First times of 2024

You may think that as you get older, you do fewer and fewer things for the first time.  But actually, no, that's not the case.  And here's the list of things I can remember doing for the first time in 2024 - in no particular order.

First time keeping a close eye on how much chocolate I eat, and cutting beetroot out of my diet completely.  In 2023, I was diagnosed with kidney stones - not serious, but potentially painful.  They had been the cause of some discomfort for me in the second half of 2023, and I had various medical checks; the recommended treatment for them is to manage them through my diet.  Anything high in oxalates is out; anything with medium levels has to be taken in moderation.  So, I've not had any beetroot for the whole year, for the first time ever (this was a sad loss for me, I love pickled beetroot) and I've watched my chocolate intake.  I don't think I had any chocolate in January or February, then I lightened up a little.  It's not all bad news, so don't sell your shares in Cadbury's just yet!

First time seeing the Northern Lights.  Twice.  The first time I didn't actually think I'd seen them - they looked more like light pollution on the north horizon.  The second time, there was no mistaking them, even if they were still quite faint.

First time leaving the kids overnight with a babysitter, while spending a night with Naomi at a friend's wedding.  That was during the summer, and was a Friday night/Saturday morning.  We didn't go far, which made it an ideal first time for us to leave them altogether for most of Friday and most of Saturday morning.  They went to the cinema together on the Friday; we went to a wedding, meal and disco.  I think we had the best of it.

First time going to an airshow and giving somebody else my camera to take photos.  It worked out well - I got some mediocre video (a combination of the viewfinder on my camera, and the dreadful weather) while Liz took some amazing photos with the stormy skies.

First time using generative AI to produce a picture... and then produced dozens more.  I've also used generative AI (Chat GPT) to write BASIC programs for me.  I have marvelled at the ability of AI to turn text into images, and then got on and started using it without thinking too much about it!

First time laying loft boarding (successfully too).  Our loft is in two sections - the main part and a smaller section.  For some unknown reason, the smaller section (which has its own separate access) was never boarded over, but was very well stocked with fibreglass insulation.  In November, I boarded over most of the smaller section - enough to house our Christmas decorations when Christmas is finished.  That frees up more space in our main loft... for my train set! :-D

First time going on board a warship - the HMS Belfast in London.  We went on a family trip during October half term and spent three days in London; I took the boys round the interesting sights, while Lizzie and Naomi did the art galleries and Shakespeare's Globe.  We saw some locations we hadn't seen before, including HMS Belfast, which is highly recommended and free if you have Blue Peter badges (the boys do).  I went on a tour of a submarine when I was about six, but considering a submarine is all 'inside' with no windows, I can safely say the warship was far more interesting, with a strange alternating feeling of vertigo (on deck) and claustrophobia (inside).  

First time buying a car online, after the previous one started producing more smoke than one of the Red Arrows during their display.  We drove about four miles back home one Saturday afternoon, billowing huge clouds of bluish-white smoke, and deterring all other motorists within 300 yards.  Within 10 days we'd needed to order a replacement - online.  Same model, newer interior.  It's better than the old one too, with more gadgets inside.

First time playing a massive multiplayer online game - Fortnite - and subsequently the first time I bought my own gaming controller.  I've been a keyboard warrior since the mid 80s (almost before the internet was created) and then migrated to a mouse when I started playing real-time strategy games in the early 90s.  I had been borrowing my son's controller throughout January and most of February, and bought myself my own controller with my birthday money in mid February.  It's taken some minor damage to the cables (in early December) and still works perfectly, even if I'm not as good as my sons at playing!

First time learning, and coding in Python.  My programs are not complicated, and they all work on a local PC without any network access, but it's been very interesting and challenging.  I have considerable experience writing in BASIC and Visual Basic, and this was just the next step - learning a new syntax.  I wrote a program which will calculate how long people will have to wait in a queue at a supermarket, and then calculated the time savings from opening two (or more) checkouts at a supermarket compared to just one.  The results were very surprising, and I actually enjoyed analysing the output of the program.  More to follow next year.

In 2022, I became a Trustee for my church - overseeing the running of the administration of the church (legal compliance, health and safety and so on).  In 2024, I was asked and then was nominated to become the Treasurer of my local Scout group.  No, I don't know exactly what I'm doing, but I can operate a spreadsheet with ease, and I'm getting there.

