… with the noteworthy exception of November 7th when I was doing Extra Life. Blogging mored has meant a better focus on some aspects of my life, but also the redevelopment of a good habit. There's certainly no guarantee or plan for me to write quite as much in the other months of the year, but it was and is a good exercise I've taken part in these last couple of years and I'll keep it in mind for future Novembers! Some of my blogs were featured by other bloggers or on social media in general which is good. I don't get a whole lot of engagement here, but these little things tell me that at least SOME people are reading whatever it is that I am posting.
And you know what? It's been a pretty great month on the whole. I got to do some really fun things like play in board game tournaments, discover new video games, eat some great food, see some awesome Doctor Who, enjoy the relatively balmy winter weather and much much more besides. I got to spend great times interacting with awesome people both in person and online, and I got back into my exercise routine (at least when I haven't been in pain) and have even done some good (and decent) cooking.
There have been some downsides: no calls for interviews, or other progress in that sense on the job front, but I've applied to many jobs and hope to apply to many more. I had some aches and pains that have interrupted my workout progress, provided discomfort, or otherwise slowed my forward progress for hours or days at a time. I worried a lot about little things. And when tragedy was the focus of the news for a while, it was hard to keep up my online presence emotionally.
But it was also a month of making plans. The cruise (though not the activities I'll do before and/or after it) has been paid for. I have plans for Christmas. My planner pages are filled with tentative and actual plans for the new year. I ordered a new planner (a different style even!) from a Kickstarter and I'm excited about using it come 2016.
Certainly there are a lot of things that I'm focusing on from reading new books, to video games, to travel, to personal development and job hunting, to spending time in person with people I care about (and whom I often see far too little of).
I look forward to the future of course but I find it a rather valuable exercise to reflect on the past, on from whence I've come, and on how I've changed/grown/experienced so much. Here's to the past, present and future! Here's to continuing to blog and communicate!