elen_nare | 2023 wrap-up and NYR 2024

Time for the yearly wrap-up! 2023... the year I fell in love, this is absolutely the highlight and most important thing of last year. Boyfriend and I were both postdocs in Heidelberg at the time (we have since both moved to new postdoc positions in different countries, because academia is a bitch like that). He joined the D&D game I run late in 2022, we got gradually closer throughout the start of the year - with much panic-spiralling on my side (and, I later learnt, also on his) of “do I have a crush or is it just friendship oh no it’s a crush I should tell him but what if I make things weird oh no” - and started properly dating in June. And I love him so much, he’s smart and curious and thoughtful and just makes everything better... And I will stop there before this gets incredibly soppy!

This was also the year I had to start the delights of job-hunting again, as my 2 years in Chile + 2 in Heidelberg position came to an end - and I got another postdoc in Geneva! Which I am really happy about, I’m working with my PhD co-supervisor who I really like and admire, and a very cool group. The main snag is it’s two flights or a very long train ride to see Boyfriend (the Alps are very pretty, but also annoying, lol) - but at least we’re both in (geographic) Europe, I know a lot of astronomers who have to put up with much longer distances. It’s still hard, but we call a lot and we’re trying to visit often (and our jobs can be done remotely, which is handy) and I guess we’ll get more used to it with time, too - we only started these new jobs in November, so it’s pretty recent.

What else... there was a fair bit of travelling both work and holidays - I went to Chile and Argentina, Porto and Lisbon, England, the Netherlands (to meet Boyfriend’s family, which was scary but they are really nice and were super welcoming! He’s talked with my parents over skype, and hopefully will meet them in person this year). I published a paper I had been working on for ages, it was good to get that done! And I got to furnish a flat for the first time, I’ve always rented furnished before... I have given Ikea A Lot of my money, but it’s rather fun.

Now, let's go on to the resolutions!

- Write at least one thing (fanfic or original), or make at least one thing (art, fanmix, whatever), each month.

*Looks at AO3 page*. *Looks at drawing pad*. Yeah, this one did not go to plan… I wrote three fics and some ficlets:
Illumination (Chalet School, January)
Commodore’s Envoy (Swallows and Amazons, February, ignore the cross-post date, lol)
five half-drabbles (various, October)
The Family You Choose (Chalet School, December)

and drew my space wizard from one of my D&D games:

I think there’s several factors at play - obviously, some of my time has been taken up dating ;) But also, I think a fair bit of my creative energy has been going into the D&D game I run? Like, a lot of my fics would get at least partly planned on commutes, but now I often find myself planning the next game session instead. But I do want to write and draw more!

- Do crafting activities - cross-stitch, drawing, maybe try to learn knitting or crochet again?

I have kept up cross-stitching, working on a Starry Night kit now!

- Keep up the gym. Try to go swimming (once it gets warmer ;) )

Gym yes, swimming didn’t happen though... It takes time and organisation, but I do miss it.

- Continue improving my German - get back on Duolingo.

Well, I did get back on Duolinguo, but it has been for Dutch (for Boyfriend, he is learning Spanish! We send each other screenshots of the weird and/or concerning sentences we get), and a bit of French to get back in the flow before moving to Geneva.

- Track my reading – try to meet my 40 books target. Look up alternative tracking methods to Goodreads.

I did track my reading, and made the 40 books! Re-read all the Wimsey books in order, which was really good. Haven’t looked for a Goodreads alternative, though…

- Continue with effort to be less shy, more outgoing, etc. It's an ongoing thing, I doubt I'll ever be perfect, but I can always improve. At the same time, accept that I am an introvert and need time to myself every now and then to recharge, and there is nothing wrong with that - so long as I don't use it as an excuse to avoid social stuff ;)

Dating!!! But also, I’ve kept playing and running D&D, and have even joined a new game in Geneva. And I went to a few postdoc socials and so on in Heidelberg, so pretty good I think.

2024 resolutions

- Write at least one thing (fanfic or original), or make at least one thing (art, fanmix, whatever), each month.
- Do crafting activities - cross-stitch, drawing, maybe try to learn knitting or crochet again?
- Keep up the gym. Try to go swimming, for real this time ;)
- Continue improving my Dutch and French.
- Track my reading – try to meet my 40 books target. Look up alternative tracking methods to Goodreads.
- Continue with effort to be less shy, more outgoing, etc. It's an ongoing thing, I doubt I'll ever be perfect, but I can always improve. At the same time, accept that I am an introvert and need time to myself every now and then to recharge, and there is nothing wrong with that - so long as I don't use it as an excuse to avoid social stuff ;)