First time going to a gym.  If you've met me, you can tell from my physique that I'm not a regular gym-goer.  Or ever been to a gym, even.  I was described during my teenage years as a bean-pole, and I've not put on much weight or muscle since then (except when I was at university, cycling six miles a day and becoming very trim indeed).  However, December at my local gym was 'bring a friend to the gym' month, so Lizzie brought me.  I've been three times this month, and I've still got the moves to cover 13 miles in an hour on an exercise bike.  It's not quite as scenic as being on a real bike (took Lizzie on a bike ride for the first time ever this year too) but there's less traffic and the weather is more amenable.

First time running on a treadmill - Isaac decided last December that he wanted one (he's a miniature runner), and so last New Year's Eve we bought him a cheap second-hand one.  I used it more than he did, but even so, it wasn't worth the space it took up.  It was fun while it lasted!

The Lists of Firsts

A first time for everything: 2018
2019 in reflection
First times in 2021 list
First times of 2022
First times in 2023
Things I did for the first time in 2024

Firsts of 2023

 
I've written these "firsts" for the last two years now, this being the third.  Even in my mid forties I'm doing things for the first time:

First time I saw a deer in the wild - while on holiday in Devon.  We were staying in a secluded bungalow - actually a converted horse stable- which overlooked some fields, and one morning saw a wild deer walking across the field.  We're going back to the same bungalow in 2024, and this time I'll have my camera on permanent standby!

First time dressed up as Captain Picard... and also as Hannibal from the A Team. I've decided to make my grey hair and receding hairline work for me and embrace it.  I mean - Darth Vader is still first choice, but I'm diversifying. The Hannibal costume needs work - I went with a friend who dressed as Murdock and people still couldn't tell who we were.  This meant this was the first year I dressed up as four different characters: Vader, Batman, Hannibal and Picard.

Hosted a colony of bees under a loose roof tile. This was during the summer, when a colony of bumblebees borrowed some of our roof space for about three weeks.  If you know me, you'll know I like bees, but this was a little too close for comfort.  They were very well behaved and kept themselves to themselves but it was still a little disconcerting and we'll get the tile fixed in spring.

First time I was in a group that was nominated for a community award.  I unofficially joined our local Star Wars/Cosplay group, the Endon Stormtroopers, in 2023 and in 2024 was made official (I have been given my own T Shirt).  We didn't win, losing out to a group that was doing even more for their community, but it was cool to be nominated.  That's me as Batman in the picture below.

2023 was also a challenging year. After discovering drops of blood in my wee in August, I was fast-tracked through the GP and hospital process to see if I had cancer.  This opened up a long list of firsts: first CT scan (lie on a bed and have a magnetic polo mint go backwards and forwards around me), first cannula (I forgot to mention they injected me with iodine to make my insides show up better in the scan), and also a little camera.

This is where I was injected, on the inside of my elbow: the red rash is from the sticky dressing that was an effective exfoliant!

I'm fine. I have learned a lot about the human body - my human body in particular - and been given the thumbs up. I'm having an ultra sound in January to check on my kidney stones (the most likely cause of this entire episode).

This year was also the first time one of my children has gone overseas for a school trip - Germany, by coach, for four nights.  

There were other highlights too, like the first time I got to see the Red Arrows fly over my house, watching them from my front doorstep (I wasn't expecting them, otherwise I'd have a photo to prove it).

I constructed my first scale model diorama this year - I'd dabbled with models during my time as a student, but this year I actually built and finished a full scene. Not just one, but three (with others in progress).

This year also saw me learn to play "All Things Bright and Beautiful" on the piano.  It's a sneaky little tune. Most of us sang it at primary school, so we think it's easy to play, because it's easy to sing.  Ha!  It's a very complicated little ditty, with sharps and modulations all the way through it.  And it's written as a hymn with close four-part harmony, so you can't just whack out some chords and hope for the best.  I had to learn to play it from memory (I can't sight read fast enough to read and play).  Why? I played at my brother-in-law's wedding and this was the song he'd requested.

Having seen a wild deer while on holiday, this year also saw the first time I've chased a fox off the front garden, early in one summer morning.

Finally, in 2023, I carried out Careers Interviews with Year 10 and Year 11 students (aged 14-16) at my children's high school. For two days, I interviewed students to help them practise their interview technique, asking them the kinds of questions they'd be asked during interviews for jobs or college places.  It was fascinating to see the difference between the Year 10 and Year 11 students, and between those who had prepared and those who hadn't!  Those who hadn't probably thought they'd done well, but were not even close to those who had.

So, 2023 had some firsts that I would have preferred to have dodged, but which have given me useful experience for the future.  Happy New Year!

