2019 Mid Year Check-in

I've gotten into the habit of these half year check-ins.

The biggest news in my life for the first part of 2019 is that I got a car! It's the first car that I've owned and I don't regret buying it at all. It's a used 2008 VW Touareg at around 200,000 km - I had to get a lot of repairs done on it. All things considered, it's at least as cost effective as using Zipcar and Car2Go for everything and it's gotten me through my trips to Ashokan and NYC, Ottawa, a fiddle retreat at Chandos Lake near Bancroft, ON, Georgian Bay Islands National Park, and a short trip to the Blue Mountains. It's a worthy addition to my life.

Musically, SoundCrowd wrapped up the 3rd year with a phenomenal concert at the Opera House, and the Eastminster music ministry went ok this year. My fiddle journey continues, with more investment into lessons and the Ashokan old time music camp. I'm very close to persuading myself to invest even more into my fiddle journey.

On a personal note, not much is happening. Friendships come and go, and sometimes I don't feel too heavily invested in maintaining some of them. I'm not sure if that's a good thing, but it's a choice that I made for better or for worse.

My health hasn't been so good ever since I got the car. I've stopped spinning, and I missed all the major bike engagements that I usually go on: Paris-Ancaster is a a miss, and Ride for Karen doesn't seem to be happening either (edit: Ride for Karen is back on!)

However, I hope to rectify this: I went on my first car-bike journey in Ottawa, where I drove to Ottawa and biked a 60 km loop that involved crossing the Ottawa river via the Cumberland-Masson Angers ferry into Gatineau. I hope to do more of these treks, and by ramping up distances (40-40 round, then 50-50 round) in order to get my fitness levels back up. I'm also signed up for a 10k in the fall and hope to re-challenge the waterfront half marathon.

Sometimes I feel like withdrawing a bit - to make more time for myself, for my reading, music, and physical health instead of going out and being social. That seems like a persistent theme throughout the first part of the year, with more alone-time and much less on my social calendar. I think this trend will carry out through the rest of the year.

I'm currently contemplating the answer to a question I owe my choirs - will I be re-joining and participating in the fall 2019/2020 season of my choirs? This is unanswered as of yet.

Work wise, it's been a while in my current position. It's always a big question - but should I continue or do something different? That seems to be the big question this year.