And 2023 is a wrap! Some huge achievments made with a few disappointments sprinkled in, just like 2022.
(Physical/Spiritual/Financial)
My Fitbit has recorded a staggering step count of 4,002,118! 🦶 which was largely thanks to walking to and from work, fairly consistent Thursday Night Football at Powerleague ⚽ and moreso, training for Tough Mudder ⚡
My weight has remained consistently between 13st 6lbs & 14st for the entire 12-month period - needless to say, I've got my intakes fairly perfected at this point and will over-indulge at whim, knowing I'll balance it back out naturally 🍴
My sleep pattern is still off the mark, with hitting 7hrs of 'actual' sleep a night remaining a rarity (at least according to my Fitbit) 💤 although now Lysh is getting older, I have been having lie-ins until 10am/11am at weekends! In 2023, I averaged 7hrs 32m of 'sleep' each night, but actual sleep was only 6hrs 47m average due to intermittently waking up throughout the night for a few minutes here and there. Think this will be a non-negotiable for 2024... I want to average 7hrs of 'actual' sleep minimum per night by the end of the year. They say sleep is super important for health, and it's something I knowingly neglect, as per the comparative charts below for 2021, 2022 and 2023... I think it may be high time to address that in 2024. 😪
Effortlessly another full year down with no vaping 🚭 and after going into 2023 with the explicit intention, I'm proud to be reporting I've managed the full year without drinking any alcohol (even despite going on an all-inclusive holiday!) 🍺 I did not even drink to celebrate finishing paying off my non-University debt back in May! 💸
Just to be absolutely crystal clear here: I have now paid off all my non-University debt! No more £250 pcm payments... hello additional £3,000 p/a in my back pocket! 🤑💹
I had been if'ing an arr'ing about whether or not to resume drinking alcohol in 2024, but I'm honestly erring toward not; I am feeling pretty fucking good health wise, and I do not miss hangovers whatsoever... never mind the long term negative health impacts...
(Work/Self-Improvement/Creativity)
Another year spent working at Connect (with a wage now closer to reflecting my value at the company). April 16th 2024 will mark 12 full years of service! 🥇
I have made minimal progress on Lightfade much to my own disgust ✍🏼 I don't know why I can't bring myself to finish this first draft! I know it's a strong idea, and I'm 75% complete, but I just struggle to find motivation to write now I'm close to the end... analysis paralysis! I started writing this novel in 2017 ffs 📑 Second non-negotiable for 2024... I need to write content daily - maybe a little 100-word goal per day, just to keep it moving! 😫
I stopped bothering with Elevate, Sololearn, and Duolingo this year as I found I was no longer caring about the content and was simply going through the motions to maintain my productivity streak. I did however complete the 13th full year of Take Daily.
(Family/Friends/Romance)
I turned 36 & Lysh turned 11 🤯
Had another visit from our cousins who live in Australia 🦘
Mourned the loss of a major friendship in Sammy who has faded out of my life since becoming single... for the past 6-months she was too preoccupied with going off the rails, and then now she's settled down with someone and is busy with that... even left me on 'read' on Christmas Day and Boxing Day... so yeah, bye bestie I guess 😔
As for my own romance? Lol. 🧊🖤
Gratitude to Lea and Ibbs for the lifts to/from football ⚽ big thanks to Sammie & Lance for everything they've done since coming back from travelling 🌏 thanks to Staylew for the lift to the airport for Lysh's first holiday abroad with me, & thanks to Tez for the lift back from the airport on our return! 🛫 Cheers Bill for paying half of my Pixel 📱 and Reg for all the work snacks! 🍪
(Home/Work/Adventures)
Upgraded from my OnePlus to a Pixel 7 Pro.
Continued revamping Lysh's Boho bedroom.
