Things to do in 2020 Too …. Mid Year Update & Adjustments

2022 is now past the midway point! I’ve been meaning to update the blog for a while now, and seeing how this was my last post, rather than write something new, it would be worthwhile to see how things are progressing on this year’s goals. I’ll leave the original comments in grey and make my updates below each. The biggest thing that happened this year is that back in March RS and I have decided to leave Qatar. As a result of this decision, I’ve been job-hunting since then and during my break, I’ve put a lot of energy into finding a place bigger than our current flat, which while gorgeous, is too small for a married couple, 2 kids and a grandparent. I’ll comment more specifically on these impacts as I update each goal.

2022 is a big year. A lot is going on, and unfortunately, I can’t write about most of the big stuff. As such, some of my goals for the year won’t be clear or make much sense until 2023. Here’s what I hope to accomplish during this trip around the sun:

1. Complete 2 Indonesian Textbooks: I feel like I speak Indonesian pretty well, but with AR, AM and RS’s mom around, it’s an excellent time to really make some progress in this area. I need to step up in this area since RS and I want the children to use both of their languages.
   Update: I haven’t really made any progress on this. I have learned some extra Indonesian with RS’s mom around and by learning a couple of the kid’s books Raysha’s relatives brought in from Indonesia. It’s been mainly an issue of time available because beyond having two adorable kids, there are a lot of things happening this year.
   Adjusted Goal: Finish one book.

2. Reach CEFR level C1 (fluent) in French: I did a test at Institute Français a few years back. They determined that my CEFR level was B1, described as intermediate. I’d like to improve upon that result this year.
    Update: I chose this goal because I’ve been applying for jobs in Canada as part of my exit strategy. I was making very slow progress on this until I got contacted about one of my applications. This caught me off guard because the application doesn’t formally close until September, and I thought I’d have the summer to study and improve my French. Nope. I had two and a half weeks to prep because as part of the recruitment process, they assessed both my English and French proficiency. I put in about 5 hours per day after that reviewing and studying my French, mostly with Rosetta stone.   I passed the English assessments and the French reading assessment, but I flunked the French writing assessment.  However, I’m still proud of the strides I made in such a short time.
   Adjusted Goal: Reach CEFR level B2.

3. Save lots of $$$: Now that RS and I are debt-free, we’d like to start building our savings.
   Update: We have saved some money, though we had hoped to be further along by now.But the main thing here is that we are still debt-free!
   Adjusted Goal: Keep saving. Slow growth is better than no-growth.

4. Learn a musical instrument: I got a fiddle from a friend back in the summer of 2019. And for the longest time, I haven’t used it because I almost sliced the tip off a finger in 2019. As a result, that finger has always been a little extra sensitive. But for the last few months, it has almost felt normal. Perhaps now is the time to learn. If I don’t learn fiddle, my second choice would be to get a keyboard and learn piano. There’s a paternal aspect to this as well. I’d like my daughters to be raised with music in the house and their lives.
   Update: I haven’t started on this yet. The apartment is just too small to practice without subjecting everyone to the noise.
   Adjusted Goal: This one is gone completely for now.

5. Get back to 81 kg: I’d like 2022 to be the last year I ever weigh 200+ pounds. There is a vanity aspect to this, but it’s really about my health. During December, I’ve struggled with back pain and swelling in my left knee. Both of these issues are due to my lifestyle. Too much sitting, too much junk food, and not enough activity. If I want to be an involved and active dad/husband, losing weight will reduce stress on my back and my joints. It’ll help me to enjoy the coming years to the fullest.
   Update: I’m still around 96 kg. There hasn’t been much time for the gym because it’s just too far out of the way to go there. To illustrate, a forty minute work out may take as much as  2 hours when considering the travel time and the showers.
   Adjusted Goal: I don’t really see this one changing, but I’ll leave it up as a reminder to stay healthier.