Watched: Severance Season 2 🍿

Finally completed this. So beautiful and tense. Only the final perhaps let me wanting something bigger but the plot was left in an interesting place

This day had so much light

Watched: Avatar: Fire and Ash 🍿

Saw it in a theatre as maybe this kind of spectacles need to be seen.

How can something that looks so gorgeous be so boring? And takes more than 3 hours! Someday perhaps we will see something this impressive with a script to match

As I hinted in my year in review post I was not completely satisfied with the results of my “Year of Focus”. While I added a lot of positive activity into my life I was less succesful in blocking energy stealing bad habits from my life.

This applies both in my personal life and to a lesser degree also professionally. One of my strengths (I count it as a strength) has always been my eagerness to say “YES” and volunteer. But that of course comes with the obvious flipside – overcommitting and ending up committing to things that don’t really align with my values or that just drain my energy disproportionally to what that activity gives me.

My basic pattern is this: I am proposed something or I just end up in a place where I say “yes” to something that I have not properly weighed against my existing commitments, my values, or my current energy levels. I don’t voice my objections early enough and I end up with multiple low-intensity (or sometimes high-intensity) emotionally taxing tasks eating away my time and concentration. In the worst cases I snap at some point and react badly and in a way that may surpise the outside observer – after all I agreed to whatever was agreed.

NO!

I’ve decided to move with the theme “No” for this year. I will say no to things that don’t align with my values, drain too much energy or just annoy me.

I haven’t planned out what are all the ways I will tackle this but part of it will be very simple things that I will get rid of. Part of it will be working on my boundaries. I don’t want to lose my ability to engage new things and find new people. On the other hand, I believe there will be better things and more profound connections when I choose better how to guide my attention. I will follow up on my theme later on but how do I get started?

First batch of changes

I selected a list items for the shortlist of things to tackle:

Skritter

I have been using the app Skritter for learning Chinese vocabulary ever since October 2014! It has come time to say goodbye. I still recommend this app to someone building up their vocabulary or preparing for an official language test. But for me, it has become a chore. Its spaced repetition algorithm is very aggressive and I spend time reviewing words that I could use for reading or listening in spoken language. I’ve decided to drop this habit now that the yearly subscription runs out and replace that time with reading and listening. Those activities are much easier to fit into my day and easier to do while in commute or doing something else.

But look at my all time commitment to this app, there were two over 1000 day streaks in there:

Microsoft Office

This doesn’t really drain me and yearly financial cost is not that bad but I’ve decided that I will not continue to pay for MS Office subscription any more. If there will be a project I will actually need Excel, I will just run the subscription while it lasts but other that I will do my best to avoid all that.

Doomscrolling and being always available

I have removed the most time consuming social media from my phone and will continue to monitor the situation. I will keep on monitoring the situation and especially try to make my mornings free of unnecessary exposure to other people’s feelings and opinions. Additionally, I try to limit my bad habit of reacting to notifications. I will have more restrictive focus modes on my phones and try to only check occassionally what is going on.

Other things I’ve identified but with no firm plan

Additionaly things I try to tackle this year that I have no specific plans to address yet:

• Ads
• Random stuff floating around my table tops
• Maintaining stricter limits on my work availability

There will be more for sure.

Conclusion

I think part of this theme will be to more clearly articulate to myself:

• what I want
• what I my values
• what are my actual, actual values that I follow even when it is hard
• what are my personal boundaries

I will reflect and work on it myself but will also utilize the wonderful people in my life.

This theme could have also been called “intentional yes”, “clarity” or perhaps “energy protection” but I like the simplicity and clarity of simple “no”.

More on yearly themes

If you prefer text you can read Yearly Themes Instead of Resolutions introductory text on yearly themes or if you are of the video generation watch CGP Grey on yearly themes and resolution

”The most beautiful vintage 1990’s lamp”

No

angrily pushing stuff off the table.gif

How do freelancers and maybe small-scale SaaS service stewards handle copywriting? Who do you trust to write your marketing copy?

I can handle Finnish myself, but I strongly believe that copy text is a job for a professional writer who is native speaker of the language

I am entertained by multitude of weight-loss ads I am subjected to in Instagram, especially that promise me major gains by walking less than I do on a regular day. I wonder what is the base level if 30 minutes of treadmill walking would do anything to you? (And yes, walk if you can, it is good)

I couldn’t have a cat because I am so weak and easy to manipulate (just ask my kids).

”Oh, little kitty you are starving (again), poor thing 🥺. Yes, we haven’t had the fourth breakfast today. Here you are”

Year in review 2025

This is my year in review post for 2025

Theme of the year 2025: Focus

I wanted to make conscious choices of my time. I wanted to concentrate on creating and actively doing. Professionally I wanted to concentrate on the things I am really good at. In personal life I wanted to have more concious choosing where I spend my time. Here are some things that I specifically wanted to concentrate on:

• Learning Chinese – I use apps like Skritter and Du Chinese to keep up my language learning habit. I also try to follow Chinese language podcasts and watch Chinese language TV shows to improve my understanding of the spoken language

• Playing piano – I started this in January 2024 and wanted to keep on doing it and slowly improve and most of all have fun while doing it

