2008 was a monumental year in many ways, with a change of job, the obvious wee addition, and a story brewing about how we found him. It’s bound to be a doozy.
My overall impression though is the speed with which 2008 breezed past. One minute I was settling back into work wishing I had gotten away from Wellington for the Christmas break, and the next I knew I was settling back into Christmas again. Crazy. They say the years get faster as one ages, but this was ridiculous. In fact, just this morning Second Chef pointed out that in January we had dinner with the uncle of , and that seems like yesterday. Amazing.
The main gift of 2008 was a lot of learning. I kicked off a project with a workmate and , and it steamed along until we needed to start finding money, and it was a learning curve like no other. I’d like to take time to thank Don Christie at Catalyst IT for the support he was able to give, including some sterling advice about companies. The main thing there was that many many ideas fail in their first six months, and lead to the MayDay manifesto, which I’m sticking to, and which I want to further develop this year.
But of course, all these things take time, which is rapidly disappearing into the ether that is caring for an infant. Who would have it any other way though? After careful deliberation Second Chef and I decided to cast the dice and see who came along. And he is the apple. I was talking with a workmate who complained (but only a little) about his children, and I lightly admonished him by pointing out something that had been irking me for years, that at least he would never know the emptiness of a life ended without knowing who your children might have been, or who they could become.
There’s something in the river of our lives that needs continuation, and I’ll work hard to gather enough stories to write more of Falling, Folding Paper, or at least bring a conclusion to that child in the field. I knocked off a couple of other twenty-year-old resolutions this year, so that one should be kicked along until I complete it.
Likewise! After realising that I should give up on trying to write fiction, because, well, I’m not very good at it, I might take an old lecturer’s advice and start on a children’s story. A friend has recommended an illustrator of children’s books, and I already have two or three little stories lined up. Perhaps that could be an opportunity to finally publish something.
And lastly, I’m promising to try and complete the *.PDF of the Object Dart cookbook. When Second Chef is able to free up time I’m going to encourage her to put those fabulous publishing skills to use and set me up a master template, which I will dutifully fill with the recipes I’ve put online.
So, here we are on the other side, waiting to see how the road rises to meet our feet. And a fine old journey it will be.
That’s okay. I’ve said far worse about the childed. I actually think I’m due a medal for saving the world from the potential hitching a lift in my genes.
yeah, it’s nothing someone should undertake lightly. the context of the admonition was one where someone was complaining about what they had, to people who might have wished they could be as lucky.
in January we had dinner with the uncle of Deborah
I’ll be having dinner with him this January.
someone was complaining about what they had, to people who might have wished they could be as lucky
In the years when we were battling infertility, I couldn’t believe that people would complain to me about their children. “Just pick someone else,” I would think. A little sensitivity would have been very nice.
Well, I’m quite happy to fill the emptiness with friends, lovers, drinking, shopping, writing, exploring, working, creating, laughing and just generally living.
“There’s something in the river of our lives that needs continuation.”
As a river without a spring, or at least with an unknown spring, it seem appropriate that I might not have a continuation. Or something like that. But I’d like to think that I could contribute to the world via my memes rather than my genes, and perhaps leave a lasting mark on the world through something I’ve done rather than someone I’ve begat.
But anyway, that’s just me, so congrats to you and the whole Chef family.
It’s unlikely we’ll ever hear anybody (other than the occasional priest, and we know their motives) utter the phrase “what the world needs is more people”, and until then it’s safe to assume that of all the various reasons why we beget, most of them are ultimately selfish. But I think it’s still okay to complain about the sprogs, from time to time, I know that complaining about number two these days helps keep me sane. My only pet peeve: stop making excuses about your children when they misbehave in front of others. “Oh, he’s tired”. “Ah, she’s coming out of a dreadful cold, she really hasn’t been herself lately”. I believe what you mean to say is “he’s a little bastard” and “she failed to successfully hide her true feelings just then”, respectively.
1 January, 2009
New Year’s Round-Up
Posted by Che Tibby under[7] Comments
2008 was a monumental year in many ways, with a change of job, the obvious wee addition, and a story brewing about how we found him. It’s bound to be a doozy.
