Well, the trip to the in-laws didn't happen on the 29th as I went down with a particularly bad bout of IBS — and am still recovering. It's not been this bad for quite a while. Consequently, I'm not sure if I'll make it to midnight to see in the new year.
The end of 2024 already.
It's gone past in much of a blur thanks to my ongoing mental health and autism/ADHD realisations. I don't know when I'll hear anything else on that front but I imagine they'll see me as more of the latter.
There's not much point doing a retrospective so I just want to look ahead a little.
My word for next year is going to be patience:
- with others
- with myself
- with writing
- with music
- with sharing stuff before it's ready
I've said so many times over the years that I need to slow down. I think 2025 is the right time to give it a proper go.
In a couple of days I'm back at work full time; my phased return ended before Christmas. I'll need to learn to say 'no' and have asked my manager to clearly state priorities with what I'll be doing. One thing at a time, choose the order and let me stick to it.
Musically, I've rushed things, gotten them to a point then pushed them out into the world even if they weren't truly ready. I've uploaded ideas to SoundCloud but not been able to finish them.
I need to resist my first impulses.
I've got more gear with a wider sonic palette so need to take my time with it, truly learn each synth to maximise it's potential. I've wanted to do as much as close to 'live' as possible but need to recognise when recording something that sampling, layering & processing might serve me better.
I need the patience to attend to detail and not broad brush strokes. Things don't have to be complicated but they should be more refined.
And that means time.
I have resisted the temptation to blog for the sake of it. That's been obvious with the gaps between posts. I want to increase the cadence but will not force it. There should be a reason to hit the post button beyond just sharing.
Have a great new year and I'll see you on the other side.