The Lists of Firsts

A first time for everything: 2018
2019 in reflection
First times in 2021 list
First times of 2022
First times in 2023
Things I did for the first time in 2024

First Times of 2022

In what is becoming an annual tradition (here's the 2021 list), here's my list of 'things I did for the first time this year', which shows no sign of getting any shorter, even though I'm getting older.  

1. I taught someone how to tie a necktie.  It wasn't complicated, and my student was a very capable learner who simply hadn't needed to learn how to tie a tie before.  Took us about three minutes.

2.  I taught someone how to tie their shoelaces (because Velcro has been around for a while now, but hasn't taken over completely).  It took us five minutes: four minutes for me to analyse and work out how I've done it on autopilot for the last 40 years, and then one minute to demonstrate it step by step. 

3. I dressed up as Darth Vader.  Quite a few times, in fact, starting off with comic conventions initially, then a few charity events, but later in the year I also then attended a birthday party as an invited guest.  I mean, they weren't inviting me, they were inviting Darth Vader as part of my local Star Wars group and it would have been rude not to accept.  We attended a birthday party for a young man with cystic fibrosis, and for his friends, some of whom had other disabilities. 

And to complete the year, I attended a Christmas Carol service as Darth Vader, playing the role of King Herod, sharing the stage with a ballet dancer who played the role of the Angel Gabriel.  Not something I'd anticipated at the start of the year!

4. I spoke at my church on a Sunday morning.  I was invited to speak for 10 minutes on one of the Fruits of the Spirit, and chose patience (because people think I'm patient when I'm actually just very good at not speaking out). I've spoken at Sunday evening youth group meetings, but that was 20+ years ago, and this audience was a little more mature. I enjoyed it (I wrote and practised for weeks) and might get to do it again next year.

Here's the link to the video recording: Youtube Link

5.  I became a Trustee at my church.  This means I have responsibilities (legal responsibilities) for the finances and legal behaviour of the church.  I'm not the only Trustee - we have four in total, plus the senior minister- and the others have all been in the role for several years. I'm hoping to get up to speed pretty quickly.

6. I found, and completed, a South Korean "K-Drama" series which I selected.  As I mentioned last year, my wife introduced me to K-dramas in early 2021, and we watched "Crash Landing On You" which is one of the best drama series I've ever watched - her suggestion.  We also watched "My Love From The Star" which was good (after CLOY, the others tend to pale by comparison).  

This year, I found "Extraordinary Attorney Woo", which is set in a South Korean law firm. Attorney Woo has autistic spectrum disorder, and is a spectacular law student who's just graduated and started work practising law.  It's dubbed, but you soon forget that as the production and sound is exceptionally good.  I recommend it, it's heart-warming and life-affirming.

Here are some other K-dramas that we've watched and enjoyed on Netflix

Crash Landing On You - the original and best

My Love from the Star - an alien lands on Earth, and doesn't age.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo

7. I taught myself to solder.  Yes, I'm a late developer, but I taught myself out of necessity. I needed to fix my Darth Vader voice box, and didn't want to wait until I could get somebody else to do it.  I have since soldered a couple of other small electronics items, and only burned myself slightly once, on my thumb.

8. I taught Ben to play a piece of music on the piano. In early September, he came home from school with music homework: perform a piece of music to a backing track.  Ben won't mind me telling you that he has zero interest in music and hence no experience or musical knowledge.  However, by clever planning and careful choices, he learned to play firstly Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and then the main theme from Star Wars on the piano, single-finger melody, in a weekend (and then practised it for the next two weeks ready for his music lesson).  

A piano will always play the same note when you hit the same key (unlike a violin, which requires skill just to extract a sound from it), irrespective of which finger you use or how close you get to the middle of the key.  This makes it ideal for a beginner who is going to play through a brute-force memorisation exercise. It was a triumph of perseverance and determination for both of us, but for Ben especially. Music is already one of his least favourite subjects at school (what other subject expects you to take the end-of-year test before teaching you the course material?).

I'm pleased and surprised at how I'm still learning, teaching and doing new things. I wish you a happy 2023 and many more new opportunities!

The Lists of Firsts

A first time for everything: 2018
2019 in reflection
First times in 2021 list
First times of 2022
First times in 2023
Things I did for the first time in 2024

First times of 2021

Even though I'm now in my mid-40s, I'm pleased to say that I'm still doing things for the first time (and lockdown doesn't count).

Here's a short list of things I've done for the first time in 2021 - good and bad alike.