My overall impression though is the speed with which 2008 breezed past. One minute I was settling back into work wishing I had gotten away from Wellington for the Christmas break, and the next I knew I was settling back into Christmas again. Crazy. They say the years get faster as one ages, but this was ridiculous. In fact, just this morning Second Chef pointed out that in January we had dinner with the uncle of , and that seems like yesterday. Amazing.
The main gift of 2008 was a lot of learning. I kicked off a project with a workmate and , and it steamed along until we needed to start finding money, and it was a learning curve like no other. I’d like to take time to thank Don Christie at Catalyst IT for the support he was able to give, including some sterling advice about companies. The main thing there was that many many ideas fail in their first six months, and lead to the MayDay manifesto, which I’m sticking to, and which I want to further develop this year.
But of course, all these things take time, which is rapidly disappearing into the ether that is caring for an infant. Who would have it any other way though? After careful deliberation Second Chef and I decided to cast the dice and see who came along. And he is the apple. I was talking with a workmate who complained (but only a little) about his children, and I lightly admonished him by pointing out something that had been irking me for years, that at least he would never know the emptiness of a life ended without knowing who your children might have been, or who they could become.
There’s something in the river of our lives that needs continuation, and I’ll work hard to gather enough stories to write more of Falling, Folding Paper, or at least bring a conclusion to that child in the field. I knocked off a couple of other twenty-year-old resolutions this year, so that one should be kicked along until I complete it.
Likewise! After realising that I should give up on trying to write fiction, because, well, I’m not very good at it, I might take an old lecturer’s advice and start on a children’s story. A friend has recommended an illustrator of children’s books, and I already have two or three little stories lined up. Perhaps that could be an opportunity to finally publish something.
And lastly, I’m promising to try and complete the *.PDF of the Object Dart cookbook. When Second Chef is able to free up time I’m going to encourage her to put those fabulous publishing skills to use and set me up a master template, which I will dutifully fill with the recipes I’ve put online.
So, here we are on the other side, waiting to see how the road rises to meet our feet. And a fine old journey it will be.
7 Responses to “New Year’s Round-Up”
1 January, 2009 at 6:02 pm
“the emptiness of a life ended without knowing who your children might have been, or who they could become.”
Ouch. Or maybe we the childless have the imagination to de-emptify our lives in our own creative ways.
1 January, 2009 at 6:09 pm
not supposed to be a criticism of people without kids, but rather a reflection on the potential of what a life can become.
1 January, 2009 at 6:45 pm
That’s okay. I’ve said far worse about the childed. I actually think I’m due a medal for saving the world from the potential hitching a lift in my genes.
1 January, 2009 at 8:05 pm
yeah, it’s nothing someone should undertake lightly. the context of the admonition was one where someone was complaining about what they had, to people who might have wished they could be as lucky.
1 January, 2009 at 9:20 pm
in January we had dinner with the uncle of Deborah
I’ll be having dinner with him this January.
someone was complaining about what they had, to people who might have wished they could be as lucky
In the years when we were battling infertility, I couldn’t believe that people would complain to me about their children. “Just pick someone else,” I would think. A little sensitivity would have been very nice.
2 January, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Well, I’m quite happy to fill the emptiness with friends, lovers, drinking, shopping, writing, exploring, working, creating, laughing and just generally living.
“There’s something in the river of our lives that needs continuation.”
As a river without a spring, or at least with an unknown spring, it seem appropriate that I might not have a continuation. Or something like that. But I’d like to think that I could contribute to the world via my memes rather than my genes, and perhaps leave a lasting mark on the world through something I’ve done rather than someone I’ve begat.
But anyway, that’s just me, so congrats to you and the whole Chef family.
5 January, 2009 at 7:16 am
It’s unlikely we’ll ever hear anybody (other than the occasional priest, and we know their motives) utter the phrase “what the world needs is more people”, and until then it’s safe to assume that of all the various reasons why we beget, most of them are ultimately selfish. But I think it’s still okay to complain about the sprogs, from time to time, I know that complaining about number two these days helps keep me sane. My only pet peeve: stop making excuses about your children when they misbehave in front of others. “Oh, he’s tired”. “Ah, she’s coming out of a dreadful cold, she really hasn’t been herself lately”. I believe what you mean to say is “he’s a little bastard” and “she failed to successfully hide her true feelings just then”, respectively.
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