No frozen sea this time around, unlike last year.
Another year is coming to an end. Should I do a wrap-up? Looks like it.
The major event was my long work leave in the middle of the year, which was very welcomed, even if I didn’t make the most of it. I won’t bother having regrets on that, still was better than being at work.
I’ve probably bicycled more than ever this year, though I don’t have any statistics to back my claim. I know I’ve run more this year than the previous three years at least.
Playing video games on my PlayStation 5 was the most common pastime on my sofa, followed by watching movies and listening to music. I did manage to read a few self-help books as well, which did help me give some guidance on reflection and understanding human behaviour.
End of year writings usually have “best (something) of the year” statements too. Let’s see what I come up with a few seconds of pondering:
Movie of the year: I would have easily said Perfect Days, but I noticed it was released in 2023. Naah, I’ll still choose it. Watching it three times during the year says something.
Album of the year: I’m terrible in listening to new releases, especially since I usually don’t use streaming services. I’ll be lazy and just say Utada Hikaru’s greatest hits album Science Fiction, squarely because it was the only album (and vinyl) I bought that was released in 2024.
Game of the year: I didn’t play any game that was released the same year, as I always wait for reviews, loads of patches after the initial launch and a beefy discount offer. But of the games I’ve played (and finished) during the year, I guess Nier: Automata was the most impressive.
Book of the year: Oh dear, I don’t think I read any fictional literature this time around. The self-help books were all about the same topics differently voiced, so I don’t know which was the most impactful. No clear pick here, sorry.
Decision of the year: Obviously taking a work leave, it might be a loooong time when I will be taking a several month break from work the next time. Kind of sad, really.
Resistance of the year: Managed to keep my Facebook account deactivated, haven’t logged into my Twitter/X account and even deleted my seldomly used Instagram account. Though I still waste a ridiculous amount of hours on YouTube …
Day of the year: bicycling over 100 kilometers from Joensuu to Lieksa in one day. Maybe not the best of preparations for it or even a great bicycling route, but just finally doing it was very satisfying. It was all about pushing doubts (and doubters) aside.
Right, I think this is enough. Not really thought about what to expect from 2025, feels like peace around the world is too much to ask these days?