Year in review - big questions
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My best moment - on a selfish/personal level, hard to go past finishing the Port Mac Ironman. I won't forget the red carpet experience at the end in a hurry (nor the limping around like a cripple for 2 weeks afterwards). Had lots of great family moments, usually revolving around a holiday, watching my girl run, or my oldest lad playing gigs. Nothing really on the sport-watching calendar in 2023 ranks up there for me - yeah the QF was solid, but it already feels overshadowed by the F.
Best thing I watched was Drops of God - cracking series, can't recall if I posted about it or not. Highly recommend.
Best purchase - can't think of anything of significance that I bought this year other than 3-4 pairs of running shoes (a weird fetish of mine).
Looking forward to in 2024? Fuck all new stuff to be honest. No milestone events ahead, no major holidays planned. I'd love to be back here in 12 months answering Q3 with "My new Kamado Joe", but that's probably not going to happen. 2024 looks like more of the same, and to be honest, that's probably pretty OK with me.
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Best moment - it's fucking sad, but it really was probably RWC QF... it was such an unexpected result, with the pure sporting fan pleasure - but also watching it with 2 uni mates, the 3 of us not having had been together for a couple of decades - and then just over-celebrating afterwards
Best purchase - a backpack. Again - sad. A ridiculously priced backpack/rucksack. Half-a-grand worth of motorcycling backpack. But it's fucking awesome. Kriega shit is quality. Went to pick it up from the local store having ordered it in, and the girl asked "Oh - is that the gold-plated one?" - obviously disapproving. https://kriega.com/riderpacks/roam-34-backpack
Best watch/read/listen - had to lean back and think... and nothing stands out. Sad again - but maybe Succession or the not-zombie-but-fungi series? The Last of Us - had to look it up. Or - I could just cite all the shit from previous years - which are better than anything which came out this year.
2024 - trip to Vietnam/Laos in Feb - riding dirty dirt-bike over the Ho-Chi-Minh trail, and a legitimate Cu'o'ngs t-shirt (a-la Christian Slater on Archer). And possibly a move to Vancouver, for improved access to Class-A drugs. Expect my posts to become vastly less coherent, until I sell my work laptop.
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@Kruse Van‘s drug culture is unusually super sketch. Fentanyl induced coke ODs. Can’t take a slash in Whistler without getting interrupted by some Aussie liftie offering you that same dodgy blow. Next morning you won’t be able to help overhearing the saladdodging 16 year old lasses whining over their bonanza of mickeyD’s:
I’m never doing special K again! Shit makes my ass hurt.
Yeah it gives me the runs too.
Nah Bitch! every time I do that shit, I wake up with a dick in my ass.
You’ll love it Kruzie.
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I been thinking on this on and off for a few days, and decided I might be a boring old fart!
I was struggling to think of a real best moment , probably came with some of time I spent with 4yo great grandson.
Genuinely sadly I haven't made any great purchases that I can think of this year, actually can't even recall bugger all purchases I have even made, I pretty boring just get what I need when I want, so perhaps I don't take possessions as much to worry about. Ok, now I remenber I bought a Naki rugby jersey, which is a first really buying a jersey that is similar to playing jersey, just into the NPC etc so much broke my rule.
Best watch/listen etc, Live would of been NPC final (but most Naki games I went to I loved), Show we went to in Wellington with Kiwi musos doing a Fleetwood Mac thing, (I not a huge Fleetwood Mac fan, have seen them etc but just good not great) and when they started show 4 of the Musos came out and started with 'Albatross' and nailed it, finished the night with 'Oh Well' so was even better show then I imagined. On TV best thing I enjoyed was Top Boy, really enjoyed it.
Looking forward to in 2024, I genuinely don't know, I actually turn 70, so will see how it goes.
In summary been a in my opinion a bloody good year this one really not a lot of highlight moments etc, me and wife celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary (very quietly) and in quiet times I tend to sit here and think how bloody content I am with her and I just being us. -
Here we go:
Favourite moment: Being part of a team raising £60k in 5 months to replace the fast-disintegrating roof on the village hall. Awesome to work with such committed people.
Best Purchase: Suzuki Vitara. Not flash, just solid and perfect for living deep in the country. Vast improvement on the crap, unreliable, over-hyped VAG SUV it replaced.
Best thing I've watched/listened to/read: Slow Horses. Think I've found a TV series which rivals the 40 year old Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and may even be better.
Looking forward to: (a) trying all-grain brewing (b) exploring more hidden country inns and (c) 6N's and SH Rugby kicking off.
