As this year draws to a close, I had a look back at my 2016 resolutions, posted in January this year, to see how I got on…
- Get book published! – Yes, managed this one. “The Art of Clinical Microbiology” was published in April, and copies have gone to many different countries in the world. I am still pondering on how best to write a sequel to it…
- Drive across USA.– Suceeded on this one also. With the family, we did a 5 week road trip across the USA from Los Angeles to New York. A fantastic experience, and worth spending the money on as opposed to decorating the house.
- Do another ultramarathon.– Failed on this one. Ultra-marathon training takes heaps of time, which was a commodity I unfortunately ran out of. Would still love to do a 100k ultra. Unfinished business!
- Keep working on my French.– I sat and passed the DELF diploma A2 earlier on this year, my first formal exam for years. Quite nervewracking actually.
- Get back to Paris, even if it is just for a holiday! -Got to Paris in November this year with my two oldest children, combining it with a conference in Scotland, and visiting my parents in Ireland.
So 4 out of 5 isn’t bad, considering I am inherently quite a lazy person.
So what are my goals/resolutions for 2017?
- Get the Microbiology Matters Youtube channel established with at least 15 video tutorials uploaded. I am extremely camera shy so this will be a real challenge! Hopefully my 12 year old son will help me.
- Do at least three marathons – This is probably a more realistic goal for this year. The ultra-marathon will need to wait for Tarawera 2018…
- Sit the DELF B2 French exam.- Hopefully B1 in May and B2 in October, all going well.
- Visit 5 countries I have never been to before. – Not sure how I am going to manage this one, or which countries I plan to go to, but the USA road trip has definitely re-ignited the travel bug.
- Get the house re-carpeted. -This resolution is definitely a sure sign of my advancing age. This would never have made it onto the list a few years ago. But we have a carpet from hell. so it has to be done!
I look forward to looking back on these resolutions at the end of 2017 to see if I can go one better and achieve all 5 this time…
Michael
A family holiday to Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama and Belize, Costa Rica and El Salvador sounds like a great compact way to achieve number 4 and you can schedule the carpet to be changed while away. Marathon training would be a great way to get time to go over those Frenchisms in your head – and if you schedule your videos for a few weeks prior to your exams then you might not be able to tell if it is ‘stage fright’ or exam nerves (and you can get the nerves thing over all at the same time – bonus). That still leaves a considerable amount of your year left. Perhaps you are erring on the side of caution.
Would love to go to Central America but the cost of flights for all the family is the stumbling block. You make my resolutions sound so easy!
Good luck with your resolutions for 2017 Michael. I’m thoroughly enjoying reading The Art of Microbiology and look forward to the sequel. Reading your book is like having a conversation with you, and has reignited my passion for Microbiology. I look forward to visiting your lab in Tauranga, seeing the Kiestra in action and getting my book signed.
Cheers
Glad you are enjoying it Kathryn, happy new year! 🙂