2023 was an odd year for me. My wife's US visa still did not come through, which has really had a huge negative impact on both of our lives. It's been a lonely year for both of us. On the other hand, I was converted from a contractor to an employee at the company I've been working for since August 2022. Here's why that is really special: I'm just shy of 70 years old. I'm working on bleeding edge IT projects. The company told me I am considered mission critical. How many people my age does that happen to? The recognition was great, and I am filled with even more gratitude that at this age my mind and body still function reasonably well (not a small thing when one considers the life I've led). I don't take this for granted, not even for a second. Aside from that, being alone in Austin for the past year and a half, my joy has come from meals I've eaten, media (film, TV, music) I've consumed, and also getting two business trips to Germany (had never been there) and one to Beijing (hadn't been there in almost 20 years). So actually, 2023 wasn't perfect but it was a pretty freaking good year!
Our Christmas 2023 miracle was when my husband (80 and otherwise in excellent health) walked out of the hospital under his own power after 4 days. On Dec 15, a routine cardio angiogram discovered he has a "saddle" pulmonary embolism (SPE). It's a clot that gets stuck where the main pulmonary artery branches off into a Y-shape to go into each lung. An ambulance to ER directly from the imaging center and many tests immediately followed the discovery.
To the surprise of his medical team (and us), they discovered his body had already adapted to the SPE, which has been in place for at least a couple months with no symptoms. Most of the time an SPE is fatal because it blocks breathing. But not in his case. No surgery or procedures were needed, just a powerful ant-coagulant while in the hospital.
It will take several months for the "usual" clot-busting process of the body to break up the SPE. Despite that, with his doctors' blessings, he resumed normal life immediately, albeit with a new RX for an ongoing anticoagulant. The clot poses no threat.
With pure gratitude and no mere schmoozing your books and newsletters are one of the very best things of my year Austin. I look forward to every one and am never disappointed. My son was home visiting and shared he was feeling uninspired/a little blah about where he was ‘at’. I shared your book Keep Going and it was exactly what he needed. (So much so that he took it home with him and keeps it on his desk so I must buy myself a new copy!) For Christmas, I bought two copies of Steal Like An Artist Journal so we could do it ‘together’ from California and Texas. Thank you my muse!!
For almost the first half of 2023, I traveled western Europe with my husband and kid as my husband did research for a Fulbright Award: Amsterdam, Cologne, Inverness, Glasgow, Dublin, London, Paris. The whole experience was challenging and also wonderful. But one little thing in particular that made my year: we stayed in Le Vésinet, a garden city suburb of Paris. To get into the city, we had to walk from our little guest house to the RER train station. And along that walk was a boulangerie. So every day, when we came home from the city, we would stop in there and get a baguette, a loaf of campagne bread, and some croissants. It was lovely.
Anyone who wants to know about what it means to live for the moments in their lives needs to read your list. When they are done, they need to go back and read it again! This was awesome Austin, thanks for sharing! A couple of my favs from 2023....Started practicing Qi Gong every day...and a recent trip to Paris....we walked over 50 miles during the ten days we were there!
Well. A VERY big year for me. At 72 years old, I remarried after being single for 21 years after being divorced . To my best friend and another demented individual (like myself). JK we’re just very similar in a darkly funny way. I retired from my last job as a Prison Medical Director; the job was as soul-sucking as you would imagine but the problem was not the inmates, it was the system and the slowness of the incarceration machine. It’s a book in itself…A bright light is that now I can paint every day and be more present for my family and friends and travel! I missed scuba diving this year!
Love ya, Austin! I look forward to every email from you and everyone wonders why I laugh out loud (cringe)!
My favorite part of 2023 - was seeing synergy in motion. By being a paid subscriber to your blog, I got to be part of the event you did with Beth Pickens, whose books I had read previously and absolutely enjoyed, which led me to joining her Homework Club, and through that became part of an Accountability Pod. Our group met on Zoom for the first time a couple of weeks ago and getting to know those three other incredible artists and learn more about the work they create has been such a boost to my own work.
I always wanted to learn how to dance and started a weekly jazz dance class in 2022. I quickly realised that I was going to have to work and practice harder than others in the class - it just doesn’t come as naturally to me. In March 2023 we performed on stage in front of about 400 people. I loved every minute of it! I also felt proud as I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes 9 years ago aged 35 and the logistics of dancing on stage with an insulin pump and managing blood sugars was a worry. It all worked out fine. Class starts again next Monday and I can’t wait to get going again!
The best thing for me in 2023 has been my phoenix-marriage. Getting back together after a few months apart and learning how to love my man with unconditional love. Seeing all that is great about him instead of nitpicking. I am so grateful that we gave this a try!
