Today's the last day of 2022, and another year has gone by. It's New Year's Eve, and one is supposed to reflect on what has passed, and look forward to what's yet to come.
I'm... confused. A little sad, somewhat lost, a little disappointed, a bit worried, and a tad hopeful.
Worries
Ukraine and Health?
Let's be honest: compared with what happens in the Ukraine my health should be the least of my worries. But I'm a little worried. Back-problems, overweight, chronic venous insufficiency... cause, consequence, accidents, my own fault.
Nevertheless, my health needs to improve, and there's only one person who can. Me. So, there's worry number one, and good intention number one: lose kilos, improve my health, get well. Soon.
I can do something about my own health, but I don't think there's anything I can do about Putin. He seems to be hell bent on creating a Russia that only exists in his fantasy, unable to let go of a world that has moved on.
It's sad he isn't the only one. It's a kind of... strong-man drama, a tyrant's midsummer night dream. To the rest of humanity it is nightmare incarnated. We don't need one country rising over another one. We don't need to see 'our' flag on every roof top. We definitely don't want to see rocket contrails piercing the sky and experience, however so short, a barrage of atomic blasts.
Please, politicians, whatever nation you're from. Stop playing 'landjepik' (land grab). It's too easy to do something stupid, to overstretch, and find yourself in a position where you only have 'the bomb' left to save your face.
Sad
I didn't know. John Miles passed away in 2021, but I didn't find out until mid 2022.
Who's John Miles, you might ask. He was the man behind Music, one of my all time favorite songs. He wrote and performed a number of other pieces, but never managed to become a superstar. As I understand he's barely known in the States. Some might recognize his name from the Alan Parsons Project albums where he is the voice on a number of tracks. Others might remember him as 'Mister Night of the Proms', a sequence of recurring concerts in Europe mixing up classical and pop music (2001, 2012).
Three of his albums stand out... obviously there's Music. Besides the title song I have a soft spot for Lady of My Life, but pretty much everything on that album is mind-blowingly good. Then there's Zaragon. Skip tracks 3, 4 and 5, those haven't aged well. Instead, just play Overture, Borderline, Nice Man Jack, and finally Zaragon. On repeat. Forever.
You might think of John Miles as a one hit wonder, but he wasn't half bad as a musician in general. His album Upfront is straight forward nineties pop rock, including a bunch of covers. Easy digestible stuff. Then there are his renditions of Stairway to Heaven and especially Wrecking Ball. (Yeah, that's Miley Cirrus' Wrecking Ball, but done right.)
And now, he is no more. I'm going to miss him. I'm going to keep on playing his songs.
I think if there is one song that I would have to pick as my ultimate, my forever, the only song that would need to be played near the end of the universe it would have to be Music. Yes. It's that good.
Disappointed
That I am, but mostly in myself. Not only didn't I lose those kilos yet, but I didn't finish my bloody novel either. And that's just... wrong. Poor attitude, failing perseverance, wavering commitment.
So, there's my second good intention. Finish and publish TWO novels this year. In itself that shouldn't be that hard as I've pretty much completed three of 'm, but numbers two and three still need lots of editing, and number one needs another final line edit.
Now I know the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but if that's what it takes to get my novels published... Hmm... I wonder if there's a store nearby that sells pentagrams...
Confused
I'm not sure what to make of inflation, energy pricing, the near future of my kids. Many changes are afoot...
The government said there would be firework restrictions in the area where I live, but I've never heard that much bangs and booms throughout the night.
The world kept on running for two years, in spite of Corona, and now my employer tells me I can't work from home. Not a single day.
Classic Covid's gone now (mostly) but new variations pop up every day.
Elon Musk still hasn't set up shop on Mars, and pissed a couple of billions of dollars down the drain buying Twitter.
And my car dealer hasn't been able to fix the navigation in my car for over three years now.
The energy companies make more money than ever, and yet they tell me they have to keep prices high to compensate for higher costs.
The cancel culture still hasn't been able to cancel itself. (Sometimes I think some of the Woke need to be banished from this realm.)
There are still idiots out there voting for populists like Trump. Johnson. Baudet. Because those scammers--wait, politicians--tell them what they want to hear. Which, unfortunately, isn't exactly the same as what things are. Did the average human intelligence just drop fifty points overnight whilst I wasn't paying attention?
And finally, there's no global warming. We just had our warmest summer and winter ever, but there is no global warming. There isn't. Seriously, there isn't.
Right?
Hopeful
We're still alive! I'm still alive!
Now, 2022 wasn't the greatest year in my life. I find it actually hard to think of anything I actually accomplished in 2022, and that isn't a great sign. Okay, I bought a PS5, but if that's the only memorable event of 2022 it shouldn't be too hard to turn 2023 into a great year.
Maybe we get nuclear fusion. Perhaps Angel Jay scores another best seller. Eventually my scales will show declining numbers. Eventually...
You know what?
This is what I am going to do. I'm going to turn 2023 into the best year ever! Join me in making 2023 great, and let me start by wishing you a great 2023. Let's have a 2023 that's great for all of us!
Happy New Year!
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