December 2024
The Vibe
It definitely felt like the end of the year, and I was pretty low on energy throughout December. There were many social events leading into Christmas, and I spent almost a week with my family over Christmas. At the end of it, I feel a bit peopled out!
Work got increasingly messy as roles, outputs, and responsibilities all came crashing into each other because no one (in charge) had the foresight to plan any of this. I ended up everywhere and nowhere and spent the vast majority of my time in meetings about work, rather than doing any of it.
Events
There were some great social events in the lead-up to Christmas, and I needed the distraction. There was a lot of drinking and merriment along the way.
A big one for me was my friend Dave's 50th birthday. Rather than a standard party, his family organised a gig to play his favourite songs. The band consisted of his kids, Ben and Nick, and “special guests.” DaveFest 2024 was a great night out, and as one of the invited special guests, I had to learn six songs to play—only two of which I was familiar with. It was great to get up and perform - something I have not done for sooooo long.
It was also the last month of having an old friend in town. It's been great having a close old friend in town and getting to hangout on a regular basis. I am going to miss shooting the shit and debrief about work and life - but glad it was a thing for a while. We headed out on a couple of drives during December - down the Fleurieu and over to Yorke Peninsula to see some of the sights.
Spent some nice time outdoors despite some of the hotter days. Got to see my first "shark spotting" with a plane overhead circling what must have been a large shark just off the beach I was walking on (not swimming).
Christmas was nice - loud and crazy with all of the nieces in fine form. We went back to Wagga - or, more correctly The Rock - where my sister now lives. We travelled via Mildura on both legs as we took Frankie with us and found a pet-friendly hotel on the way. I enjoyed stopping off in Gol Gol (the NSW side of the river) and being close to the water. I got the chance to catchup up with Ben and Rob from the good 'ol days.
Photos
Watched
I got through Black Doves and Dune Prophecy. I'm not sure I'd recommend them, but they were OK. I watched Birds of Prey with Ms. A, which was good fun.
Listened
Got my podcasts on while away and really enjoyed the Motor Doping saga of Ghost in the Machine and the social commentary of The English Disease. While at first, I thought football hooliganism would be interesting in itself, I loved where this series went - more into the class structures, social issues and misogyny that are deeply engrained in the violence and prevalence of the sub-culture.