And thanks to not drinking, I've hammered a lot of media (especially thanks to the crazy decision to upgrade PS+ to Extra in the Black Friday sales!)[fully itemised further down]:
- TV Seasons Watched: 84
- Films Watched: 70
- Games Fully Played: 51
- Books Read/Heard: 52
- Podcasts Listened To: 36
- Webinars Attended: 18
I've had several visits to the Trentham Hotel and the Hem Heath after Thursday Night Football at Powerleague ⚽ Standard Spoons visits with Gina, and visits to The Furlong and Moorland Inn with Oooft 🥩 treated myself to a Betsy Burger that leaked grease and stained the sideboard in my living room 🍔🙃 had a few days out with work this year including Portofino with Create Solutions, attending BIBA for the first time ever, and also the return of the Open GI User Group Day at Abbey Hotel, Redditch with Dave Mac 💻
Lysh took a renewed interest in the cinema this year so we've been Odeon to watch Super Mario Bros, then Cineworld to watch Spiderman, Elemental, and Barbie 🎥 I had the pleasure of seeing Lysh at her Sports Day for the first time ever 🏃🏼♀️ and took her for a couple of shopping sprees to restock her wardrobe; up the Potteries in May, Festival Park in July, and then we went the Trafford Centre with Sammie & Lance in October to spend her birthday money 👜 we've had meals out at Brindley Farm and Chopstix (which she didn't like) 🍴 and day's out to Stanworths Funfair, Hanley Comicon with Alyssa, Tenpin Bowling and Waterworld with Sammie & Lance 🎳
After training for months including going for runs around through the streets, Burslem Park and Westport Lake, I completed the Yorkshire Tough Mudder 5K with T, Stace, Chris, Lea, & Bailie, after which we all went for food at the Red Bull, Church Lawton where they undercharged us massively 🍔🍻😂
Me and Lysh had our first ever holiday abroad together in Tenerife including a trip to Siam Park... and of course we had the sunburn! 🛫🌅
For Halloween this year we went pumpkin picking at Wheelock Hall with Sammie, Lance & Joe 🎃 we went the Dimensions Blood Pool Party again 🩸 and Trick or Treating 👻
I took Lysh to her first ever concert to see Melanie Martinez on her PORTALS Tour at Civic at The Halls, Wolverhampton which was incredible 🎤🎭
We went the Snow Pool Party at Dimensions for the first time ever ⛄ and seized the opportunity to go to Winter Wonderland once more since it reopened this year... Sizzler and Waltzer ftw 😂🎢 I got to see Lysh perform in her KS2 Xmas Extravaganza again 😍 before we spent most of the Christmas period together including visiting my Dad's on Christmas Day with the family 🎄🎁 a lovely meal together at Brindley Farm on Boxing Day 🎅🏼🦃 and seeing in the New Year at the Moorland Inn with Sammie, Lance, Zack, Ben G and Jasmine! 🎆🥃
- Slug and Lettuce, and The Clubhouse for Sammie & Keanu's Birthday 🍸⛳
- Flip Out with Lysh for Reuben's Birthday 🎉
- Neon Party at Knypersley Cricket Club with Lysh for Ivy's Birthday 🥳✨
- Trent Tavern with Lysh, Stay, Mum, Dawn, & Char for Lowen's Birthday 🏰🎂
- Belated visit to Moorland Inn with Stay, Em & Jord for Em's Birthday 🥩🍺
