year old but it's easy to forget he's emotionally a 9 year old. His Mum will be moving in with her boyfriend next year and moving to Tetbury so that's going to upset him a bit and mean a change to his routine. The boyfriend is a lovely guy and Toby loves him so I'm happy for Toby and sorry for the boyfriend but it's his turn to suffer, obviously.

Home

Mental health and recovering from wrist surgery limited the work I did in '21. The rewiring and plastering can wait another year and instead I'll focus on getting the place to an acceptable standard. I'm constantly amazed at the shortcuts the previous owners have done in the house. This year the big project will be lifting the lounge floor and suspending some insulation under it and then sanding and varnishing the beautiful wood floors that have been hidden under the shitty laminate.

Work

The company I work for is in the process of being taken over by Adecco. Nothing will happen before May but there's a risk that they'll just absorb the UK business into an existing part of their company so it could be a tricky time. I'm happy ticking over where I am, especially as I really like working from home.

Car

The jag is as reliable as an Italian car. It starts and stops under it's own power but has many interesting niggles. I love how comfortable it is and how capable it is at eating up miles. It's remarkably chuckable too being relatively light. It's a lovely place to be and I can only imagine replacing it with another XJ or XF at the moment.

Family

The kids keep on doing well. The oldest has no motivation outside of what he loves so we're hoping to get him onto an apprenticeship in September.
Middle child is not only doing well at school, he's popular and a very mature young man. He's also, while still 14, taller than me at 5' 11"!
Youngest was a bit unsettled by the move to Tetbury, new school and new routine but settled down. He was then further unsettled by his mother's boyfriend moving out of their house but he's back to balanced again. He's still a smartarse gobshite. I blame the parents.

Youngest also got covid in the year but has bounced back.

Home

Yeah, did nothing much. My headspace was utterly fucked for a fair chunk of the year. I've set up my workshop, hung my guitars and had to learn to plumb as two thermostatic valves failed in close succession. I need to repressurise the boiler expansion vessel at some point in the near future but that's about it. After that, I'll just follow the dopamine and pick and choose from the many jobs that need doing and try not to get stressed about how many there are.

Work

Still the same. Looks like we're safe in my department. It's got very, very boring, though so a move might be on the cards at some point.

Car

Well, the Jag had an enormous accident when it crashed into an MOT test and didn't survive. That prompted an emergency purchase of a 2005 E60 535d.

The Jag will be sorely missed. It was effortlessly comfortable and ate miles up like a fat bloke eats crisps but being 20 years old, the steel underneath the Aluminium body was not in a good way.

The 535d is not as nice a place to be but is more economical, faster, more practical, doesn't overhang parking spaces by so much and is utterly anonymous. I've lost it twice in car parks already.

Current jobs are:

Fitting and coding a bluetooth adapter for the stereo.

Replacing the antenna for the remote unlock as the range is "fuck all".

Wax on

Wax off

Service it myself

Figure out how to pay for the car

Posted: **Sat Dec 31, 2022 5:29 pm**

Beany wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 5:20 pm Applied for a job today - had a good long chat with the recruitment consultant. Talked about my current employment situation.

His response to each stanza was to get more and more shocked at my current working conditions. So he's going to backchannel some of his favoured clients and see if they fancy a gobby, broadly experienced (but looking to focus) IT veteran on staff.

So that's a slight improvement on 2022 so far....

This more recent job hunting flurry has been spurred on by even the checkout lasses at Lidl pointing out that they don't remember seeing me, and me ever saying I'd had a day off, or I'd not been doing some work - even on weekends. And that I should get a new job. So that they can hear about me having Fun Times, not Work Times.

Can't let the checkout girls down!

Well, got a new job - which is pretty good. Comes with better pay, and better conditions - IE I've taken the time off between Xmas and New Year (after working every day of it last year thanks to rampant incompetence) and no-one has called me up to call me a usefull fat cunt. So that's nice.

The checkout lasses at Lidl still think I'm the bees knees, and now at least three of them will grin like mad when I approach, and two of them follow me around the shop chatting away if they see me. That's as close as I can be arsed with relationship stuff at the moment.

Plans for this year are to, well, not get in shape, but to lose a few inches off the waistline. I've been meaning to buy a rowing machine for weeks now and despite having the money for it, I've not quite got around to it. Maybe tomorrow.

