Fall Reflection, #Goals, and Getting Back Into It: Pt. 2
The last time that I wrote here I started off by saying that it had been too long since I last wrote. At that time – back in September – it had been about 2 months since I wrote last, but here I am…4 months later…with nothing additional added between then and now – 2019 is the year I try to get better at this blogging thing.
I had talked a lot about new things that were happening in my life after a busy summer, things I wanted to work on, and goals that I wanted to accomplish by the end of the year (spoiler: a lot didn’t go as planned, but a lot of fun stuff did happen).
Here are some of my “failures” over the last 4 months:
I didn’t “crush my half marathon in Boston”. I definitelydidn’t break 1:50, or 2:00 for that matter, and actually got injured in theprocess, which kept me from continuing on the path of maintaining my fitnessimmediately after the half. Queue: the holidays and lots of cookies.
I did actually start studying for the GMAT, andwas on a good streak for a couple of weeks, but that quickly came to a haltwhen life got in the way and I couldn’t keep (or told myself that I couldn’t keep)a consistent study schedule.
A couple of exciting plans that we had for hospitalengagement with The Stand ended up falling-through at the last minute, so wenever had the opportunity to visit the hospital before the end of the year.
I definitely didn’t get into a routine of runningevery morning, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to become a morning workoutperson.
If you read my last post in September, this basically ticksoff all of the goals that I listed and how I didn’t accomplish them, but I’m okwith that. I still had an awesome (and really busy) end of the year.
Here’s what I did accomplish:
Knocked another international destination on the to-visit list by spending 5 days in Copenhagen, which was by-far one of the most relaxing vacations that I’ve ever been on. When my girlfriend and I have traveled internationally together in the past, we’ve only spent 2-3 days in each city and have wanted to hit all of the sights and soak up as much local culture as possible. While jet-setting around at a fast clip is a ton of fun in its own right, it’s not necessarily relaxing and leaves you feeling exhausted at the end of the day. This was one of our first vacations where we felt like we didn’t have to rush, didn’t have a set itinerary, and truly had the opportunity to soak up the city in all of its Hygge glory. Copenhagen is consistently rated as one of the happiest cities in the world, which why I wanted to visit and is largely due to the Dane’s concept of hygge (see picture below for How to Hygge). You get blankets in the winter when you’re waiting outside for a table at a restaurant, everywhere you go is decorated to feel like home, and everyone smiles at each other. It was exactly what I needed to get away from the crazy hustle-and-bustle of NYC.
Oh…and the food…the food was absolutely amazing. I had the best meal of my life at HØST, which was a 5-course meal (with 5 mini courses between each of the 5 courses), a wine pairing, and easily some of the best deserts I’ve ever had.
I also got to see my family a lot more over the last couple of months. My mom was able to comeup to the city for a last-minute weekend trip, so we went out for a nice dinnerand got to explore the city together. I also went home to Maryland for a coupleof long weekends over Thanksgiving and Christmas, which consisted of exploringthe exploding brewery scene with my sister and her boyfriend in my hometown ofFrederick, MD, seeing cousins I hadn’t seen in a long time, catching up with myyoungest sister who just started high school and is taking her school’s theaterscene by storm (so proud of you, Ella!), and just relaxing at home amongst thecornfields.
Here are a few other awesome things that happened over the last 4 months:
Watched one of my best friends from Syracuse marry the love of his life and participated in the ceremony as one of his groomsmen.
Spent a long weekend in Boston for my half marathon. Even though I got injured in the race, Jen and I had a great time re-visiting a city we hadn’t been to in several years.
Gatorade = life
Traveled out to Chi-Town with Jen to celebrate her graduation from the “part-time” Masters in Civil Engineering program @ University of Illinois that she had essentially been doing full-time for the last 2 years while also working full-time. Watching her walk at the graduation ceremony was a really proud moment after seeing her work so hard towards a notoriously difficult degree at the top university in the nation for Civil Engineering.
Reconnected with old friends, finally had a house-warming party at my apartment after living there for over a year, took on more responsibilities at work, witnessed doggy Halloween and continued with my newfound hobby of climbing.
While a lot of my goals for Fall 2018 didn’t come tofruition, I am genuinely happy with where things ended up at the end of theyear. Not accomplishing some of my goals gives me a new vigor to accomplish thesethings (and more) as the year moves forward. I hope to be more present in myday-to-day relationships, spend more time reading/writing, less time glued tomy phone, and kick-off a few projects that I’ve had at the back of my mind for awhile (including a new one that I’m really excited for). I also want to work onbeing better at networking around NYC to expand my circles beyond the people Ispend the most time with.
I’ll definitely be back here soon, and hope to post a lotmore than once every few months. Have a great 2019, everybody. We can do this.
Nick
