Get On, Clip In, Fall Off

Another year? Already?

Well, it's nearly the end of 2004, which is kind of like the end of 2003 was - sort of cold and definitely dark most of the time. Christmas has been and more-or-less gone, the new year is imminent (I'll be spending New Year's Day running a 10k race and then getting on a plane, so will have to remain reasonably sober on New Year's Eve) and the days are starting to get longer. At least, the almanac in my GPS tells me the days are getting longer, but it's going to be some time before the effects of this are apparent.

So what happened in 2004? Well, I posted 170 entries here on subjects as oddly diverse and random as commuting, firewalls, spam, American culture, self-employment and, well, okay, yes, occasionally about trains and running. I got quoted in some unusual places, and served answers to search engine queries ranging from, according to the logs, "elvish grammar" to "maths in a box".

There are also (on the other side) seventy-something entries in Four Foot Eight, but these are slow in coming as daahling, the Muse won't perform just on demaaahnd, you know.

What else happened this year? Specifically, what happened which didn't involve sitting in front of a computer? Well, I went to America for the first time (and was pleasantly surprised), and I became self-employed (which has lasted at least a few months, but we'll see), and I moved yet again (I'm sure getting bored of doing that). I took up running a few months ago and, despite the various aches and pains, have been enjoying it far more than I should. I didn't, however, decide what I want to do when I grow up. I'm aiming to do that by the age of 50.

None of my assorted crackpot schemes appeared to inspire anyone's imagination much, so I'm still not a much-sought-after commentator who regularly has to turn down invitations to be on Have I Got News For You. This is a shame, as it's about time someone put that cocky Paul Merton guy in his place.

But enough talking about 2004 - what will 2005 bring? Well, no doubt there'll be more blethering here (as long as people keep at least pretending to read it) and more running once I finally get back into the swing of things post-injury. Apart from that -- well, we'll just have to see, won't we?

Posted by mpk at December 30, 2004 12:29 AM | TrackBack