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It's been a rough old year if I'm honest. The cost of living and rising interest rates have hit me hard so there's been less money for trips and purchases. I've said farewell to eight good friends, including two wise old bastards who were great drinking buddies and who I'm missing a lot. Without going into the details, events in Ukraine and the Middle East, for different reasons, have made my life a bit tougher.
That said.
Favourite moment: Watching the kids grow up. Getting them to sleep and reading them good night stories is an enormous privilege. They're much wiser and kinder than their dad. I'm proud as can be that they are enjoying school and doing well. I've enjoyed lots of long walks with the dog and setting the world with all its many troubles to rights. Mrs Sparky continues to be the perfect person to spend my life with.
Best purchase: New sofas for the front room that arrived just before the RWC started.
Best content: Jonathan Freedland's The Escape Artist is one of the most exciting, sad and moving books I've ever read. I enjoyed watching the re-runs of I, Claudius.
Looking forward in 2024: it looks like I'm going to be in Normandy for the D-Day 80th anniversary in June so I'm looking forward to learning a lot more about what I thought I knew.
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@sparky said in Year in review - big questions:
It's been a rough old year if I'm honest. The cost of living and rising interest rates have hit me hard so there's been less money for trips and purchases. I've said farewell to eight good friends, including two wise old bastards who were great drinking buddies and who I'm missing a lot. Without going into the details, events in Ukraine and the Middle East, for different reasons, have made my life a bit tougher.
That said.
Favourite moment: Watching the kids grow up. Getting them to sleep and reading them good night stories is an enormous privilege. They're much wiser and kinder than their dad. I'm proud as can be that they are enjoying school and doing well. I've enjoyed lots of long walks with the dog and setting the world with all its many troubles to rights. Mrs Sparky continues to be the perfect person to spend my life with.
Best purchase: New sofas for the front room that arrived just before the RWC started.
Best content: Jonathan Freedland's The Escape Artist is one of the most exciting, sad and moving books I've ever read. I enjoyed watching the re-runs of I, Claudius.
Looking forward in 2024: it looks like I'm going to be in Normandy for the D-Day 80th anniversary in June so I'm looking forward to learning a lot more about what I thought I knew.
Special post. As hard as it starts, quite quickly turns into a lucky as fuck message. Not dismissing the beginning but loving the family love. Chin up boy, you’ve done it well. Hope the finances don’t ruin the ability to enjoy the rest.
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What was your favourite moment of 2023?
- Sporting…the warriors actually doing something. Gee it created a massive positive buzz around NZ. Great ride thru the season and it feels like 2024 could be decent as well
- Outside of sport - to be honest not a great year for me or the family with quite a few challenges. Have certainly had better. Highlight would be how well my wife’s business has done. Built from nothing during lockdown, took a punt and it’s paid off pretty well. She almost makes more than me now which is pretty impressive.
What was the best thing you purchased in 2023?
- New golf clubs…..finally! Mizuno pro 225 irons (ok and Titlist TSR woods) and dam they are fun to play with. Scores only slightly better so far but that call from LIV is only just round the corner, I can feel it.
What was the best thing you watched/read/listened to in 2023?
- Going the same as my mate smudge here with the Far North series. I’m from up there and was all over this story when it broke. They made a great enjoyable series out of it.
What are you looking forward to in 2024?
- Family trip to UK and France in April
- Improved health and fitness
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@Kiwiwomble said in Year in review - big questions:
give it a go although i admit when these things come up im reminded how poor my memory can be!
What was your favourite moment of 2023?
our club quarter final against the rich club in town who had topped the table after the round robin...we beat them at home in the final round (they were that far ahead it didn't change them topping the table)...and then went to theirs the next week and snatched victory with a lineout steal inside our own 22...kick it out...whistle blows...crowd storms the field...beers are had(id post a small video because i love watching it but i dont think we can)
What was the best thing you purchased in 2023?
55" Samsung Frame tv, all mounted, cables hidden etc...so good, rolling through an album (every 15min) of our travels over the years, love itWhat was the best thing you watched/read/listened to in 2023?
this is where i'll really fall over because i feel whatever i put down TV wise....someone will say something and i'll regret my choice....so i'll go with "read" ...."Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir....couldn't put it down and have been considering reading again...which i almost never doWhat are you looking forward to in 2024?
Can i say Dune 2?....other than that we have some trips planned including going right up into the arctic circle in Finland in januaryi liked this thread so thought i would follow up my post with a couple of pics from our trip into the arctic circle
Skiing -20°c ish, goggles froze solid just from the condensation i was breathing out
northern lights whilst doing a snowmobile tour
our record was -41°c....fucking cold, big toes are still a little numb 10 days later