Two things that made (or continue to make) my year:
Your 2021 post on dates stamps inspired me to get two (!) date stamps in 2022, and I just love using them.
In 2023 you sent me on a quest to find a good working typewriter. While I was looking, out of nowhere, Katie, in one of my creative communities, offered a free box of Kitchen Check pads to the group. Karma at work! I took her up on it. Then I found my Smith Corona Galaxie typewriter (working but needs cleaning, which I'll get around to) on Etsy. I sent my first Kitchen Check to Katie just before last Christmas.
Thinking my world was coming to an end only to realize I'd been given a second chance at a new career through a force I never would've otherwise taken.
Also, all of your writing, Austin. It brings me such happiness and life. Thank you.
Inspired by your lists I started a “things from the year” notebook in 2023, which was one of the worst in recent memory (personally) -- Somehow I still ended up with more than 100 good / memorable things, so I’m taking that as a sign of something going into 2024.
Reading your list started 2024 off with some good chuckles and "me too's", but the good kind. There's just so much in that list which is such a great reminder of the importance of small moments. One of my highlights of the year was also the loss of a good friend. Losing her wasn't a highlight, but she got very clear about "small moments" and how life is really about how you string all of those together. Her words were a gift that will change the rest of my life. An example off your list is the fencepost being a kind of history museum. And, listening to frogs in the rain. I love listening to frogs. This year, on at least one occasion, I came back in from a mowing attempt of a big pasture and declared I wouldn't do it because there were too many tiny frogs and I just couldn't do it. So it got taller and taller until it was a giant mess. I'm not sure what I'm going to do this year. They are already starting to sing to me.
Dear Austin, I simply like to thank you. I have been reading your newsletter for I don’t know how long now - probably since I saw you talk at the MIT scratch conference some years ago. Even if I don’t feel like being part of the scenius you creating here with these threads (mainly to do with my being French, and not an artist in the place), I just want to say that you have been a great inspiration for me. I have been stealing many of the quotes you share, with the pleasure of an absolute clear conscience, and many more ideas I guess. So please, Keep going.
2023 was an odd year for me. My wife's US visa still did not come through, which has really had a huge negative impact on both of our lives. It's been a lonely year for both of us. On the other hand, I was converted from a contractor to an employee at the company I've been working for since August 2022. Here's why that is really special: I'm just shy of 70 years old. I'm working on bleeding edge IT projects. The company told me I am considered mission critical. How many people my age does that happen to? The recognition was great, and I am filled with even more gratitude that at this age my mind and body still function reasonably well (not a small thing when one considers the life I've led). I don't take this for granted, not even for a second. Aside from that, being alone in Austin for the past year and a half, my joy has come from meals I've eaten, media (film, TV, music) I've consumed, and also getting two business trips to Germany (had never been there) and one to Beijing (hadn't been there in almost 20 years). So actually, 2023 wasn't perfect but it was a pretty freaking good year!
Our Christmas 2023 miracle was when my husband (80 and otherwise in excellent health) walked out of the hospital under his own power after 4 days. On Dec 15, a routine cardio angiogram discovered he has a "saddle" pulmonary embolism (SPE). It's a clot that gets stuck where the main pulmonary artery branches off into a Y-shape to go into each lung. An ambulance to ER directly from the imaging center and many tests immediately followed the discovery.
To the surprise of his medical team (and us), they discovered his body had already adapted to the SPE, which has been in place for at least a couple months with no symptoms. Most of the time an SPE is fatal because it blocks breathing. But not in his case. No surgery or procedures were needed, just a powerful ant-coagulant while in the hospital.
It will take several months for the "usual" clot-busting process of the body to break up the SPE. Despite that, with his doctors' blessings, he resumed normal life immediately, albeit with a new RX for an ongoing anticoagulant. The clot poses no threat.
I'm still stunned and hugely grateful.
With pure gratitude and no mere schmoozing your books and newsletters are one of the very best things of my year Austin. I look forward to every one and am never disappointed. My son was home visiting and shared he was feeling uninspired/a little blah about where he was ‘at’. I shared your book Keep Going and it was exactly what he needed. (So much so that he took it home with him and keeps it on his desk so I must buy myself a new copy!) For Christmas, I bought two copies of Steal Like An Artist Journal so we could do it ‘together’ from California and Texas. Thank you my muse!!
