The Brautasets stayed in London again this year. We do not like to travel at the best of times, and doing eight-hour journeys at Christmas with a two-year-old is not our idea of fun. I've had Christmas off though and we stocked the larder in advance. In other words: good food and quality family time was had. I've also had a little time to think of resolutions for 2014.
There's not much point to resolutions unless they're quantifiable. Otherwise, how would your friends hold you accountable? (And make fun of you if you fail?) So rather than "drink more" "exercise less" I've tried to only pick resolutions that can be measured or externally verified.
I've been wanting to do contribute more to my local community for some time. In particular I've been after something where I can contribute with my experience. CodeClub, teaching programming to school-children aged 9–11, has caught my eye. The curriculum is provided for you so all you have to do is contribute one hour a week to run a class. Conveniently you can run it at a school or social club near you. Check them out if you find this interesting!
On the personal front I plan to lose a little weight. I think I am about 80 kg right now, which makes my BMI a little above 25—meaning I'm technically overweight. I want to get down to 75 which will make my BMI just under 24. I'll give myself until my birthday (late April), and I want to keep that weight for the rest of the year. I'm not sure how to make this happen but I figure more exercise, more fruit and veg, and less carbohydrates will play a part. At the moment I don't do any exercise at all so that part shouldn't be too hard.
I also want to write more this year. Last year I managed 11 posts on this blog. (Not counting a couple still in draft stage.) I also managed three posts on my work's tech blog. I will consider this the 'low water mark' for this year, so this year I will commit to write at least 15 posts. The distribution of posts across various blogs is not important, as the point is to improve my writing.
Last but not least: I want to make a concerned effort to see my friends more often. I've been back in London for nearly 2 years and I believe I can count the number of times I've managed to go out and meet old friends on the fingers of one hand. Consequently, this year I hope to meet friends for a night out at least once a month: 12 times. How hard can it be?