Another year is soon over. The end of the calendar year is a good opportunity to look back and reflect and appreciate the moments that made up 2021 so let me share some moments that made 2021 special for me. In spite of all the worries and concerns we fill our daily life with, life is good.
Job
I had a great job at the start of the year. Then I decided it was a little too much in my comfort zone and I quit and enjoyed some time off. Then I landed another great job with fun professional challenges and nice new colleagues. Going through the forming, storming, and norming stages, it feels great to now be delivering on and above expectations.
Family
Spending quality time with the family as the kids grow up. Our trip to Tranås in February, sitting in a hot tub at midnight gazing at starts with my oldest. Listening to the ice on the lake singing from thermal contractions. Our trip to Öland in July, drawing a portrait of my youngest. Exploring castles and beaches and beautiful landscapes. Enjoying the world of Astrid Lindgren on the way back home. Our trip to Tivoli in Copenhagen for Halloween. For the kids an exciting visit to exotic Denmark. For me a time machine of going back to places I once lived which now seems a lifetime ago.
Friends
For the first time in many years, I had a gaming weekend in my summer house in September. In a window between vaccines and mutations, I gathered an awesome group of nice people, old friends, for a weekend of board games and story games and socialising over food and drink. Such a great time in good company.
Game design
I published two games about Mars in 2021! Mars to Stay, a story game in the format of an ebook. A project from 2017 that I redesigned for online play. I had fun play testing and doing art direction, I had less fun fiddling with formatting. Mars Crisis, an online story game for solo play. Fun to learn the tools, to model the game, and to finally creating and releasing a computer game. I had a few other projects brewing that didn’t make it across the finish line in 2021, so something in the backlog for 2022.
Streaming
After getting a fiber connection late last year, I ventured into the jungle of streaming services in 2021. HBO Nordic, Disney Plus, Netflix, and Amazon Prime, testing one after the other. I decided to stay with Curiosity Stream that has a great selection of science and history shows. While there is also the occasional show about sharks and pirates and hidden nazi gold, it’s not overly dramatised as on other services.
Electric car
I rented an electric car for one month in September. Many years ago, I tried a hybrid car but wasn’t really convinced. Great to experience first hand what an electric car anno 2021 is. If we manage to establish charging facilities here where I live, I will be driving an electric car by end of 2022.
Nature
I continued my corona walks in 2021. I’m blessed with living close to forest and lakes and replacing the daily commute with a 45 minutes walk in the morning or at noon is a great way to reset the mind and keep the body healthy. I even added in the occasional longer walk of 2-3 hours and I explored new places as opportunity arose.
Death
Life is not always full of roses. 2021 also offered sadness and sorrow. In November, my grandmother died after 99 years on this planet. Her home has been a solid base for me for all of my life. All her life she lived within 10 km of where she was born. How different the life of my children will be from hers. Rest in peace, dear grandmother.
I hope life has been good for you and your loved ones as well. Thank you for reading in 2021. I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. See you in 2022.