1. Home-schooling three children, simultaneously.  The lockdown of spring 2021 is something I would like to forget, but I will remember that I was mostly able to home-school our three children (while my wife went to teach at her school) and get them through that time relatively successfully. We managed to do more than just survive, and I'm thankful for that.

2.  Teaching Ben to ride his bike. At the other end of the scale, I was delighted to teach Ben to ride his bike; it took some time, and we were dependent on the weather for our training slots, but after some back-breaking effort, and an adjustment to the height of his saddle, he was off riding solo.  Lizzie's uncle taught her to ride several years ago during a summer holiday when I was working through the summer.

3.  Three funerals, including the first for someone younger than me,  and the first which I watched remotely.  These do not get any easier, and Covid has meant that 2021 has been challenging in many, many ways.

4.  First time attending an airshow with the full family of five: this was a bonus to our August holiday, as we were able to attend an air display near the cottage we were staying in.  It was just right for our family too, with enough entertainment for everyone, including those who have little or no interest in aircraft.  I was pleased to be able to plan the day out and for it to go so well (it was dry but extremely windy!).

5.  First time deliberately driving to intercept the Red Arrows on a transit flight (ie en route from their airbase to a display location).  The Red Arrows flew a long route across the country to display at the G7 summit in the autumn, and I took two of the three children to watch them fly over Mow Cop Castle (on time, as planned).  Monitoring their flight plans (through NOTAMS) has become very useful!

6.  At work, I was promoted to become a people mananger, which entailed a number of consequences.  At the start of 2021 I had no intention of ever becoming a people mananger, but on 1 September, I became the manager of my team.  This had a number of consequent firsts: holding interviews for new staff, first hiring, first, "Thank you for applying, I am sorry to inform you..." and so on.  It's been an eventful and exciting time, and in many ways, every day has been a first.

7.  And for something completely trivial: early on the year, my wife confessed (that was her word) that she had started to enjoy South Korean dramas (so-called K-Dramas).  Well, in turns out that there's a wide range of them available on Netflix, and so for the first time we watched several series of K-dramas (with subtitles). Our clear favourite is Crash Landing On You, which is a unique, funny and touching romantic drama... it's difficult to classify as anything other than a good K-drama and it's highly recommended. We didn't enjoy Sky High (too intense and more of a thriller than a comedy) and The Secret Life of My Secretary was farcical.  We are currently watching Kim's Convenience, which is about a Korean family in Canada... possibly the best comedy of the year.

On the whole, I am pleased with what we accomplished as a family in 2021 (and what I achieved personally), and am more pleased to be saying goodbye to it, and hello to 2022.

The Lists of Firsts

A first time for everything: 2018
2019 in reflection
First times in 2021 list
First times of 2022
First times in 2023
Things I did for the first time in 2024

2019 in reflection

At the end of 2018 I wrote a summary reflection of the year, and the theme I identified was "first times". 2019 seems to have been similar, with a surprising number of first times. However, the other main theme for the year has been change (I suppose if you do something for the first time it's either the cause or consequence of change).

My three children now all go to the same school, with our youngest moving from pre-school nursery to primary school nursery. It's a subtle distinction, but it now means that Daddy's Taxi only has to make one drop in the morning. 2020 will see our oldest child start high school, which will mean more significant changes ahead.

Planning further ahead into the future, we had a conservatory built onto the back of our house in 2019, and that led to significant change (I still don't think of it as part of our house, and it's been finished for three months now).  It's given us more living space, and in time will become my office during the daytime, as we move things around in the future.

While I was on a work experience placement from high school, the desk I was borrowing had a desk calendar with a daily motto, and one that I saw (and kept) was "Unless we know what we want ), we stand a poor chance of getting it." Over the years, that motto has helped me identify what I actually want, and to work towards it.  This year, I have taken that a step further and extended it to, "And if we don't ask for it, we really won't get it."  What do I want to drink? What would I like for dinner? What do I want to do this weekend? What do I want for Christmas? I've started changing what I say - and how I think - so that if you ask me what I want,  I'm more likely to tell you. And sometimes, it's actually up to me to say what I want to do. I'm lifting the lid on what I think I can do, or what I'm supposed to do, or what I think I'm allowed to do (usually inside my own head) and instead of discounting my own ideas myself (I could never do that), I'm at least going to say what I want first!

So, 2019 has been a year of change - internal and external - and is likely to lead to more change next year.

Happy New Year, and may you ask for what you want.

The Lists of Firsts

A first time for everything: 2018
2019 in reflection
First times in 2021 list
First times of 2022
First times in 2023
Things I did for the first time in 2024