Car plans involve generally tidying the car up and sorting a few minor mechanical bits, moving it on, and then looking for something that has more like 300-350hp, rather than 200-250bhp.

Otherwise, no other major life plans. Just trying to get away from being constantly on edge, and on a more even keel, which still hasn't quite happened yet - six years of hyper stress doesn't go away overnight it seems.

Posted: **Sat Dec 31, 2022 8:50 pm**

Simon wrote: Sat Jan 01, 2022 12:17 pm Well once again I've ended up carrying over a few days holiday into 2022. Adding in my normal holiday (29 days) carry over (4 days), BH days (8), and company wellness day (they give everyone extra days off because of the stress of Covid over the last 2 years), I will have 48 days off work in 2022. Which isn't too bad I suppose.

We did have someone decorate the dining room but he was absolute crap. Had new windows and boiler fitted, and aiming to put new wooden flooring throughout downstairs and decorate the lounge in '22'.

I suspect car conversations will continue around selling the C and the Yeti and replacing them with 1 car, (GLC, XC60 maybe), but really as we open back up again I'm going to be keeping a close eye on just how much we use both cars at the same time and if 1 is feasible.

Little one starts nursery in 9 days, just a couple of mornings a week to get him socialised a little as Covid has been horrible for him. Originally he was to go in September (3 in October), but he has a speech delay and wanted to get him mixing earlier to see if it helps him. Children from bi-lingual households usually do start speaking later, but it's a worry none-the-less.

Oh, and Brazil likely back on for some time middle of the year too. Let's see if Covid can fuck off once and for all.

Well I did have quite a few days holiday in 22. Again I've carried over some into next year, plus we're getting 'wellness days' again, so that should help to relieve the pain of work.

Car conversations did continue and as it happens going down to one car just won't work, as has been proven a number of times throughout the year. We need 2, end of.

Little one started in nursery, and we've finally managed to get a decent amount of support for him, from speech and language therapies to his autism help as well. He ramps up his attendance from next week too, so the wife will start to get more time to herself for a change.

We finally went to Brazil at the end of September, which was insane, particularly with a hyperactive 2-3 year old and meeting all my extended family for the first time.

My 2023 plans are simple at this stage, and that's about putting this family onto a firmer financial footing as we look to changes ahead.

Posted: **Sun Jan 01, 2023 9:44 am**

Nefarious wrote: Sun Jan 02, 2022 9:04 am
Nefarious wrote: Thu Dec 31, 2020 5:56 pm
Nefarious wrote: Wed Jan 01, 2020 1:39 pm

Well, some of that happened, some less so.
Big feature of the year was a massive contract job - bare brick renovation of am Edwardian house. 19 weeks working on it before it all went a bit sour at the end when the client ran out of money. Bit sad not to have got the "wow" moment at the end (stopped with 10 days to go), and it's never nice to leave a personal relationship on less than amicable terms, but it was ridiculously lucrative, and gained loads of new skills and experience.
Racing went pretty well this year too - 2nd place in the championship with a couple of outright wins - far better than could really have been hoped for really, and unlikely to ever be matched (if I'm honest about my true skill level!). Still, it's nice to be able to mark it up in the history books and tell the grandkids I was at least once competent.
Climbing hasn't been fantastic - I've been pretty much entirely without a decent partner - but at least I've maintained a level around the 6b+/6c mark, so maybe 2020 will be the year the 7a finally tumbles
Hovercraft and boat still has been a bit of a damp squib, TBH. After all the hype and excitement at the beginning of the year, the arctic trip is looking decreasingly likely to ever happen. Mostly because TV people are money-grabbing, lying cunts who would happily see me drown/freeze if it made for better ratings. Shame after so much effort has been expended on it, but I'm still looking forward to getting the Big Red Bastard running properly and scooting across the Firth of Forth for fish and chips.

