Well, 2013 showed up despite what those folks who misinterpreted the end of the Mayan calendar assured us. Hopefully you’ve not sold all your stuff and lain down with a paper bag over your head. If you did, it’s time to get up and go back to work.

As with most people, new years for me are a time for reflecting on the past one and setting goals for the new one. Some I’ll share, others have dependencies so I shan’t announce them.

So, what went well last year?

I finished a book. That’s a pretty big deal and a tick in one of the life ambition boxes. Much as I expected this to be a lot of work, ‘a lot’, it turns out, is a monumental underestimation.

Delphi and the Acropolis proved fun to explore. The monuments built by the ancient Greeks when they were the pinnacle of Western civilisation formed a stark contrast against the demonstrations happening in the city below. They say travel broadens the mind and this trip certainly delivered on that front.

Leading a few groups of lost people out of the Peak District was another highlight of the year, along with winning this beauty:

That’s right, it says ‘Board Game Club Winner 2012’. You can’t imagine how much this impresses at parties.

So, what’s the plan for 2013?

My first goal is to finish Forshai Ascended, book two in the Legacy of Torr series. Most of the first draft is done so that should be easily achievable. Oh, and I suppose I ought to get something published. Whether I’ll take a break from Legacy of Torr after that and write something…shorter…I haven’t decided yet.

I’ll keep fairly quiet about fitness goals for now. In the back of my mind, there’s an event in which I’d like to compete but as some of you will know, a lower back injury has played havoc with my training and still refuses to heal after over a year. In the meantime, I’ll keep plugging away at what training I can—even when injured, there’s always some exercise to do. On that note, cross country skiing is on the agenda for this year. So far, roller ski training has gone well and, since it is low impact, hasn’t aggravated the injury too much.

I’m sure life will happen in the meantime and change just about everything but that’s the plan. There will be no blog for the next couple of weeks, by the way. I’ve a date with a snowmobile, some cross country skis and a team of huskies in northern Sweden. Happy 2013!

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