Prosit Neujahr! Happy New Year!

Warning: very long post ahead.

Wahey! It's 2007 already. We all live in The Future now.

I remember thinking about the future. I remember realising that we couldn't just keep using years beginning with 19; we had to run out sometime. I worked out how old I would be when the time came, and thought to myself: I can't imagine being that old. I'll almost be a proper adult!

These days, it's those 19— years that seem so far away.

What does 2007 hold for me?

I proclaim this year to be The Year Of Doing Stuff Properly, No Seriously For Real. I've done a lot of things in my life; I've seen what's out there. I don't think I'll stop Exploring and Discovering, but it might be time to ramp up the Building side.

I won't go listing my whole goal catalogue (especially with so many of them being technical or geeky), but in 2007 I expect to achieve goals like:

• Learn a language well enough to chat at the bar (or the bus stop)
• Cook decent meals on a regular basis (groceries not restaurants)
• Learn some kind of structured dance (more than adlib monkey-flapping)
• Live somewhere long enough to really talk about it
• Work as a contractor or freelance
• Develop software in a truly agile team

I'd still like to fit some poetry, acting or a musical instrument in there somewhere, but that's not really going to be in-theme.

Romance

No full-time relationships for me, hopefully. Like sushi from the sushi-man, I've had enough of that to do me for a good while to come.

Of course, I suppose the dancing and the cooking would work much better with company. I'll probably wind up accidentally falling into another relationship. Gah.

Work

I expect to spend a good chunk of the year out of the workforce. Study will be a big change for me, but it'll be a refreshing experience.

I expect work to be challenging when I am gainfully employed, and I'll love almost every minute of it because it'll the good kind of challenging.

Travel

Quiet and solid, compared with the whirlwind of 2005 and the lightning storm of 2006.

I think I'll appreciate my own back-yard, and see more of Britain. (I'd like to say the same about Germany while I'm there, but I think time and money will keep that on a leash).

Friends

I've been running low on super-close mega-friends. That's mostly my fault for keeping myself to myself (and for being in a different country).

I'm not going to deliberately work on this, but I wouldn't be suprised if taking classes gives me good opportunities to bond with my fellows. Theatre and film was brilliant for that.

Sports

As if.

Life management

I'll put a bunch of techniques to use in the hopes of improving my personal productivity. Some will work for a while, some will keep working, and one will radically change my life.

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Wow, I just spent several hours trying to respond to GodAwfulPoet's wonderful greeting. I might split up this post into a series when I wake up.

Update: I did actually split the posts but never published them like that.

Update March 2007: Almost a quarter through the year and the predictions are going all right. Now they're serving as excellent encouragement.