- Party at Biddulph Victoria Centre with Lysh for Scarlett's Birthday 🎁🥚
- Bear Grylls Adventure and Nandos with T & Stace for Stace's Birthday 🏹🍗
- Bon Pan Asia for Jay's Birthday 🎴🍴
- Trentham Hotel with the Aussies 🦃🦘
- Brindley Farm for Lo's Birthday 🍟🍻
- Frankie & Benny's then Mitchells with T & Stace for my Birthday 🧇🍾
- Brindley Farm with Lysh & Staylew for my Birthday 👓🍺
- Longrest with T, Stace & Moz for my Birthday 🎲🃏
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane at the Regent Theatre for my Birthday 🎭
- Went the Holly Bush Inn, Denford with Sammie & Lance, and Loki! 🍺🐕🦺
- The Playhouse for T's Birthday 🏀🎮🍕
- Moorland Inn with Sammie, Lance, Zack, & Ben G 🍻🍸
- Buffet Party at Dad's for Lo's Baby Shower 🥪🧁
- Hot Tub Party at Lance's for Lysh's Birthday 🌊🍸🎥
- Scarefest at Alton Towers with Sammie, Lance, T, Emma, & Jord 🎢🎃👻
- Archies, Trafford Centre with Lysh, Sam & Lance for Lysh's Birthday 🍟🍩
- Namco Funscape and Belong Gaming at Trafford Centre with Lance 🎰🎮
- Glam Party at Laura's with Lysh for Gracie's Birthday 👯♀️💃🏼
- Halloween Party at Tez & Stace's 👻🧻🃏
- Alderley Edge Fireworks with Sammie & Lance 🎆🎇
- Moorland Inn with Stay for Stay's Birthday 🥩🍺
- Gift Exchange at the Hopinn with family 🎁🍻
- Christmas Dinner at the Moorland Inn with family 🦃🎅🏼
- Game Night at Tez & Stace's 🔑🎲📣
| TV Show | Season | Platform | Episodes | Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. Brassic | S1 | NOW | 6/6 | |
| 02. Brassic | S2 | NOW | 6/6 | |
| 03. Willow | S1 | Disney+ | 8/8 | |
| 04. Brassic | S3 | NOW | 8/8 | |
| 05. Brassic | S4 | NOW | 8/8 | |
| 06. Heartstopper | S1 | Netflix | 8/8 | w. Lysh |
| 07. The Witcher: Blood Origin | S1 | Netflix | 4/4 | |
| 08. Rostered On | S3 | YouTube | 8/8 | |
| 09. Ballers | S5 | NOW | 8/8 | |
| 10. The Sopranos | S1 | NOW | 13/13 | |
| 11. The Hollow | S1 | Netflix | 10/10 | w. Lysh |
| 12. The Hollow | S2 | Netflix | 10/10 | w. Lysh |
| 13. Empire | S6 | Disney+ | 18/18 | |
| 14. The Ricky Gervais Show | S1 | YouTube | 13/13 | CityBoys |
| 15. Plebs | S5 | ITVX | 8/8 | |
| 16. Hilda | S2 | Netflix | 13/13 | w. Lysh |
| 17. The Legend of Vox Machina | S2 | Prime | 12/12 | |
| 18. Homeland | S7 | Netflix | 12/12 | |
| 19. Homeland | S8 | Netflix | 12/12 | |
| 20. Better Call Saul | S5 | Netflix | 10/10 | |
| 21. You | S4 | Netflix | 10/10 | |
| 22. The Sopranos | S2 | NOW | 13/13 | |
| 23. The Last of Us | S1 | NOW | 9/9 | |
| 24. The Sopranos | S3 | NOW | 13/13 | |
| 25. Shadow and Bone | S2 | Netflix | 8/8 | |
| 26. Better Call Saul | S6 | Netflix | 13/13 | |
| 27. Wu-Tang: An American Saga | S3 | Disney+ | 10/10 | |
| 28. The Way of the Househusband | S2 | Netflix | 5/5 | |
| 29. The Sopranos | S4 | NOW | 13/13 | |
| 30. The Mandalorian | S3 | Disney+ | 8/8 | |
| 31. The Sopranos | S5 | NOW | 13/13 | |
| 32. The Sopranos | S6 | NOW | 21/21 | |
| 33. The Walking Dead | S10 | Disney+ | 22/22 | |
| 34. The Walking Dead | S11 | Disney+ | 24/24 | |
| 35. Sweet Tooth | S2 | Netflix | 8/8 | |
| 36. The 100 | S6 | Goojara | 13/13 | |
| 37. Star Wars: Visions | S2 | Disney+ | 9/9 | |
| 38. The 100 | S7 | Goojara | 16/16 | |