I guess 2020 will be more of the same. Got some ideas for next season's racing, so maybe I can maintain my competitiveness. Got some vague plans around other property stuff which may or may not come to anything depending on luck and money. Need to keep on top of the fitness/activity thing, as motivation has slipped a bit in recent months. We'll just have to see how it goes...
All a bit predictable for 2020, given circumstances.
Work-wise, not much doing on the contract front, although a couple of minor kitchen/bathroom jobs paid for this years racing. On the letting front it's been a case of damage limitation - at the beginning of first lockdown, I mentally wrote off £15k, but am now very pleased to report that, thanks to my tenants mostly being decent human beings, it was nothing like that bad. One slight annoyance was the latest purchase falling through in March, and failure to find an alternative in a rising market. Still hoping for a softening of demand in Q1 2021 to bring prices back down within reach without the need for more financing. Still, I can't really complain about rising prices with a dozen properties already in the bag.
Racing was errr...emotional. The club cancelled our season, and I kinda ended up being the custodian of single-seater racing in Scotland. Learned a lot about the politics of the game, and at least got to go racing a bit, even if mechanical misfortune kept any decent results out of reach. And then, of course, there was Colin's accident. Still remains to be seen what impact that will have on my long term future in racing.
Climbing has been a bit of an unexpected high. I really expected that months out of the game would have busted me back a couple of grades at least, but I obviously did something right during lockdown, and I returned to find my upper body strength the best its ever been, and that elusive 7a realistically within reach.
Hovercraft and boats have seen a very poor showing this year, with absolutely zero progress on either front. I think we'll be moving to get the Red Bastard sold on ASAP, but the boat should hopefully see some action this year, even if just in support of the e-boat project.

As far as goals for 2021 are concerned, its a bit difficult to know what's realistically going to be possible.
I'd like to get another flat bought ASAP, then more of the same on the work front.
I'm already in fairly hardcore training for the next assault on the climbing wall, but that's all reliant on my motivation holding up long enough to see the climbing centres open again...we'll see.
Racing-wise, it'll be another tough year fighting to keep the championship alive. Been toying with the idea of doing a couple of arrive-and-drives just to have a go at a different flavour of motorsport in preparation for my eventual retirement. Again, will just play it by ear.
Basically, the aim overall is for a holding position across the board, and if I can snaffle a couple of little wins along the way, that'd be nice.
Looking back, 2021 lockdown took a bigger toll on my year that the 2020 one did - most of the first 5 months of the year could pretty accurately be described as the "holding pattern" I predicted at the end of 2020. Domestic stuff, various crafty projects, and physical training. All kinda fine, but looking back, I think the semi-isolation and lack of bigger-ticket achievement took a bit of a toll on me.
The other big feature of the year was the renovation of the house in London. Very different from the way I'm used to working in that I wasn't there in person and was managing the project between three different contractors remotely. It was a big mistake and really should have put my crew in a van and just committed to staying down there for a month. As it was, it felt like I worked harder, was more stressed, and the project took 3 months instead of 1 and costs spiraled to about double what they should have been. Lesson learned. If you want a job doing properly....
Elsewhere around work, I had a nice 6-week contract job that paid the year's racing budget, added two new properties to the portfolio (even though my predicted softening of the market never happened), and passed the threshold where some of the property stuff needs to move into a limited company. All fairly solid progress.
Racing-wise, it's been a funny old year. I had previously been running the Formula Ford show in Scotland, but after my friend Colin's accident in November 2020, I took the very conscious decision that I didn't want to be the man in charge. Enough work had been done in 2020 that I was able to hand the whole shooting match over to the racing club with a list of promises to ensure that we got a full season of racing in 2021. My own season was fairly poor - dogged by a mystery damper problem that it took all year to identify - but somehow managed to secure 2nd place in the championship for the second time.
The biggest event of the racing year was getting involved with the Minis (thanks Scott!). I was initially a bit reluctant, but it seemed like a good idea to have a plan-b in case the Formula ford situation deteriorated. As it turns out, it's been an enormously fun and satisfying new challenge, culminating in the Race of Remembrance, which was one of the most eye-opening, intense and rewarding things I've ever been involved in. The fact that we're now a 2-car team with plans for a full season of sprint races and multiple endurance events speaks volumes. Boat and hovercraft have both now gone to make room for more racecars!
Health and fitness has, on paper, been fantastic. Being stuck in the house for so long, general adherence to a good diet and re-discovering my push bike got me to the best physical shape of my life somewhere around August/September, which I'm really pleased about. However, the lack of climbing opportunities and the ongoing absence of a decent partner has meant that all that training hasn't actually translated into any measurable results - which was the original aim of the exercise!

