The #yearly_roundup of things that I enjoyed this year.

1. Getting over the Covid period. It felt good to be able to travel, socialize and play sports again. With the added value that the working-from-home routine continued.
2. Reading. A bit less compared to the last year (according to Goodreads). I particularly enjoyed the “Three body problem” trilogy, which made my imagination run like never before. “In the future people will take neuro drugs that will selectively erase memories of this trilogy in order to be able to read them again for the first time.” #
3. Sticking to a healthy routine. More active compared to 2021. Smashed the 1000 days record for closing the Apple Health rings, kept doing 10.000 steps every day during the same period and played football 2-3 times every week. That’s a lot of dopamines 🙂
4. Driving my Tesla. Almost 5 years in, and it doesn’t get old.
5. Refereeing football games. I still regret not starting this earlier.
6. The wallpapers on my phone. I know, quite silly ? but we need to look for thin slices of joy. The iOS 16 lock screen improvements made me look for colors and emotions and in the process, increased my appreciation for the digital artists.
7. A few card games. Hearts and Spades from the Apple Arcade gave my mind some time off while bringing back some teenage memories.
8. Learning a new foreign language. I’m nowhere near speaking Spanish, but I am quite happy with the progress I made this year in learning new words and understanding the language.
9. A series: For all mankind. Because the third season is just as good as the previous two. And because it accentuates the impression that we’re leaving a new golden age for the space exploration (perhaps soon to be powered by fusion?).
10. Attending the first concert with my daughter. Not planned, but it turned out to be awesome.

Look for thin slices of joy

Notice the joyful moments in your day, however small, however fleeting. Notice how good it feels to have that first sip of your drink. Or how tasty that first bite of food is. The pleasurable feeling of your skin in warm water when you wash your hands or take a shower. The moment of delight and comfort when you see your friend.

These thin slices of joy only last a few seconds but they add up! The more you notice joy, the more you will experience joy in your life.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/tapestry/happy-happy-joy-joy-1.3804787/joy-on-demand-the-three-second-fix-1.3804789

Cherish the “garbage time”

Every minute can be “quality time.” All time with your kids — all time with anyone you love — is created equal. What you do with it is what makes it special. Not where. Or for how long. Or at what cost. Eating cereal together can be wonderful. […] There is no such thing as “quality time.” Cherish the “garbage time.” It’s the best kind of time there is.

https://dailydad.com/cherish-the-garbage-time/

Pull yourself together

In one way we think a great deal too much of the atomic bomb. ‘How are we to live in an atomic age?’ I am tempted to reply: ‘Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year…

The first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.”

CS Lewis, 1948. https://fscsmn.org/email-article/very-applicable-to-today-written-by-cs-lewis-in-1948/

“The world doesn’t owe you a living”

He didn’t judge a man by how many times he got knocked down but by how fast he got up. ‘Get up!’ That was his phrase, and it has echoed through my life. The world dropped you on your head? My dad would say ‘Get up!’ You’re lying in bed feeling sorry for yourself? Get up! You got knocked on your ass on the football field? Get up! Bad grade? Get up! The girl’s parents won’t let her go out with a Catholic boy? Get up!

Joe Biden – Promises to keep https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promises_to_Keep_(Biden_book)

For the fifth year running, the periodic roundup of things that I enjoyed in 2021. Might not be 10 in the end…

1. Reading. I made a conscious effort and created the environment to read more books. 5 times more than in 2020, according to Goodreads.
2. Listening. Sonos, Airpods Pro, the in-car entertainment system and more recently, the Sony wh-1000xm4 headphones are great (Sony – probably the only company where engineers get to name the products)
3. Learning more about aviation (from Admiral_Cloudberg, among others) and space
4. Refereeing. A bit ironic, considering my take on non-human football referees 🙂
5. Sticking to a routine. 662 days and counting…
6. Viewing my pictures on the Google Nest Hub.
7. Not worrying too much that there are not 10 things in this list…