| 39. Beef | S1 | Netflix | 10/10 | |
| 40. Barry | S1 | NOW | 8/8 | |
| 41. Barry | S2 | NOW | 8/8 | |
| 42. Barry | S3 | NOW | 8/8 | |
| 43. Barry | S4 | NOW | 8/8 | |
| 44. Attack on Titan (Special) | S4 | Crunchyroll | 1/1 | |
| 45. BOFURI | S2 | Crunchyroll | 12/12 | |
| 46. Jujutsu Kaisen | S1 | Crunchyroll | 24/24 | |
| 47. Demon Slayer | S3 | Crunchyroll | 11/11 | |
| 48. Dr. Stone | S1 | Crunchyroll | 24/24 | |
| 49. Hunter x Hunter | S1 | Crunchyroll | 26/26 | |
| 50. Black Mirror | S6 | Netflix | 5/5 | |
| 51. Dr. Stone | S2 | Crunchyroll | 11/11 | |
| 52. Dr. Stone | S3.1 | Crunchyroll | 11/11 | |
| 53. Hunter x Hunter | S2 | Crunchyroll | 12/12 | |
| 54. The Inbetweeners | S1 | YouTube | 6/6 | McJibbin |
| 55. Hunter x Hunter | S3 | Crunchyroll | 20/20 | |
| 56. Hunter x Hunter | S4 | Crunchyroll | 17/17 | |
| 57. The Inbetweeners | S2 | YouTube | 6/6 | McJibbin |
| 58. The Inbetweeners | S3 | YouTube | 6/6 | McJibbin |
| 59. Hunter x Hunter | S5 | Crunchyroll | 61/61 | |
| 60. Hunter x Hunter | S6 | Crunchyroll | 12/12 | |
| 61. Dave | S3 | Disney+ | 10/10 | |
| 62. The Goldbergs | S10 | All 4 | 22/22 | |
| 63. The Bear | S2 | Disney+ | 10/10 | |
| 64. Top Boy | S5 | Netflix | 6/6 | |
| 65. Ragnarok | S3 | Netflix | 6/6 | |
| 66. Heartstopper | S2 | Netflix | 8/8 | |
| 67. Sex Education | S4 | Netflix | 8/8 | |
| 68. One Piece: East Blue [0001-0061] | S1 | Crunchyroll | 61/61 | |
| 69. Attack on Titan | S4.2 | Crunchyroll | 1/1 | |
| 70. The Wheel of Time | S2 | Prime | 8/8 | |
| 71. Gen V | S1 | Prime | 8/8 | |
| 72. Upload | S3 | Prime | 8/8 | |
| 73. Romantic Killer | S1 | Netflix | 12/12 | w. Lysh |
| 74. Brassic | S5 | NOW | 8/8 | |
| 75. Loki | S2 | Disney+ | 6/6 | |
| 76. Ahsoka | S1 | Disney+ | 8/8 | |
| 77. The Santa Clauses | S2 | Disney+ | 6/6 | |
| 78. Hilda | S3 | Netflix | 8/8 | |
| 79. Squid Game: The Challenge | S1 | Netflix | 10/10 | |
| 80. Never Have I Ever | S2 | Netflix | 10/10 | w. Lysh |
| 81. Car Masters: Rust to Riches | S5 | Netflix | 8/8 | |
| 82. The Rising of the Shield Hero | S3 | Crunchyroll | 12/12 | |
| 83. SPY x FAMILY | S2 | Crunchyroll | 12/12 | |
| 84. Brassic: A Very Brassic Christmas | S6 | NOW | 1/1 |
| Casual | Platform | |
|---|---|---|
| 01. Roblox | PC | |
| 02. Minecraft | PS4/XB1 |
| Book | Author | Format |
|---|---|---|
| 01. Never Finished | David Goggins | Audible |
| 02. The Art of War | Sun Tzu | Audible |
| 03. Tao Te Ching | Lao Tzu | Audible |
| 04. Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment | Daniel Kahneman | Kindle |
| 05. The Beekeeper of Aleppo | Christy Lefteri | Kindle |
| 06. The Republic | Plato | Audible |
| 07. Meditations | Marcus Aurelius | Audible |
| 08. The Prince | Niccolò Machiavelli | Audible |
| 09. Utopia | Thomas More | Audible |
| 10. Wild | Cheryl Strayed | Kindle |
| 11. The Witcher #8: Season of Storms | Andrzej Sapkowski | |
| 12. Discworld #2: The Light Fantastic | Terry Pratchett | |
| 13. A Separate Peace | John Knowles | |
| 14. The Great Gatsby | F. Scott Fitzgerald | |
| 15. The Metamorphosis | Franz Kafka | |
