2022 was massive for me, but 2023 feels like a full and proper year to go at and I am looking forward to it. Granted, I do have some worries about the tech market and the fact my presence is directly tied to my role with my current employer but you cannot spend time worrying about that. I am entering into the Green Card process (submitting soon) so hopefully everything will be ok for the 12-18 months that will take the process (and hopefully successful). It will also a big year hopefully for the Birmingham apartment to be finished with the cladding remediation so I can wriggle myself free of that finally – I have a feeling there will be many bumps in the road until then though.
So for 2023, unlike the last two stressful New Years Eve’s, I am back to setting out some targets for the New Year. It’s hard to predict what it will involve as always but there are some things I have in mind that I definitely want to go at hard.
Running
I am definitely (finally) wanting to run my first marathon in 2023. I have my eye on Eugene Marathon on April 30th 2023 which is in Oregon, importantly for me… at sea level! I am looking forward to the training in the next few months but my training here is no where near as consistent and far fewer miles than when I was in Norwich. I have not yet decided my target time, I am either going to try for 3:44:59 or 3:29:59, it is my first so maybe I should just want to finish!
I will also be trying to raise £500 for the Dogs Trust in my efforts with the marathon, watch this space!
In addition to the marathon, I would finally like to clock 1000 miles in one year. I should have had this already but I always have periods of time where I just cannot be arsed and back away totally from running. 1000 miles is definitely the target and hopefully I can achieve it finally.
Hiking
As well as continuing to hit as many amazing hikes in Colorado as I possibly can, I want to tackle a 14er. For those who do not know Colorado has MANY 14,000ft elevation mountains, the one I wish to tackle is Longs Peak and this must be in late Spring or Summer as conditions would be way too treacherous now. I have not figured out if I can rope others in or will go on some sort of arranged hike yet but I am on the case.
Biking
For Christmas, I have treated myself to a swanky new bike and all the gear. I am quickly realising it is an expensive hobby and I will probably never get over the price I paid for the bike (even though I saw many many bikes way more expensive than this one). When it arrives on 3rd January I hope I will catch the bug, Colorado has incredible open spaces and trails and the bike should allow me to get to more places, quicker! I will join a cycling club and I really hope will catch the bug and add a hobby to the list, but time will tell, watch this space!
Weight Loss
All the above should contribute to the goal but I want to lose 6kg prior to the marathon in April, not a huge amount but August-October hit me quite hard, so a little more to ditch ready for the summer months!
New Countries
It’s not as easy to hit as many new countries as I did before now, not because of my location but because I have quite a lot of time off for folks visiting or me visiting home. Still, I intend to hit at least 2 new countries this year to make it 56 ready for a bumper trip in 2024 for a BIG birthday.
Welsh Language
I absolutely loved learning Welsh online with the Pembrokeshire college, and the move and way my calendar is for work has meant I can;’t do the next phase (my staff are in UK/India so mornings are rammed where the classes would be in US time). Still, I hope to be in a position September to start the next class, and in the meantime I am desperate to dedicate just 90 mins a week to going through the workbooks I have (I bought all levels of the workbooks as I intended to go all the way with it).
Work
I have been with the company three years now and I need to change roles, so I will be looking and working with my directors to carve out a new role in 2023. I also want to be very far down the Green Card process come December 2023!
Social
When I have something like a marathon in mind, running tends to takeover and I just do not bother doing anything or taking up any offers of social events. I MUST keep trying to get a better social life here by keep putting myself out there and meeting new people. I will talk to anybody, but tend to turn down offers of nights outs/drinks etc
Hockey
I have a hockey trip in January where I will be going back to my favourite city (New York) for the 7th time. I have not seen the Islanders play at their new arena yet due to Covid so I am buzzing for that. However, I would like to tick off 3 more teams watching the Islanders (a) in 2023, most likely be next season from October. Some candidates are Vancouver (where my mate now lives), Dallas (mate lives there too), St Louis (to see some folks met long time ago now in New York) and Nashville (always been top of my list).
I am also determined to get to some playoff games (if/when we make it to them) this season.
Phone/WhatsApp Call/Video Call
I must use my phone to call more or video call on the Portal more than have this year. I am the same as everybody and messages constantly, but I genuinely hate it. I used to prefer when everybody called each other, but those days are gone. Still, I intend to call/video call more (not my Mam because he gets pelted with calls everyday anyway, so I mean others).
The Arsenal
As wel as hoping to get back for some games in March, it’s all about us taking that big prize in May and maybe the FA Cup and Europa too! #UTA
2022 has been kind to me, I hope it has for everybody else too. Happy New Year to everybody and wishing you all a mega 2023 (one in which we will see The Arsenal winning the title) and hopefully see you in the year!
If you had things on your list for a long time, make 2023 the year you push yourself to do it.
