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Reflections and Portents
Jan. 4th, 2024 09:28 amI try not to make too much of a fuss about the herald of the New Year and its arbitrary date, but the period does provide an opportunity for reflections on the past and commitments for the coming year. I saw the evening in with the delightful company, food, and conversation with Liza D., and friends several of whom are part of Sonidos Del Alma, the local Spanish-language choir. The end-of-year also saw the long-overdue release of an issue of RPG Review, which included two articles from myself ("The Law is not an Ass" and "RuneQuest Empires Review"), along with an article for the Isocracy Network, "Imperialism in the Pacific". In addition, I have already provided a "reflections and portents" review of my work life under the title "Another Year in Supercomputing", which outlines events such as the extensive training programme and its surprisingly good metrics, the inclusion of 'Spartan' in the Top 500, the successful project of the Cultural Working Group, and the reorganisation of RCS with a new role. Work, of course, takes up much of my time and I am very fortunate to have worthwhile employment, which I love, and satisfies all components of ikigai.
Another part of my life is that of a scholar. This year I completed the final two papers (using the Aotearoa New Zealand parlance) for the award of a Graduate Diploma in Applied Psychology (degree number seven), and eight for my new degree, a Master's in Climate Change Science and Policy. As much as grades are important, the psych papers were B's throughout the entire degree, and the climate science papers have all been A's except for one B. The climate science degree is, of course, an enthusiastic turning point in my life which dovetailed with an international trip this year to China in Suzhou to attend an environment conference. I have written about that at some length, and this is just the beginning of what will be a major effort in environmental engineering in coming years as I work alongside my well-connected and dear friends Anthony L., and Robin M. Of course, the first thing I must do in 2024 is finish my research project on financing climate adaption technologies in the Pacific isles and make a visit to said region!
As for the psych degree, I must admit, was heavily inspired by an interest in a challenging partnership over the preceding three years that ended in January. I am mostly saddened and disappointed with the events, but emotional extremes and instability result in words in great divergence from actions, which are the foundation of integrity. It was with some wry amusement that my best (and final) essay for the degree was on "Relationship Advice"; arguably I had so much recent practice. As for the degree itself, most of my applications are helping unfortunate souls on the BPD LoveOnes group on Reddit who are often desperately trying to make sense of their situation.
On a better note, I must also give recognition to certain friends who have given me joy and support in the past year; namely, Liana F., who despite some challenges in their own life, always finds time for me and has such reasonable advice for interpersonal matters, Erica H., steadfast and loyal beyond measure, and my favourite person when I want to watch Netflix, etc., Lara D., my distant Darwin friend with a wonderous engagement with the aesthetic in all dimensions, Mel S., with whom long walks, op shops, and trance music make for a better world, and Alison B., who has reintroduced me to fandom and goth social groups that I have somewhat neglected over the years: my thanks to all of you and I hope to spend much of the coming year in your company. You may not realise it, but you each have contributed a great deal for the recovery of my mental health which had some difficult periods in the previous years.
As for everything else, all is well. My physical health is fine, my financial health is fine (I am especially sensitive to the fact that this has been a horrible year for many). The Isocracy Network continues its work and I wrote several articles for the site this year, as does the RPG Review Cooperative. My language studies are now almost exclusively Chinese, French, and Esperanto. In addition to China, I also took interstate trips to South Australia, the Northern Territory, and Queensland. I have modest operational plans across all these vectors for the coming year, all of which are quite achievable. In summary, 2023 was an excellent year for me personally even with the myriad of problems in the world; I'm hoping that 2024 will continue along this trajectory and I will endeavour to fill my time appropriately in a balanced manner: As Seneca The Younger quipped in De Brevitate Vitae ("On the Shortness of Life"): Non exiguum temporis habemus, sed multum perdidimus ("It is not that we have a short space of time, but that we waste much of it").
Another part of my life is that of a scholar. This year I completed the final two papers (using the Aotearoa New Zealand parlance) for the award of a Graduate Diploma in Applied Psychology (degree number seven), and eight for my new degree, a Master's in Climate Change Science and Policy. As much as grades are important, the psych papers were B's throughout the entire degree, and the climate science papers have all been A's except for one B. The climate science degree is, of course, an enthusiastic turning point in my life which dovetailed with an international trip this year to China in Suzhou to attend an environment conference. I have written about that at some length, and this is just the beginning of what will be a major effort in environmental engineering in coming years as I work alongside my well-connected and dear friends Anthony L., and Robin M. Of course, the first thing I must do in 2024 is finish my research project on financing climate adaption technologies in the Pacific isles and make a visit to said region!
As for the psych degree, I must admit, was heavily inspired by an interest in a challenging partnership over the preceding three years that ended in January. I am mostly saddened and disappointed with the events, but emotional extremes and instability result in words in great divergence from actions, which are the foundation of integrity. It was with some wry amusement that my best (and final) essay for the degree was on "Relationship Advice"; arguably I had so much recent practice. As for the degree itself, most of my applications are helping unfortunate souls on the BPD LoveOnes group on Reddit who are often desperately trying to make sense of their situation.
On a better note, I must also give recognition to certain friends who have given me joy and support in the past year; namely, Liana F., who despite some challenges in their own life, always finds time for me and has such reasonable advice for interpersonal matters, Erica H., steadfast and loyal beyond measure, and my favourite person when I want to watch Netflix, etc., Lara D., my distant Darwin friend with a wonderous engagement with the aesthetic in all dimensions, Mel S., with whom long walks, op shops, and trance music make for a better world, and Alison B., who has reintroduced me to fandom and goth social groups that I have somewhat neglected over the years: my thanks to all of you and I hope to spend much of the coming year in your company. You may not realise it, but you each have contributed a great deal for the recovery of my mental health which had some difficult periods in the previous years.
As for everything else, all is well. My physical health is fine, my financial health is fine (I am especially sensitive to the fact that this has been a horrible year for many). The Isocracy Network continues its work and I wrote several articles for the site this year, as does the RPG Review Cooperative. My language studies are now almost exclusively Chinese, French, and Esperanto. In addition to China, I also took interstate trips to South Australia, the Northern Territory, and Queensland. I have modest operational plans across all these vectors for the coming year, all of which are quite achievable. In summary, 2023 was an excellent year for me personally even with the myriad of problems in the world; I'm hoping that 2024 will continue along this trajectory and I will endeavour to fill my time appropriately in a balanced manner: As Seneca The Younger quipped in De Brevitate Vitae ("On the Shortness of Life"): Non exiguum temporis habemus, sed multum perdidimus ("It is not that we have a short space of time, but that we waste much of it").
