Somehow, it’s already June. I’ve had a few setbacks this year already but despite that, I’ve made some good progress on my goals.

I started the year pretty strong on my fitness goals especially before I went on holiday to Fiji for 5 nights with my sister. I… drank far more than was advisable, and unfortunately, I fell over towards the end, landing on my left hand in the pool and skinning the palm. I managed to get it cleaned by resort staff but it became very painful and infected by the time I returned home, which then necessitated about 2 weeks of wound care, which made attending the gym and drawing (dominant hand) somewhat difficult.

Towards the end of February, I did a 30km bike ride around Lake Burley Griffin. I’d previously attempted this in 2021 when I was about 40kg heavier and didn’t quite make it all the way. This time, I made it without having to get off my bike for hills - it was a huge achievement for me. Shortly after, I left the country once again. This time for 2 weeks with my partner. We had a fantastic time exploring the south island of New Zealand, starting from Christchurch, travelling to Timaru, Pleasant Point, Lake Tekapo, Queenstown, Wānaka, Hokitika, and Hanmer Springs. The highlights were seeing little blue penguins in the wild at Timaru, indoor skydiving in Queenstown, landing on a glacier at Earnslaw Burn, soaking in the hot pools at Hanmer Springs, and seeing kiwi and kea at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch.

I got back from New Zealand 4kg heavier than I started the year and despite returning to my healthy habits, I couldn’t budge the weight at all. I managed to get rid of it by intermittent fasting but once again hit a wall I couldn’t move past, so last month I started on Mounjaro at the recommendation of my doctor. It’s extremely expensive, but so far it seems to be working as I’ve dropped 2kg in 2 weeks. Additionally, I’m still struggling with knee problems, which means I’ve been set back again in my strength training and I’m unlikely to run again any time soon.

Goals Review

Exercise

• Hike at least 100km over the course of the year.

I am currently at 39.3km of 100km. I went for my first solo hike this weekend past. It was really nice being out in nature by myself.

• Cycle at least 150km over the course of the year.

41.77km - I haven’t ridden since February though and I think I just need to bulk up this number with riding the indoor stationary bike.

• Get under 100kg.

Apart from the early setback with my holidays causing weight gain, I’m finally making progress and am sitting at 104kg.

Drumming

• Take a break from it. Play when I feel like it.

I have played a handful of times this year and I’ve looked at the Drumeo Method but I’m not sure I should continue. The hobby may have just found its natural conclusion. My partner is not in any rush to reclaim the space in the guest bedroom, so at least I have the option to keep my kit and get back into it later on.

Tech

• Do that last 20% on Clockbridge to make it less ugly and fix the bugs.

I finally did this and it annoyed me a little bit, because I put around 2.5 hours into it, which drove it to conclusion. I even implemented a message queuing system which should cache the messages if my Elasticsearch instance becomes unavailable for any reason.

• Take the RHCE with the skills challenge.

My RHCSA lapsed in January, which meant I needed to recertify in order to go for the RHCE. I managed that last month and got a better score the second go around. I’m currently cramming for the RHCE to get it done by the end of the financial year.

Drawing

• Get back into painting.

I’ve done a couple of watercolour painting workshops but I struggle a lot to get into my art studio and concentrate on it.

• Learn some CAD so I can play with the 3D printer more and make my own stuff.

I have learned some CAD. I created a stencil for watercolour swatches that I then 3D printed. It came out quite well. I haven’t had a lot of projects to try modelling but there is a bracket I need to try designing and printing soon.

New Goals

I’ve gotten really into LitRPG books in the last couple of months and I’ve been devouring them using my Kindle Unlimited subscription so I want to add my reading goals here:

• 50 books (24/50)
• 15,000 pages (8463/15000)

I also wouldn’t mind writing a bit more here or expanding upon my journalling habit, but I struggle to think of things to write about. So I guess by extension, I need to be more present and write things down for me to write about. Either way, I’ll wrap the entry up here and I’ll be back at the end of the year… at latest.