So, plans for 2022.
Business-wise, I'm back in growth mode. Now my daughter has her heart set of 7 years at medical school, some fairly big demands on my income are on their way, so I'm going to get my head down now to add an extra £30ish-k to the rental revenue.
Racing-wise, it's going to be busy! Full season of FF, 2/3 of a season of Modsports in the Minis, and 3-ish endurance events.
Health and fitness-wise, same as previous years - head down now for the next couple of months with a view to really getting back on the climbing horse by March/April.
And, you know, just try and be a bit happier

Yeah. Interesting to look back at the optimism of January 2022.
All in all, the year has been pretty shit, and my efforts are really best described as "damage limitation".
Mrs. Nef's mental health took a bit of a nosedive early in the year, resulting, inevitably in a knock on effect on me. The depression has been pretty crushing at times, and for the first six months at least, I really struggled to muster the fucks to even do the bare minimum to keep the ship afloat. Somehow though, June/July marked a bit of a turning point, and I spent the second 6 months slowing dragging my sorry arse out of the hole.
The whole situation hasn't been helped by the destruction of my normal happy escape place - racing. I watched the Scottish Formula Ford championship get run into the ground and then abandoned, marking a sad and untimely end to something I really loved. All good things, and all that, and at least I got a decent price for the car. Mini racing went some way to filling the hole left by the FF, but it was a technically challenging first year for the white Mini and much hair was torn out in frustration in the workshop. Positively, Scott ran really well in the blue car (bringing home a class win for the championship) and we seemed to finally get to grips with the white one's issues just as the season drew to a close, and the car is now fairly well placed for a more successful 2023.
Work-wise, things have been fairly quiet, and I'm glad that I've built up enough fat in previous years that I've been able to take my eye off the ball for a bit without disastrous consequences. One new property was added to the portfolio, and a couple of smaller contract jobs just about kept everything ticking along.
With climbing, I finally found myself a strong partner - she's a german ex-pro football player, so really strong in the fitness department and really well motivated, and we've made some really good progress in the second half of the year. Really hoping to build on it through 2023 and hopefully get back to the level I was at in 2019.
The strongest and most positive events of the year have been delivered by my wonderful daughter, who has overcome her own challenges, smashed her highers, and managed to secure herself an interview at Cambridge (went well, awaiting results later this month). Seeing her mature into a highly capable, well-rounded and thoughtful adult is truly the proudest experience of my life.

So, plans for 2023:
Work-wise, it's going to be very much dependent on what happens with interest rates, but for the moment, I'm hitting the ground running with a big contract job (2 month bare-brick restoration, starting day after tomorrow!). Hoping to be able to add another flat to my tally, and buy somewhere in whatever university town the little one ends up in to get her started in the business as a side hustle.
Racing-wise, my big focus for the white Mini is to prep the best possible car for Race of Remembrance 2023, and I'll see what sprint opportunities come up along the way. I'm desperately missing the single-seater stuff, so I'll also be looking for some kind of opportunity to scratch something close to that itch through the year (maybe a couple of pay-to-play drives, maybe something completely mental - watch this space

)
But, yeah, just more generally, like I said at the beginning of 2022, try and be a bit happier...

Posted: **Sun Jan 01, 2023 3:13 pm**

duncs500 wrote: Sat Dec 31, 2022 6:46 am 2022:

Work wise, just got to build on 2021 and hopefully fight to get it into a place where the work load is manageable and we're delivering effectively. Not sure it's possible as the client keep pumping more work our way, and we don't seem to want to say we can't handle it, but just need to keep finding ways to be more efficient I guess (either that or have a nervous breakdown! ).

Personal life wise, as before, be a better husband and farther, but probably put more emphasis on the husband side of it this year.

Hit my dietary goals, I think I'll do it, a bit of damage done over Christmas but Jan and Feb are particularly easy months to be disciplined.

Definitely do more with the Lotus, driving it the other day thanks to that mild spell reminded me how enjoyable it is, so as much as family commitments allow I want to make the most of it. Couple of trackdays and a road trip is the aim, lets see how I go!

Other hobbies wise, looking forward to cooking some bbq again soon, and considering giving home brewing a go (just reading up at this point, but looks interesting).

Relatively calm year by the looks of it, don't have loads of money due to nursery costs, but still think it will be enjoyable. Could do with COVID becoming less of a big deal and getting on with enjoying life.

2022:

Well I didn't have a nervous breakdown, but work hasn't got better really. I've been constantly stressed and feeling the pressure, I think my team and I have improved a lot in many areas but it just doesn't seem possible to get everything done as well as it ought to be in the time available. Just got to keep plugging away I guess and hope that one day we can turn it around.

