After entirely writing 2019 off as not happening, I resolved to have a better 2020. Turning things around takes planning and effort. Here is the January log.
The good:
- I walked more than 10,000 steps every day. Establishing a new baseline for my physical health after protracted periods off my feet in 2019. A resting heart rate a few beats per minute lower is not to be sniffed at.
- I spoke to lots of friends and family on the phone in the evenings to help me through the 10k steps challenge. Reconnecting a bit with good people I had let myself get isolated from was great.
- I drank water like it was going out of fashion.
- I kept booze to a few special events when I was out with colleagues or with my wife.
- I made sure I went outside every day even if it was a walk around the block.
- I attended my first “hackathon” at work and was blown away by the joys of simply being around some utterly lovely people. Listening to colleagues talk about things they have been researching and then a spot of directed bug hunting was brilliant.
- My hackathon efforts found a modest vulnerability in a wordpress plugin which I disclosed to the developer and ended with my first ever CVE reference. Go me.
- I had some study time due while I prepared for an exam. I refreshed some app testing skills and delved into a few techniques I hadn’t had time to catch up on before. Studying is good for the soul.
- I signed up to audible and listened to my first book in roughly 30 minute chunks walking to go get coffee whenever the sun poked out from the clouds.
- For the curious it was Cybersecurity Program Development for Business by Chris Moschovitis. It had a couple of excellent points to make and I would recommend it. For a different perspective than all the pentestering I have seen before.
- I travelled solo on a plane twice without freaking out about it. The whole experience of travel had become stressful over recent years. So getting back in the saddle was uplifting.. Get it? Planes.. sky… uplifting?? Hard to please some people.
- I sat and most likely failed an exam (but I won’t find out until February). I had a lovely time preparing for it, an uplifting journey, and actually really enjoyed spending a day hacking stuff that was vulnerable. It is in the good column because overall it was positive, and now I will know how to prepare for the next attempt if it is necessary.
- Patrick Stewart returned as Jean-Luc Picard. It was like meeting an old boss you love for breakfast (which I also managed this month, and which was also delightful). Two episodes deep the show is going strong.
- Dr Who returned with a flurry of brilliant episodes which generally entertained.
The bad:
- A panic attack while sat about to eat dinner with my colleagues the night before that hackathon I mentioned.
I clearly but politely said “I am off folks” and then spent the rest of the evening breathing cold night air. Speaking to my partner on the phone and playing guitar in my hotel room. It worked. I calmed down. Improving my ability to cope with and recover from the situation is important.
Probable cause of panic? Take your pick. The restaurant was insanely hot. I had spent a long day socialising pretty hard which, when you work from home is pretty rare. I had driven a long way to be there. I was all out of my routine etc etc.
Highlight of the month:
- I had an actual proper date with my wife without the kids. The time when we could not achieve this is coming to an end. We can spend some time together alone which is great. This could be life altering. We had such a laugh and enjoyed a nice meal.
I feel like the year has started well.
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