For almost the first half of 2023, I traveled western Europe with my husband and kid as my husband did research for a Fulbright Award: Amsterdam, Cologne, Inverness, Glasgow, Dublin, London, Paris. The whole experience was challenging and also wonderful. But one little thing in particular that made my year: we stayed in Le Vésinet, a garden city suburb of Paris. To get into the city, we had to walk from our little guest house to the RER train station. And along that walk was a boulangerie. So every day, when we came home from the city, we would stop in there and get a baguette, a loaf of campagne bread, and some croissants. It was lovely.
Anyone who wants to know about what it means to live for the moments in their lives needs to read your list. When they are done, they need to go back and read it again! This was awesome Austin, thanks for sharing! A couple of my favs from 2023....Started practicing Qi Gong every day...and a recent trip to Paris....we walked over 50 miles during the ten days we were there!
Well. A VERY big year for me. At 72 years old, I remarried after being single for 21 years after being divorced . To my best friend and another demented individual (like myself). JK we’re just very similar in a darkly funny way. I retired from my last job as a Prison Medical Director; the job was as soul-sucking as you would imagine but the problem was not the inmates, it was the system and the slowness of the incarceration machine. It’s a book in itself…A bright light is that now I can paint every day and be more present for my family and friends and travel! I missed scuba diving this year!
Love ya, Austin! I look forward to every email from you and everyone wonders why I laugh out loud (cringe)!
My favorite part of 2023 - was seeing synergy in motion. By being a paid subscriber to your blog, I got to be part of the event you did with Beth Pickens, whose books I had read previously and absolutely enjoyed, which led me to joining her Homework Club, and through that became part of an Accountability Pod. Our group met on Zoom for the first time a couple of weeks ago and getting to know those three other incredible artists and learn more about the work they create has been such a boost to my own work.
Finally starting that newsletter I've been thinking about forever and discovering people actually want to hear from me. 😀
I always wanted to learn how to dance and started a weekly jazz dance class in 2022. I quickly realised that I was going to have to work and practice harder than others in the class - it just doesn’t come as naturally to me. In March 2023 we performed on stage in front of about 400 people. I loved every minute of it! I also felt proud as I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes 9 years ago aged 35 and the logistics of dancing on stage with an insulin pump and managing blood sugars was a worry. It all worked out fine. Class starts again next Monday and I can’t wait to get going again!
The best thing for me in 2023 has been my phoenix-marriage. Getting back together after a few months apart and learning how to love my man with unconditional love. Seeing all that is great about him instead of nitpicking. I am so grateful that we gave this a try!
Two things that made (or continue to make) my year:
Your 2021 post on dates stamps inspired me to get two (!) date stamps in 2022, and I just love using them.
In 2023 you sent me on a quest to find a good working typewriter. While I was looking, out of nowhere, Katie, in one of my creative communities, offered a free box of Kitchen Check pads to the group. Karma at work! I took her up on it. Then I found my Smith Corona Galaxie typewriter (working but needs cleaning, which I'll get around to) on Etsy. I sent my first Kitchen Check to Katie just before last Christmas.
Love that you named your bike “Rocinante.” I name my inanimate objects after fictional characters too.
My top thing would be getting married! And getting to introduce gooseberries to over a dozen folks. Both were so fun.
Thinking my world was coming to an end only to realize I'd been given a second chance at a new career through a force I never would've otherwise taken.
Also, all of your writing, Austin. It brings me such happiness and life. Thank you.
Inspired by your lists I started a “things from the year” notebook in 2023, which was one of the worst in recent memory (personally) -- Somehow I still ended up with more than 100 good / memorable things, so I’m taking that as a sign of something going into 2024.
Reading your list started 2024 off with some good chuckles and "me too's", but the good kind. There's just so much in that list which is such a great reminder of the importance of small moments. One of my highlights of the year was also the loss of a good friend. Losing her wasn't a highlight, but she got very clear about "small moments" and how life is really about how you string all of those together. Her words were a gift that will change the rest of my life. An example off your list is the fencepost being a kind of history museum. And, listening to frogs in the rain. I love listening to frogs. This year, on at least one occasion, I came back in from a mowing attempt of a big pasture and declared I wouldn't do it because there were too many tiny frogs and I just couldn't do it. So it got taller and taller until it was a giant mess. I'm not sure what I'm going to do this year. They are already starting to sing to me.
Dear Austin, I simply like to thank you. I have been reading your newsletter for I don’t know how long now - probably since I saw you talk at the MIT scratch conference some years ago. Even if I don’t feel like being part of the scenius you creating here with these threads (mainly to do with my being French, and not an artist in the place), I just want to say that you have been a great inspiration for me. I have been stealing many of the quotes you share, with the pleasure of an absolute clear conscience, and many more ideas I guess. So please, Keep going.