2006 retrospective

January 4th, 2007

2006 has been a good year for Robotperson. A year of change, and a year of increasing tiredness. But also, overwhelmingly, a year of tremendous happiness and fun. For posterity, here’s my retrospective.

In the last few years Lara and I have moved forward a lot: In ’03 we got married, we moved house in ’04, and in ’05 I changed my job and (to a certain degree) career. But these changes pale next to the seismic arrival of Littlekins – our first-born child, Ruby Consolata (Rubikins!)

I’ve resisted writing about her too much on this site as I’ve no desire to become a baby blogger. And gushing about the latest developmental milestone would, I think, quickly wear thin on you (this morning she razzed for the first time!). But make no mistake, her impact has been profound.

On the down side, my spare time, which wasn’t exactly abundant pre-Rubes, has now evaporated almost completely. And at weekends I have to force myself to get things done in the fleeting windows whilst she sleeps in the day. Overall, how draining it can be just looking after her has been a big surprise.

But any calculation of the pros and cons is blasted into meaningless with a single Ruby smile. That’s all it takes to make me want to give her the biggest hug, and plaster her ample jowls with poppa-kisses until bedtime (‘kiss-cheeks’ is a current favourite pastime). The whole experience has been magically like falling in love again. I am a happy, happy Daddy.

So, whilst ’06 will forever be the Year of the Kins, there has been plenty more to make it memorable for Robotperson:

  • Our visit to Tokyo at the start of the year was special. Toys, electronics, culture, kawaii… the place seemed aligned with me in suspiciously many ways. I’m already clearing shelf space in anticipation of our return
  • My sister, Rachel’s wedding to Antonio in Cordoba. Great dining, late dancing… and salsa-ing with a Spanish soap star was alliterative fun. Congrats mi hermana.
  • The World Cup. Always the greatest theatre in the world, and despite the nay-sayers (you know who you are), I really, really enjoyed it. Personal highlight: a hot, selfish, Saturday night in, alone with Argentina x Mexico, a takeaway curry, and a fridge full of cool beers. Magnifico. And then Maxi Rodriguez wins it in extra time with an unbelievable strike. How to get over World-cup comedown? Arrange for your daughter to be born 18hrs before the final.
  • Rachel and Jakob’s wedding in Sweden. Such a warm, lovely few days, with really nice people. And Kinsey’s first, well-behaved excursion from these shores. Thanks, guys
  • Emily and Dan’s wedding, last week. A less well-behaved (teething!) Kins, this time, but a lovely, lovely day. And great eats make for a happy robot.

On a more personal level, and just to remind myself that the year hasn’t been entirely devoid of personal development:

  • In an effort to begin to understand geopolitics, economics, and the mixed-up world we’re bringing our children up in, I’ve started reading the Economist. My commute no longer seems long enough.
  • Confidence at work. If I thought I was a good information architect at the start of the year, I know I am now
  • Redesigning Robotperson. Much more work than I anticipated, but very rewarding. WordPress is such a great platform
  • I’ve taught myself DOM scripting, at least well enough to build a small gallery site. Learning javaScript has long been on my to-do list, and although I’m hardly more than a novice, I overcame the snags and made it behave exactly how I wanted.
  • Getting a PDA phone. A stupid, geeky thing to be pleased about, but changing my organisational habits has been surprisingly difficult. It’s a far-from-perfect gadget, but for now, I’m loving my XDA mini-s
  • Downloading music. With the help of the Mixing bowl (more on that later), Azureus, progressivehouse.com (check out Derek Howell’s mix), and this incredible goldmine of mixes courtesy of Mike in Oz, I am now listening almost exclusively to downloaded music. And lots of it. Too much to get through, really. Remarkably, none is illegal
  • The Panasonic SD253. The more I talk about this, my birthday gift from Lara, the more I discover that I’ve joined some sort of secret bakers club. My badge of membership: the best breadmaker in the world (check the most overwhelmingly positive Amazon reviews I’ve ever seen). Now we have a delicious, fresh loaf every 2 days, and pizza or ciabatta when I feel like a treat. Now I’ve just got to watch the carbs…

Next: looking forward to 2007.

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