Hey there! It's been a couple of months since I've had the chance to come write here. It's funny to come to review the past year when my latest post is exactly that but 6 months ago. Things have changed a lot though and every time I think about 2012, I feel like all I did was work and work. It's the first time that I'm glad a year is really over and I can't wait to get back to my personal projects and hobbies.
So what good did come out of 2012?
January
I finally got to try yoga for the first time and I loved it!
February
I joined my sister and her husband for my nephew's weekly swimming sessions. There's nothing like family time and 2012 was a very good year for that.
March
I went to Buenos Aires in Argentina for a week! It was my first time visiting South America and it was amazing. I consumed as much steaks, wine and dulce de leche as I could while I was there. I also got to do an awesome graffiti tour that opened my eyes to the streets of Argentina. On my way back to Montreal, I had a layover in Santiago and I got to see crazy high mountains peeking through the clouds in the plane. I definitely want to go back to Chile for a hiking trip!
April
A month spent surrounded by friends and family. It was my nephew's first birthday and we celebrated him like a prince. It was also the month of my annual booking at Le Pied de Cochon' Sugar Shack. It's always a chance to book a table for my closest friends and celebrate good food and drinks for a couple of hours in the country together. Finally, it was also the month that I joined a startup called WedAccount; an awesome project that should flourish in 2013!
May
Not a very positive month with all the crap that was happening with the student strike and the response from the police. I did get a fun one-week away for a GA training in Ottawa with a friend and work colleague. It was a good chance to catch up and do some fun things together when not learning about analysis.
June
I finally started running! I have always hated it but I finally found a way to make it enjoyable considering I have the chance to live by the water. I can't wait to get back to it in spring. It was also my birthday month which means a fun and long dinner with many friends!
July
I got to spend time on a lot of fun things in July that weren't work-related for once! I did a yoga session with about 1500 people all dressed in white in a popular location in Montreal. It was an awesome experience in the sun and I hope it will be organized again this year! I also spent a lot of time at my community garden and got to eat my first meal of the year 100% from it. Finally, I equipped myself with the right tools to start making drip coffee at work. I love the idea of taking the time to make a single good cup of coffee and buying the freshest beans possible.
August
I had been playing with the slow carb and paleo diets for a while but August was the month that I officially went paleo and for the long run. Slow-carb was a bit too intense with the no-fruit rule and eating paleo just started making a lot of sense. I also went to a Crossfit introduction class and it kicked my butt! It made me realize how out of shape I was even with my regular run and swimming sessions so I registered for Spartan 2013 and made it a goal to get it real shape by then!
September
Big month for my yearly goals. I went surfing for the first time in Surf City, Long Beach Island and fell in love with the whole experience even if I did not achieve much. When I got back in Montreal, I started a 3-week introduction course to Crossfit so I could start practicing it regularly. It was hard and much more psychological than physical and it's exactly why I loved it more and more. Finally, I did one more goal I had for 2012 which was to get my PADI certification. I did a 4-hour class in the deepest pool in Canada and passed my exam. It was one of the hardest things I had to learn and I have yet to pass my final exam in open water but I am proud of how far I went with it.
October
What to say about October? I got to spend 2 weeks on 3 different islands in Hawaii, spending my days at multiple beaches either snorkelling, swimming with turtles or hiking to crazy locations. I also visited my favourite city in the States, San Francisco. During my trip, I ended up training at two different Crossfit boxes and it was so much fun to meet other travellers that way that I will make it a tradition from now on.
November
My longest relationship ended back in October so November has been all about activities with friends. It just made me realize how I hadn't seen a lot of my closest friends in a long time and it was time to take care of that. I went to an event for my food and wine blog too and I had genuine fun like I hadn't in a very long time in my life. It felt really good and it showed how I need more of that regularly.
December
The last month of 2012 was another chance to take care of me. It was a celebration of 2 months of Crossfit but also two months of having stopped smoking even if it was just socially. I got to do many media events for my food and wine blog, many dinner parties for the holidays but also cool home projects like building my first plyo boxes with my friend. I also went to a cool spa on a boat twice and tried an outside cold bath for the first time. I am now officially hooked and can't wait to go back!
2013
I'm very excited about starting a new year and I think I have the passion and energy to make it very successful. One time that I have learned with time is that all my experiences in life just make me better at making good decisions for the future because I know more and more about where I'm headed. There's less time to mess around too ;)
So what are my resolutions for 2013?
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More Crossfit and more paleo in my routine! For now, I train between 1 and 3 times a week and about 75% of my diet is paleo. I think that it will just get better with time and I won't have to force it. The goal is to enjoy it and feel great after all! It should show at the Spartan race in May.
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I have two trips in mind so far: Morocco to visit my parents and Oslo just because it seems like an awesome city that I could learn from.
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I really want to get started on my driving lessons since it takes so much time here in Quebec. Hopefully by the time I visit Hawaii again (still got Big Island to check out!), I will be able to rent a car by myself!
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Start biking full-time in the spring again. I did not like using my bike this year because of a few technical problems and I just regret it now. It's really important that I fix it this year so I can enjoy riding the streets again!
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One long dinner per month minimum with friends. I miss being a host and cooking all day! It's just crazy to think that I've only hosted once or twice in 2012.
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I have two eBooks to finish and I really hope 2013 will be the year while they're still up to date! I also have one fun startup idea that I wanted to fully program myself on Ruby on Rails so I would really like to give it time weekly. But my main goal is definitely the startup I joined in April which will hopefully go live in the first quarter.
There are also some things that I have decided to quit for 2013:
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I will not renew my membership to the community garden. I loved my experience for the past two years and my main goal was achieved, I wanted to learn how to grow my own vegetables and I did. But having a garden that big took too much of my time and I decided to subscribe to a local farm program instead that grows everything on a rooftop right here in Montreal! This way, I will only have to go to food stores to buy meat and concentrate on the best quality I can get.
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I want to reduce the alcohol that I drink to only wine if possible. There are some exceptions but I realized that consuming alcohol other than wine makes me feel demoralized the next day or two. It's probably because I partied close to never in 2012 and my body is more sensible to alcohol now.
Daily Habits
I also want to start including positive habits in my life to become more productive every day. The Zen Habits features an interesting listing in the post 12 Rules to Live By.
I think all the rules make sense but I would love to apply the first one as soon as possible: the sleeping habits.
Going to bed at 9 pm and waking up at 5 am sounds great and I will try and achieve it starting next week. It would give me the chance to condense what I have to do in my evenings and watch fewer shows and movies. Waking up that early would also give me the time to have a longer breakfast time and head to Crossfit right before work instead of going in the evenings which I find reduces my strength in exercises.
A cool app I already have is Sleep Cycle which should help me get this right. Another great app for habits in general, if you struggle with them (like flossing!), is Lift.
2013 for You?
So what are your plans for 2013? Are you excited about a new year or it's all the same to you? Did you put 2012 in review? Don't hesitate to share your thoughts and ideas!