• Reading books – tried to go out of my comfort zones a bit but ended up in my happy place – cozy, optimistic sci-fi

• Writing my journal – wanted to build a habit both personally and professionally writing down things the old fashioned way using fountain pen and paper

• Creating order in to the universe – this is mostly gardening and organizing home but also some health and mental health stuff (more of that later)

• Anything creative that is not just passive consumption

• Resting – putting aside moments for just lying down in the hammock and be present with the universe

• Exercise

And things I didn’t want to choose or tried to do far less than before

• Doomscrolling

• Being subjected to content choices of someone else, be it a human or an algorithm of any kind. Especially I tried to weed out AI slop out of my life

• Excessive following of the news

Report card

I think I did pretty well on the positive side of the theme. I filled up a journal book almost to the last page. I filled up four draftbooks with my doodles and drawings. I often spent an hour in the morning concentrated in drawing and writing. Surprisingly, that ate away time for reading and piano playing – there was far less spent time doing those but I guess it is inevitable with a limited time budget someone working full time (or a bit more) has. I use Forest app to track concentrated time and limit distractions and I think this is a satisfactory result.

Professionally I’ve been much more conscious about my time and made peace with what modern software development at enterprise customers is. I can choose my thoughts and I can imprint my choices to the software I create. Yes, there are LLMs there but whatever I release is my responsibility. And! I want to consciously know how to do things myself. These giant indeterministic calculators need human oversight and some good quality software will still be written by humans.

On the other side of the coin, I still often start my mornings by checking Bluesky and the news and start off day slightly agitated. This is something I will try to address 2026. There must be better ways to start your day than read about swings wildly at what is going on in the world. I don’t want to block out what is going on in the world and I want to be active part of building the better world. I am however convinced following the world with the speed of breaking news is not beneficial to me or actually a way to make things better.

Health and Mental Health

This year I’ve been very active making sure all the health issues that got postponed or completely forgotten during the covid years were finally taken care of. I also finally got into therapy to address my anxities. I am healthier than I started the year 2025 and I am much, much attuned to my feelings. My bad habit of ignoring or suppressing “bad” feelings has not been good for someone very good at catastrophizing. Also, it seems a lot of what I thought was anxiety was actually physical symptoms of something I had ignored. Better treatment of my existing conditions lead to better mental health.

I still have a lot to learn about myself and especially on how to control my body’s reactions to my stronger feelings but now I least have a map and person supporting me.

I added yoga to my physical routines and I have dabbled a little in meditation. My gym routine is strong and I feel very good right now. It has not been true for me always – someone living with multiple chronic diseases. Happy to feel good right now knocks wood

2025 – Year of love

Year was filled with love. I started the year dating someone, that didn’t last but was a good relationship. Like last three years I dated actively and in May I met someone I fell in love and was very happy with. Even if that relationship ended (for reasons I will not go to), I am super happy about how it filled my year with passion, friendship, laughter, and companionship. Nothing makes you happier than meeting someone that appreciates your quirky side.

I finally figured out that ethical non-monogamy is my choice. I’ve been dating people for last three years actively after break up from my second major relationship. Honesty and openness is something that is I value above all.

Watched: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 🍿

long time no see. Still such a lovely adaptation and a great cast. And many of the visual effects still holding decently. Balrog is impressive

If you start playing Twisted Sister’s We’re not Going to Take it at 11:48:42pm today, the first thing you’ll hear in 2026 is ”You’re all worthless and weak”

I hope I am doing this internet memetics thing correctly

(Happy new year, this is my yearly shitpost to celebrate)

Currently reading: Taru Sormusten herrasta 1: Sormuksen ritarit (tarkistettu suomennos) by J. R. R. Tolkien 📚

Reading Lord of the Rings for Christmas again

Finished reading: The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Older 📚

I’ll just quote my review for the first part here with two more comments:

1) the living between the rings of Jupiter and its moons is a great backdrop for these stories. I’d read full on fictional non-fiction books of what happened

2) I wish the romance bits were steamier but this couple is very🔥

Watched: Nouvelle Vague 🍿

I might not be enough of an movie nerd to get all the references but yes, it is a perfect movie. Fun, smart, and makes me want to visit Paris again

Currently reading: The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Older 📚

Finished reading: The Anxious Person’s Guide to Non-Monogamy by Lola Phoenix 📚

If there was a book for me right now, it is this. Loving and emphatetic, sometimes hard to follow but definitely worth a read

Finished reading: The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older 📚

Steps to make a cozy detective mystery interesting:

1) make setting interesting, say, human colony on platforms between the rings of Jupiter ✅

2) make me care about the characters. Even better, make them lovable and to have shared sexual tension ✅

Mission accomplished

Norwegians have a weird sense of what is edible

Currently reading: The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older 📚

Watched: Zombieland 🍿 🤘

Watched: Sinister 2 🍿

here we go again 😰

Watched: The Last of Us S1E3, Long, Long Time 🍿

yes, I watch this if I need to cry. This episode and movie Coco – always work 😭

Watched: Sinister 🍿

My kids made me watch this and I don’t how I am going to sleep in anytime soon

Happy fountain pen day to everyone!

It is wet, gray, and warm in Helsinki. Capturing the beauty of it is hard but not impossible