| 16. Atlas Shrugged | Ayn Rand | Audible |
| 17. The City of the Sun | Tommaso Campanella | Audible |
| 18. Lord of the Flies | William Golding | |
| 19. Mum, Can You Lend Me Twenty Quid? | Elizabeth Burton-Phillips | Audible |
| 20. The New Atlantis | Francis Bacon | Audible |
| 21. Common Sense | Thomas Paine | Audible |
| 22. Utilitarianism | John Stuart Mill | Audible |
| 23. The Communist Manifesto | Karl Marx | Audible |
| 24. A River Runs Through It and Other Stories | Norman Maclean | |
| 25. The State and Revolution | Vladimir Lenin | Audible |
| 26. Reform or Revolution | Rosa Luxemburg | Audible |
| 27. The Conquest of Bread | Peter Kropotkin | Audible |
| 28. Into Thin Air | Jon Krakauer | |
| 29. Anarchism: What It Really Stands For | Emma Goldman | Audible |
| 30. Fascism: What It Is and How to Fight It | Leon Trotsky | Audible |
| 31. The Grapes of Wrath | John Steinbeck | |
| 32. The Gulag Archipelago | Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn | Audible |
| 33. The Picture of Dorian Gray | Oscar Wilde | |
| 34. On the Genealogy of Morality | Friedrich Nietzsche | |
| 35. Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief | Jordan Peterson | Audible |
| 36. Unbroken | Laura Hillenbrand | Paperback |
| 37. Everything Is F*cked | Mark Manson | Paperback |
| 38. That's What Junkies Do | Thomas Figlioli | Audible |
| 39. Wardstone Chronicles: The Spook's Curse | Joseph Delaney | |
| 40. Narnia #1: The Magician's Nephew | C.S. Lewis | |
| 41. The Salt Path | Raynor Winn | Audible |
| 42. Narnia #2: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe | C.S. Lewis | |
| 43. Classical Mythology #1: Greek Mythology | Scott Lewis | Audible |
| 44. Narnia #3: The Horse and His Boy | C.S. Lewis | |
| 45. Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? | Julie Smith | Audible |
| 46. Narnia #4: Prince Caspian | C.S. Lewis | |
| 47. Narnia #5: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader | C.S. Lewis | |
| 48. Narnia #6: The Silver Chair | C.S. Lewis | |
| 49. The Worst Journey in the World | Apsley Cherry-Garrard | Audible |
| 50. Narnia #7: The Last Battle | C.S. Lewis | |
| 51. Classical Mythology #2: Celtic Mythology | Scott Lewis | Audible |
| 52. A Confession | Leo Tolstoy |
| Study | Platform |
|---|---|
| Brain Training | Elevate |
| Song | Artist |
|---|---|
| 01. Sex, Drugs, Etc. | Beach Weather |
| 02. Party Party (TikTok Remix) | Yally |
| 03. Dolls | Bella Poarch |
| 04. ELE TE BOTA SOCA SOCA | MC Mazzie |
| 05. Bittersweet Symphony | Ren |
| 06. Hi Ren | Ren |
| 07. NYMPHOLOGY | Melanie Martinez |
| 08. Makeba | JAIN |
| 09. Yellow | Coldplay |
| 10. Losing It | Ren |
| 11. Sunflower | Post Malone |
| 12. Rises the Moon | Liana Flores |
| 13. TV | Billie Eilish |
| 14. Turn It Up, Bitch | Limp Bizkit |
| 15. Baiana (Bass Boosted) | Ashris |
| 16. Monsters | James Blunt |
| 17. Antsy | UPSAHL |
| 18. Ticking | TIN |
| 19. Brass | Dirty Rush |
| 20. GRRRLS | AViVA |
| 21. Stronger | TheFatRat |
| 22. ...Ready For It? | Taylor Swift |
| 23. Outro | M83 |
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