Personal life wise, the little one is developing nicely, she's definitely been going through the terrible twos for a while, but she also delivers some great fun and it's getting more frequent as she starts to talk more. I have been trying to be a good husband, but with the stress of work and child care it is something that constantly needs consideration. We've both struggled at times and it has manifested in some fights here and there.

Did fuck all with my diet last year, after some previous good work I am back up towards the heaviest I've been since I started recording it. I have been sporadically going to the gym and swimming, but my diet has been poor.

Not done much with the Lotus in 2022 in the end for one reason or another. Did get plenty of bbq done in 2022, and have really enjoyed that, some real highlights and some off days / areas with room for improvement. Decided I don't have time for the home brewing at the moment, but still something I'm really interested in, so will keep it on the backburner.

2022 has been a bit of a holding pattern of a year, not bad, but could have been better I'd say. No tragedies though, so can't complain.

2023:

With work it's just a case of fighting on, keep trying to come up with more ways to be efficient, and wrestle it into a better place. It's taking longer than expected, but I have to believe we can get there. I still like the company, and they've taken care of me relatively well, but the client is a monumental cunt and that has been harder than expected to change. Got to just try to stay professional and do my best I reckon. I am feeling less ambitious than I used to, at the moment at least, having a good work life balance is just more important to me.

In my personal life, really looking forward to see the little one advance, I think it can be hard for dads to have a good relationship before they can talk, but I can see it getting easier and more fun for me with every passing few months. Definitely going to go on holiday abroad this year with the family, after a couple of years at home, so that should be great although more challenging with the child. Money wise, a couple of big expenses early in the year, then I want to build up a bit of a buffer to keep us comfortable, feels like we should be able to do that unless something major changes.

Diet is starting today, lots of work to do, but I've done it before successfully so hopefully can recreate that. I need to. Looking to put more structure to my exercise too, so lets see how that goes.

Keen to do more with the Lotus again, this might well be my year with that. With the bbq, I want to focus on consistency, and turning out good stuff time and again. Do want to do a brisket at some point though.

That's it really, another holding year to some extent, not too many grand plans. Hopefully everyone can stay healthy.

Posted: **Mon Jan 02, 2023 12:45 pm**

No need to look back, I only have 2 plans….

Fix my body, I fractured my kneecap, broke a bit of bone in my foot, torn shoulder muscles and trapped nerves in my left thigh. I intend to fix them all.

Get nicely set for what I believe will be a harsh few years. Broaden my shares and start investing much more. Open more savings account and generally be ready to jump on a forever home by 2025.

Dave!

Posted: **Mon Jan 02, 2023 1:17 pm**

ZedLeg wrote: Sun Jan 02, 2022 11:57 am
Work has been a bit shite, after the change in ownership in 2020 and a rough year I'm questioning whether I still want to be there. I'd mentioned this briefly in another thread earlier in the year and if anything it's gotten worse. I applied for a couple of things but I'm not really sure what I want to do. Going to update my cv and maybe start using linkedin?

Update on this, last week the company folded my dept, made everyone but me redundant and gave me a new job title with a 14% raise. This means that my salary has practically doubled since I started with the company 8 years ago. Whole experience has left a bad taste in my mouth though so I'm still thinking about what else I want to do.

Posted: **Mon Jan 02, 2023 1:21 pm**

Gavster wrote: Sun Jan 02, 2022 11:40 am 2021 Was a massive fucking pile of steaming donkey shite. After 2020's tumultuous decline, I hoped that 2021 would improve, but the reality was not so. Worked my ass off all year for very little return or success. Managed to run an innovative little machine learning/knowledge graph project funded by UKRI which stepped on some high ranking toes, who promptly slapped me down (in that underhand, unspoken, professional way) which has learned me a lot. Also got funding from WBCSD at the end of the year to start up a non-profit so at least I've got a 'charity' to my LinkedIn profit now. Diversified into a few side hustles with varying success. Got back together with an ex, which has proved to be a nice thing so far. Just submitted a court claim against my neighbours, so home life is a somewhat unstable too.

2022 Goals: Smash through the courts and see if it's possible to wrap that up by the end of the year, build on the relationship with my partner, and re-orient my business goals to serve my followers/clients and myself, with a renewed and total lack of trust for anyone else in business.

