Saturday 31 December 2016

2016: What A Fucking Year, Eh?

From the seemingly unstoppable rise of fascism, to the heart-breaking refugee crisis and the enraging response to it in the media, to the almost-daily death notices, 2016 has sucked balls. And while, on a personal level, it's had some high points, at times I've felt a bit like I've been in a holding pattern: lots of planning for what's to come but not much actual capital-p Progress. It's been a year of plodding from day-to-day, doing what I need to survive, without really getting to anyplace new. Still, I think I'm in a better place than at the start of the year and really, what more can one ask for?
Despite my travel anxiety ramping up to a whole new level, Thomas and I had some great trips: a weekend in Lincoln to start the year, a great few days in Edinburgh, a wonderfully sunny weekend with friends in Nijmegen, and a relaxing week in Crete

The big trip of the year for me, though, was the ten days I spent in Cape Town with my mum and step-mum, staying with my aunt and uncle for my cousin Caroline's wedding. It was so special to be in South Africa with my mum for the first time, and she regaled me with tales of her youth (they mostly fell into three camps: this is where I went to the library/this is where I protested apartheid/this is where I snogged boys. The first two were par for the course, the third somewhat of a shock!).
By far the best thing to come out of 2016 is this furry face. We adopted Missy exactly 6 months ago and she has been a constant joy (and a near-constant worry, we are such neurotic cat parents!). I quite genuinely don't know how I would have made it through those dark post-Brexit days without her. She remains a skittish little thing who prefers to sit near rather than on us, but she loves getting head rubs, playing with her favourite toys - a pink mouse and an old shoelace - and hanging out in the garden. Oh, and sleeping, as you can see from these pictures.
While this year hasn't been as productive creatively as I would have liked, I am so glad to have returned to sewing. I spent much of November and December beavering away on various projects and I think (I hope) that their recipients appreciated them.

2016 was also the year I finally finished the zine I'd been working on for almost two years. I had grand plans to complete another one before the end of the year, but with only hours remaining, that's clearly not going to happen. However, getting back into zines, visiting fairs, chatting to other zinesters and contributing to other people's zines has been one of my favourite things this year. 

Thanks to the encouragement of Ingrid (no way would I have submitted it otherwise), I had my zine accepted by Pen Fight Distro, which was genuinely one of my highlights of the year (I can't get over the fact that something I created is available to buy somewhere I'm not selling it, if that makes sense?!) and I also contributed to Lou's zine All Your Faves Are Problematic and Kirsty's zine about heterosexism, Versions Of Violence.
I suppose another big thing to happen in 2016 was starting a new blog, having destroyed the commenting system on my old one. I haven't been as prolific here as I would have liked, but am so happy that all my old readers and commenters seem to have followed me, together with some welcome new faces. My most popular posts of 2016 have been the one about our budget kitchen makeover and the one where you learnt some fascinating facts about me.

There's been so much that I haven't blogged about this year but that was important: I did jury duty, which was amazing and gruelling and fascinating; I finished teaching completely in July, and have yet to unpick my feelings around that; Thomas graduated with his PhD and since then has been travelling the country for research, visited Iceland, been published by TIME Magazine, and generally worked his arse off as a junior academic, which comes with zero job security. We made a decision to work towards leaving Leicester and moving to Edinburgh... which quickly had to be set aside as the realities of his work became clear, so we end 2016 still with no clear idea of where we'll be - job-wise as well as literally - over the next couple of years.
Finally, 2016 has been a year of friendship. I've had such fun times this year- a great day out with Leanne, a festive night in the pub with Rose, and a trip to Secret Cinema with London pals are just three that spring to mind. I've spent time meeting up with blogging mates, both old and new, and forged new friendships online (because internet people rule). But whether IRL or internet pal, old friend or new, these women have been such an essential source of strength and happiness for me in 2016.
And so 2017 approaches. There's a small event taking place in July, which I'm quite looking forward to. Thanks to our decision to have a super low-key, budget wedding, there's not a whole lot more to do on the planning, so hopefully the next seven months won't be too stressful.

Thomas and I have short trips to Norfolk and Barcelona planned already, and I'm sure that despite finances being tight, we'll squeeze another couple of holidays in somewhere. If we can bear to leave the cat for longer than a couple of days.

And as for goals, I want to start taking full advantage of the fact that I'm not as knackered and stressed as I was when teaching, and make use of my evenings. From volunteering at Leicester LGBT Centre's Trans Youth Group one evening a fortnight, to joining a choir and working on more zines, 2017 is going to be the year I get off my arse and do something. Oh, and speaking of doing something, there are fascists to fight. Let 2017 be the year we all commit to not being the people who stand by and do nothing.

15 comments:

  1. 100% with you on 2017 being a year of action. I feel like I have lots of ideas for stuff I want to be doing, but have treaded water with them a bit this year. Glad your wedding planning has been ok so far, so frustrating about the cancellations though! Anyway, happy new year :)

    Liz x
    Distract Me Now Please

    ReplyDelete
  2. Its good to see that 2016 was not all bad for you personally and there were lots of good bits. Lets all put 2016 behind us and hope for a better 2017. Im sure it will be an amazing year for you with your upcoming wedding! Happy new year to you Thomas and Missy xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have felt quite sorry for people -like yourself - who had amazing things happen in 2016 (babies, marriages, new jobs) but who keep hearing "oh 2016 was terrible". It is important to remember that it wasn't all bad.

      Delete
  3. Sounds quite good on a personal level; a holding pattern is not always a bad thing. Among the zine, choir, volunteering and travel, I am impressed by your leisure time. Will you be doing a post on your favourite reads of the year?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're absolutely right - all year I've felt bad that I've not been achieving more, but I think I needed 12 months of calm and quiet to prepare for the next steps. And my favourite reads post is now up!

      Delete
  4. The volunteering sounds great, and I am also excited about working on more zines this year ahead of the fair! Need to get myself into gear (once I get out of my PJs ahem)...x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Need to get myself into gear - once I get out of my PJs" could be my actual motto!

      Delete
  5. Congrats on the zine and all of you and Thomas's other successes,including getting Missy! Glad you decided to reinvent the blog and keep it going! I felt similiarly that while 2016 had some deep, deep lows on a world level, for me personally it was not all bad. Onto 2017! I really do hope to see that Bear mural in person someday! ;-) x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you :) I'm glad I've continued with blogging, even if I haven't felt very motivated or productive at times, I really like having it as a record and also a community.

      Delete
  6. Thanks for linking the zine shopping website and congrats on finishing yours (just bought a copy)!I want to make more time for hobbies in 2017, sewing being one of them. On the whole I'm with you, what a fucking year! Fingers crossed for all your projects this year, Edinburgh sounds exciting, x

    ReplyDelete
  7. Look at us! Happy new year Janet! Barcelona is my favourite place on the planet, have you been before? Love those last couple of sentences :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Congratulations on all the zine stuff - how exciting!!I totally get you on the travel anxiety thing - I hardly went anywhere last year, and even cancelled a couple of planned trips, but I''m trying to get my act together for this year, and actually get out into the world!! Here's to a great 2017 xx

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love this way of looking at things - let's all DO SOMETHING! x

    ReplyDelete