Every year close to New year’s eve, I make a list of my new year’s resolutions. This list is usually at the back of my agenda and after a week or two that I obsess over it, I forget it exists until it is time to make a new one. This is a positive thing in the end exactly because I forget about it and this way, when it is time to make a new list I can actually review which goals I have set for myself the year before and how many did I manage to achieve.
For 2018, I decided to do this on my website.
2017 in Review
In 2017 I have achieved plenty of my goals. First of all, I finally designed my online portfolio !!!!! That one took long enough but now it is finally something I can cross off my list and it feels great! At the same time, I finally found a new apartment that is the exact the size I wished for and within a logical price range.
If you live in Belgium you already know that renting in Brussels is a nightmare! Apartments are usually very old not to mention that most of them are not even meant to be apartments. They are rather houses torn in several apartment-like floors. I have been searching for a new place for more than a year and half and let me tell you; I have seen really terrible things that cost a fortune compared to what was offered. Old kitchen installations, apartments with storage rooms that renters call bedrooms…. three or two bedroom apartments with living rooms equal to a hallway, a kitchen in the living room or closets in bathrooms. I wonder who even rents these places? But finally and luckily we are now settled in our new apartment and moved to a new commune; from Saint-Gilles to Altitude 100, in Forest!
In 2017 I really wanted to satisfy my wanderlust and one of my goals was to visit a place I haven’t visited before. Thanks to a surprise from my wonderful husband we visited Rotterdam for a few days in September and I was simply amazed ! Rotterdam would not be a city that I would ever think of visiting, it is relatively small and quite industrial. However, my dear friend Alain who’s taste I absolutely trust, recommended I visit the city and I must say that it is definitely one of the most interesting places I have visited in Europe. Beautiful neighbourhoods, events and markets all over the city, reasonable restaurant prices and good food, modern and extraordinary architecture, exciting nightlife and good bars -what more do you need?
Last but not least, in 2017 I managed to sign a CDI contract!!!! Searching for a job in my domain -or close enough to my domain to be exact- was really a challenge and it still feels like this sometimes to be honest. But in 2017 it was possible to see some result of all that work I put into my skillset as I did not only sing one but two CDI contracts within the year! I grew in experience and professionally and I got to work on various exciting projects along the way! It was most definitely enriching.
But there were also goals I did not reach…..
Okay being totally honest, there are also goals that I did not manage to reach last year like for example the goal that I had to start to exercising -yes, not exercise more but exercise altogether! I just do not seem to be motivated to do it. But then again when I take the stairs at work -to go to the second floor mind you- and I feel tired, this has to be a sign that I am slowly transforming to a ball of fat. I know everybody has as a new year’s resolution to exercise but I really have to!
I also did not manage to spend less money on clothes. Basically ZARA’s tagline should be “Despoina, thanks for all the dough” ! Comes Saturday and I go out for a walk at Porte De Namur, I will of course go into several shops just to have a look around and before I know it I am in front of ZARA’s counter and I hear “Ça fait 69,99 s’il vous plaît” I go home and I immediately feel guilty. Not only I will keep this new item of clothing for a while in the bag with the tags on in order to save it for a better occasion, I will also see the mountain of clothes that lay on the bed and on my office chair and I have the instant urge to throw them all out of the window….
Another goal I failed to reach was the “drink less” goal but this one is ridiculous and I will not be pursuing it further. It is not for me. I am fine with the fact that I drink because life is just much better with -good- wine!
I also wanted to make more female friends but….I am not sure what is happening there. Girls do not like me and the feeling is mutual to be honest. I do not know what it is but most of girls that I have met and are my age seem to be obsessed with having kids no matter if they have found the right partner or not. Or, they are obsessed with finding guy who makes money and will spend it on them. They seem to be side projects of their own lives not to mention that conversation items with girls like that are quite limited. In other words, they are not so much fun with the exception of my sister, my cousin and Stephanie (okay and a few more but I do not see them much….)
I do not complain, my actual friends are awesome but then again sometimes I just want to talk about girl stuff, let’s see maybe soon…
What I would like to achieve in 2018 aka my new year’s resolutions
Above all, I would really like to go to New York – it is time! I want to see Brooklyn, eat a famous NY pizza slice, go to the MoMa museum, visit the 30 Rock street and hopefully run into Tina Fey so I can kiss her feet because she is one of my female heroes! I wanna see all the cool street art and I really want to see my friend Matthew who lives there. We have been chatting and supporting each other digitally since 2002 and we have never hang out in real life …. this is such a shame! I am looking forward to have a beer with him and talk endlessly about TOOL.
In 2018, I would still like to exercise and eat healthier ! This resolution is pretty self explanatory and beyond common but I am getting older and I cannot afford to eat like I am sixteen anymore. Seriously, If I eat chips one evening the next day my skin is protesting this dumb gluttonous decision. A few weeks ago, I ate a Quick burger with some colleagues and just the day after a zit moved on to my face and stayed there for a month! A MONTH Unacceptable ! Plus, if I manage to get healthier, aka thinner, I would possibly be able to experience a summer without back rolls that would be very exciting for my Instagram profile photos !
Another goal I have for 2018 is to wake up earlier every day. Okay, this one is a bitch because I am not a morning person – at all. Also I really like to take my time when I wake up, just like my mother. And although winter is not the most helpful energetic season for a goal like this, I believe that I would have a lot to gain by starting my days earlier. My goal is not to start the day early and then sleep at 21:00 no, not at all but I am hoping to spend most of my day outside of an office and a way to achieve this is by starting my working hours before 9:00 or 10:00. This way I can have most of the day to do things that I like, you know for my soul and sanity.
It would also be really nice to work in more UX Projects in 2018. Without sounding ungrateful of the fact that I have a job, I would really love to work in UX design projects and not as an analyst anymore. I have been working in web design and UX for years now. Almost intuitively I have been applying UX patterns in my work even before it they were called that. I am happy that I have got some projects coming my way for my own freelance side-work but I want more out of it, Let’s see !
This one is a bit far fetched but I would really like to get back into driving. I am fed up with STIB, I really am. First of all the network makes no sense at all, it seriously takes more time to go somewhere with the metro than it takes with your car and I am sorry but waiting 17 to 20 minutes before the next 51 tram arrives is just an ain’t-nobody-got-time-for-that situation.
Finally, I would like to watch less TV. I am watching so many Netflix shows that not only I have seen almost every series that is on there, I have seen everything twice. I have reached a point where I binge watch everything. It is not healthy!
I am motivated and of course really excited to work on these new resolutions and see how many I can manage to achieve this year!