The irony is that you lot aren't really cunts, it's the people who are over friendly and positive that turn out to be the real cunts.

This thread is fantastic for accountability! I made big progress in all of my goals, 2022 was an infinitely better year by all measures. I sacked off TWO companies that I was co-founder/director of, to focus on my own work.

Work

Won my biggest/most significant contract since changing careers back in 2015
Started with 31k TikTok followers in Jan, ending the year with 84k
Then found out how much I can charge for influencer marketing content

2023: Work fewer hours at a higher rate. Land 3 decent new contracts and reach 100k followers in Q1.

Home

Won the first hearing with my neighbours/lessees. They've applied for leave to appeal (despite being denied at the hearing) so hopefully their application fails again. Assuming they continue to deny access to a surveyor, we could be serving a section 146 notice to commence forfeiture proceedings in the first couple of months of 2023.
Did some home improvement work
Got rid of my lodger so have some privacy again

2023: Wrap up the neighbour disupte (largely up to the courts) and then move to a warm flat with floor-to-ceiling windows, a large balcony/terrace and a good view across London.

Love
Still with aforementioned ex, so should stop calling her that

it’s going rather well too, because I found someone weird/weirder than me. In fact, I’d say it’s the first relationship which feels like it’s getting stronger with time.
2023: Same direction of travel

Health
Started the year as a gymnast with a broken foot. Lifted weights most of the year. Got bored. Now a runner who also lifts, seems to be a good combo.
2023: Treat running as a long term project (e.g. five years), starting by doing 3 or 4, 5k races this year.

Money

Day rate increased massively during 2022
Income also went up a lot, from a very low 2020/21 baseline.
Paid off some debts, also accrued some new ones. Comme ci comme ça

2023: Double my income.

Personal
Making changes to my friendship group due to some slightly peculiar dynamics which are a hangover from my mental state a few years ago.
Spent some time working with a cognitive hypnotherapist at the end of the year, which delivered notable impact in a time-bounded set of sessions. I was very impressed compared to other therapeutic modalities.
2023: Have a proper holiday, focus on my hobbies and getting more enjoyment from life outside of work

All of the goals for 2023 are achievable, because they're the next step in the direction of travel that I've been working on for the last few years. If I keep pushing, or push even harder, then they'll happen. There's nothing new to start anymore, thank god

Posted: **Mon Jan 02, 2023 3:39 pm**

Interesting insights.

I'm 50 this year, winding down even further to not stress about life or indeed set goals. I guess being in sales for 30 years you reach a point where it doesn't matter as long as you have money to pay the bills (not from crypto investment

).

Hope you all have a good year.

Posted: **Mon Jan 02, 2023 5:17 pm**

2022 - start saving towards my S4/S6 fund (although that will likely change)
see the rest of my siblings who I've not seen for a while
raise money towards the World Jamboree for the eldest
practice for the Kilt Walk (expect a sponsor link at some point generous people)
Would love to get away for a week in the sun but have no idea if that is likely.

Well I have managed to save money although whether it ends up going towards a car I don't know as we replaced the S60 with a TTS so an S4/6 to replace the Merc seems superflous.

I did catch up with all my siblings and will be dong so again weekend after next.

My Daughter did reach her £4k target, many thanks to those of you who sponsored her, generous as always on here.

Decided not to go abroad in the end and did Center Parcs instead which the kids loved.

For 2022

Plans for this year, hopefully some worthwhile promotion will come up at work.

Possibly a week in the sun although I will have to get a new passport!

That is about it, some minor decorating and a replacement shed and hopefully physio will sort my rotator cuff so I can get out on the bike more often.

I also want to do the Aviemore Triathlon which is open water swim, mountain bike and trail run. Originally was going to way back but injury and covid keep scoobing me.

Posted: **Mon Jan 02, 2023 5:29 pm**

Got rid of two cars, my original blue compact and most of the metro.

Gained one car, the x5.

Went to more car shows and events last year than probably the ten previous years put together.

This year, hoping for the decent weather to kick in early so I can get the golf rebuild done in time to take that to a few things, and get cracking on with the e36 m3. Might get rid of the mito too, but not until the winter weather has cleared off.

Posted: **Mon Jan 02, 2023 6:16 pm**

2023 is all about trying to finally get fit again after long covid, knee op and everything else that's conspired against me these last few years. Where does the time go...

