Happy new year! Year of the Water Rabbit (after LNY) and hope.
For the past few New Years celebrations I've been doing the science and running the numbers. Now I can conclude beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Hootenanny is the optimal British New Years Eve experience. Nothing else comes close. Even if it isn't live.
In the run up to 2023 and the process of introspecting and writing-up 2022, I ended up throwing out any intention or ambition to get anything done and have been decompressing all week. Take breaks, kids, they're important.
Man, PC gaming really never dried up did it? Doing nothing also meant making a small dent into my infamous Steam backlog.
New Years Eve itself ended up being a rather wholesome affair: Last minute changes (for me, barely sleeping on the 30th and not facing hours of packing, travelling, unpacking, travelling again, ugh) meant a smaller family celebration and an emergency trip to procure champagne, including a first for me - group video-calling relatives abroad.
Last week I did a bit of running around Birmingham including using it as an excuse to explore some places I've never been. Slightly annoyingly, on Strava I'm now competing against 2016 Alex's segments who had weaker endurance but better pace. I'm pleased that I can feel the endurance though.
Did you know that if I go the scenic route via the canals, on foot, my old journey home is just a hair over 10K long? 2016 Alex really missed a trick there.
Meeting up in Purecraft is now a semi-annual tradition.
As another year passes - I'm still writing these. I'm going to change the numbering scheme ever-so-slightly for uniformity. If you're still reading: I appreciate you and wish you a fantastic evening, morning or afternoon - and year.
Ok. And now to send belated Christmas & NYE messages.