Looking forward to the M3 Touring arriving, but need to get a house design finalised and hopefully start to build by the end of the year, so as much as there's a new car arriving, its going to be cutting back on some of the day to day spending to funnel everything in to the mortgage.

Posted: **Mon Jan 02, 2023 6:33 pm**

Ascender wrote: Mon Jan 02, 2023 6:16 pm 2023 is all about trying to finally get fit again after long covid, knee op and everything else that's conspired against me these last few years. Where does the time go...

Looking forward to the M3 Touring arriving, but need to get a house design finalised and hopefully start to build by the end of the year, so as much as there's a new car arriving, its going to be cutting back on some of the day to day spending to funnel everything in to the mortgage.

That's an awesome year ahead! Building a house and getting an M3 wagon

Posted: **Mon Jan 02, 2023 7:24 pm**

22 was a grind, just felt like a year where I was working flat out with not much progress. I had no time to rest, work during the week in London and then at the weekend I was helping out at home. And then during the evenings during the week I was redecorating my flat.

I put in nearly 2km of stock fencing which is what killed me, just doing 100 metres each weekend. Finished that and then started rebuilding some old forestry tracks. All heavy labour. Get to November and my bastard sciatica is flaring up again and that’s been me out till now.
I’m finally at that point in life where I’d happily piss off on an island holiday for 2 weeks and do nothing. But I know I’d get bored after the second day.
Sounds grumpy but I guess I’m happy.

Posted: **Mon Jan 02, 2023 7:27 pm**

Gavster wrote: Mon Jan 02, 2023 6:33 pm
Ascender wrote: Mon Jan 02, 2023 6:16 pm 2023 is all about trying to finally get fit again after long covid, knee op and everything else that's conspired against me these last few years. Where does the time go...

Looking forward to the M3 Touring arriving, but need to get a house design finalised and hopefully start to build by the end of the year, so as much as there's a new car arriving, its going to be cutting back on some of the day to day spending to funnel everything in to the mortgage.
That's an awesome year ahead! Building a house and getting an M3 wagon

Fingers crossed! You never know what random things may happen to scupper those plans.

Example one... Mrs Mike sends me a link to an auction selling an actual stuffed monkey butler (long-standing family joke following the purchase of a wooden one by my folks). I bid on said monkey. Win auction. And apparently I'm "wasting money."

So why did she send me the link.

@Gavin Sounds like you've got a lot of good goals for 2023. What is it exactly you do btw? Social media and branding or is that just a new endeavour?

Ceiling to floor windows is a must-have in our house for the ground floor living area although not with a view of London.

Posted: **Mon Jan 02, 2023 7:30 pm**

Mito Man wrote: Mon Jan 02, 2023 7:24 pm 22 was a grind, just felt like a year where I was working flat out with not much progress. I had no time to rest, work during the week in London and then at the weekend I was helping out at home. And then during the evenings during the week I was redecorating my flat.

I put in nearly 2km of stock fencing which is what killed me, just doing 100 metres each weekend. Finished that and then started rebuilding some old forestry tracks. All heavy labour. Get to November and my bastard sciatica is flaring up again and that’s been me out till now.
I’m finally at that point in life where I’d happily piss off on an island holiday for 2 weeks and do nothing. But I know I’d get bored after the second day.
Sounds grumpy but I guess I’m happy.

I know work like that is really heavy going and physically tough, but its good you get the chance to do that stuff, I love working outside or on the croft, keeps me sane and is definitely a long term goal of mine to take over the croft.

Posted: **Mon Jan 02, 2023 7:48 pm**

Long covid @Ascender give over. I suffer from not being 20

Exciting car plans tho

Posted: **Mon Jan 02, 2023 10:01 pm**

RobYob wrote: Sun Jan 02, 2022 1:53 am Soo Jobs, got two from those January interviews, one of which lasted for seven months of hellishly stressful remote work on a Chinese EV, the second of which has returned me to Australia after nine years and nine months in the UK.

Nice to get back to see family. Have spent the last month mooching off them including an emergency accommodation call to my brother who is 20min down the road because the toilet in our ancient and much neglected house took the opportunity on new year's day to decide to cease to function.

Still kinda miss being a postman, have returned mostly to being larger than ideal although I'm grimly hanging on the the last remaining belt notch gain I made while endlessly walking. A visit to Unzippy's BBQ joint will smash that too methinks.

Moving countries has meant the karate is sadly going backwards, haven't yet found a new club we like.

As for driving, well pretty much dead as a hobby for me for the foreseeable future. Between catastrophically low Australian speed limits, revenue hungry cops and cameras and a house in need of much attention all cash and time and motivation is gone. Will be buying/leasing an SUV like everyone else here and using it to trundle very slowly around.

2022; new job in an unfamiliar field is fairly scary, lots of excuses to buy power tools for home DIY, some potential for planning bulldozing the whole lot and rebuilding at some point.

Well, have now ticked over a year back in Aus and have been thoroughly reminded just how craptacular Melbourne weather is. Funnily enough it's now this time of year everyone is missing being in the UK with the appropriate atmosphere for Christmas, had there been a white Christmas back in Norfolk the Mrs would have been on a plane back.

Work wise the switch from Industrial engineer "user" to Academic engineer "researcher" has been a massive challenge and it's sometimes slightly terrifying to have conversations with new colleagues on stuff I know "a little" about but they understand it in a completely different context.

Felt like I've made little contribution but my boss and his boss still seem positive so that's something. They've signed me up for an 18month 10hr/week course to get me more useful, prerequisites include calculus probability at undergrad level. I forsee a lot of googling in the next year and a half.

Fitness and interlinked Karate took a huge step backwards, was unable to find the equivalent club in both specific style and attitude to replace the UK one, spent three months looking and trying clubs then six months giving one a proper go before pretty much writing the whole thing off. Kids got demotivated too so they've found different sports to pursue. Very frustrating as we were all about six to nine months away from Black Belts had we remained in the UK.

On the positive I did enjoy having a reasonable budget and motivation for house DIY. Walls got built and walls got rendered, insulation went into the ceiling and concrete repaired. All quite satisfyingly hands on. This year we're looking at a thorough renovation of the toilet/bathroom which will be a nice little challenge.

Driving... I don't have the heart to update the forum rides section with my now long departed E39 530i now a School run spec leased Xtrail. Haven't even taken it off road.

Oh and due to spectacular idiocy on the part of our UK accountant, our UK bank and HMRC we've "lost" about £6k that while in theory should be recoverable seems a very long way away from being returned to us.

2023. Hang in there at work. Join a gym. Stop playing quite so much Fortnite, write a book, fix my workshop, make some art, renovate the toilet and drive to the desert.

Oh and maybe get to Unzippy's BBQ joint which is still only a 20min drive away.

Posted: **Tue Jan 03, 2023 8:36 am**

Ascender wrote: Mon Jan 02, 2023 7:27 pm
Gavster wrote: Mon Jan 02, 2023 6:33 pm
Ascender wrote: Mon Jan 02, 2023 6:16 pm 2023 is all about trying to finally get fit again after long covid, knee op and everything else that's conspired against me these last few years. Where does the time go...

Looking forward to the M3 Touring arriving, but need to get a house design finalised and hopefully start to build by the end of the year, so as much as there's a new car arriving, its going to be cutting back on some of the day to day spending to funnel everything in to the mortgage.
That's an awesome year ahead! Building a house and getting an M3 wagon
Fingers crossed! You never know what random things may happen to scupper those plans.

Example one... Mrs Mike sends me a link to an auction selling an actual stuffed monkey butler (long-standing family joke following the purchase of a wooden one by my folks). I bid on said monkey. Win auction. And apparently I'm "wasting money."

So why did she send me the link.

@Gavin Sounds like you've got a lot of good goals for 2023. What is it exactly you do btw? Social media and branding or is that just a new endeavour?

Ceiling to floor windows is a must-have in our house for the ground floor living area although not with a view of London.

The monkey purhcase sounds like a skit from Curb your enthusiasm

I do three things 1) Food policy consultancy for organisations - e.g research and writing reports, 2) Social media videos in the niche of food policy (both influencer marketing for businesses and content creation/training for other organisations), 3) Writing about food policy. In 2020 and 2021 I kept on trying to build companies with other people, which didn't really work for many reasons, so I've gone back to what I'm good at on my own, then bring in freelancers when I need additional help on projects.

The London view might be a 2023+ goal, but I am definitely done with 'characterful' Victorian places, regardless of how high the ceilings are

OV9

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