New phone

I had my old phone for just over two years. It did a good job! But it was showing signs of age. The battery depleted in no time, and it was getting reluctant to respond. It’s annoying if you want to take a picture, or you want to open an e-ticket for train travel, or something like that, and the phone just ignores your touch. That was happening more and more often. I decided to act.

I went back to the same shop where I had bought the previous one. I just picked out another iPhone SE. Never change a winning team! And it is surprisingly cheap. I got a case with it.

I struggled a bit to transfer my data to it, as I initially did the wrong kind of reset, but after all I managed. And I could take it into use! 

There was one snag. I have an Apple Watch as well, and it is, obviously, linked to my iPhone. I had transferred the connection to my new iPhone. While I was on my way to work, suddenly the watch desperately wanted to connect with the old phone, which obviously it couldn't because it was too far away, and then the whole watch jammed completely. That caused another round of googling when I got home! How to make it snap out of that? And then make it properly connect with the new phone again? But I got it done.

I hope I am set up again for at least two years of content phone use! Watch this space…

Clumsy pic of the two phones

Cat experiment

Cats are strange creatures. I’ve known that for decades. But recently I heard about a new peculiarity. Miles told me that if you demarcate a box on the floor with tape, your cat is likely to sit in it. It originated from, or ended up on, TikTok; find it as well on YouTube. I thought that was typically what a cat would do! And it’s cute as well. So I wanted to try it out myself.

I was aware that my cat is more than average likely to not fall for this. She is a bit strange, and is not interested in sitting in cardboard boxes! And I suppose a box in tape is just a sort of a symbolic cardboard box. But it is still worth the try.

I can confirm that she is indeed not the kind of cat to fall for this! She wasn't interested in going in at all. But it was a worthwhile experiment. And she still a valid cat who likes stealing my chair and chasing laser dots and be indecisive about whether to go out a door or not. And the tape box has been removed again. I'll use the tape again for removing cat hair from the carpet in the master bedroom!

What is this? Doesn't look overly interesting.

Let's sniff it

Or prod at it. Is it a toy? It's certainly not for sitting in. 

New Year's walk

The plan was to start the year with a walk. It would only be the three of us; Martin had visitors and wasn't available. And strangely enough, the weather seemed suitable for a hike on New Year’s Day. Sue and Dean suggested a loop over the Glyders. That sounded great! And I made sure I would have cake. Sue made sure she had pizza.

We parked below Tryfan, and walked up to Llyn Bochlwyd, where I had done my last camping adventure of the old year. It was nice weather. And we continued to the pass between Tryfan and Glyder Fach. From there we took the route I had accidentally not taken the last time. It was the sensible route! And along the way we sat down somewhere to have a hot drink and cake. And that turned out to be a very good idea, as we figured it would be windy on the ridge. And it was! It also got wintry and foggy. This wasn't weather in which to sit down for a break. It was beautiful! But bracing. So we kept walking.

Sunny views early on

Panorama by Dean

On Glyder Fawr it was quite icy. We were careful! We also decided against posing on the cantilever. But when we got to the plateau above the infamous scree slope down to Llyn y Cŵn, the situation improved. It wasn't icy anymore, and the clouds broke up. We could see the lake below us! And the wind abated as well.

Walkers in the mist: GIF by Dean

On the ridge; pic by Dean

Descending the scree slope

When we got to the bottom of the slope we sat down for a rather late lunch. We had surely earned it! And the pizza was really good. 

When we got up for the last stretch it started raining. And it also got somewhat windy again. We descended Devil’s Kitchen, which is beautiful, and got to the more or less flat bit. That was quite calm, be quite wet. We even dug out the picture I had taken a year and a day ago, as we had ended 2022 with just a walk around Cwm Idwal. We took a new one on the exact same location. I had the picture in my hand in the new picture, to create some Droste effect. 

I liked the pic Dean took of me taking a picture more than the pic I took there

Droste effect with NYE 2022 picture; pic by Dean

It turned out we had been protected by the valley. As soon as we took the path back to the road, we were hit in the face quite hard by rain and wind. It was quite uncomfortable to do the last km or so! We were glad we were back at the car. And drove back through pretty horrendous weather.

We had basically had three seasons in a walk only 13 km long. We started in spring, walked straight into winter, and came back in autumn. That's most of the year already done on the first day! 

I think a first day with good friends and beautiful landscapes, and even with good food, is a very good start of the year. Bring on the rest of it!

Looking back on 2023

2023 has come to an end. So what did the year bring for me? In some ways, it was a year quite like the previous one. I was busy with work, and work was an in person thing again, and I still live where I lived and I still have my cat and I still run and all that. So no huge changes.

I suppose too big things that happened were firstly: after a hesitant start in 2022, my dating activities reached a higher gear. And that has not been uneventful! And the other thing is that I had my most successful running year ever.

I started as I intended to go on; January 1st I had a first date that went really well. But it was a bit too good to be true; as Marillion would say: I kissed my prince and found my frog. By February things looked amazing, by March things started falling apart at the seams, and in May he left my life altogether. 

That left a lot of the year for a better attempt, and things were looking good with Tim until he broke his ankle, which completely changed the dynamic. And many other things. But the ankle is on the mend, and 2024 will in all likelihood reveal where that is going. 

When it came to running, I had realised after lockdown that I was faster than I had been before. I enjoyed that. And then 2022, to my surprise, I started winning medals. And in 2023 that has almost became a habit. I won two more bronze medals and a silver one; not a bad score! One was even under unfortuitous circumstances. And I finished as fourth woman in a race where I had taken out time to take pictures. And I also biked to the start. So a medal would clearly have been possible there if I would have tried! I must say that did good things to my ego.

What else was going on? I started two new responsibilities within the school. I became both Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity lead, and Academic Integrity officer. Both are quite some work! But they also both provide opportunities for leadership, and therefore promotion possibilities. 

Work changed quite dramatically anyway; this was the year that higher education felt the full force of ChatGPT. We had to adjust a lot of our assessments because of it. It is never going to go away! We will have to just keep up.

It was also the year that the outrageous gender imbalance in the school of sciences was lessened a bit. We got three new professors in addition to the seven all-male ones we had, and all three were female! That is such a big change. And two of them have already gotten an inaugural lecture in the diary. I will make sure I attend these. It's a big thing for me.

Cave rescue was also busy! I attended three call-outs. There was another one I couldn't attend. And my training as a controller started in earnest. And all that, of course, was in addition to my administrative tasks. I didn't go underground much outside cave rescue; there were some trips with the ladies, but these were few and far between.

I also had a few visitors again in 2023: Monique and Kate. And I went to the Yorkshire Dales with my Dutch hiking friends. Spiffing! 

Something that turned out to be a 2022-only thing was my side gig; no further courses were delivered, and my contract with them has ended.

What was it I said about 2023? I’ve copied that over from last year: 

'So what for 2023? One thing I want to do is improve my general quality of life. I feel like I had a peak in summer 2019. And I want to turn that into a local maximum. And just get the curve to go up again! Preferably past that point. But let's first aim for a positive gradient. I also expect that there will be more happening on the dating front in 2023 than it did in 2022. To be honest, I have no idea if anything is going to happen with Ukrainians or with going underground. Or with boiler replacement. But I do think my role in the rescue team will become even bigger, and I do think I will make moves towards more Welsh provision at university. Which I think is a good thing!

I hope I can restore the cat to her full fluffiness. And I will have to sort out my garden! Some of it is currently a blank slate, and if I don't fill that then voluntary creatures like brambles will.

I also hope that at the end of 2023, I will still be enjoying the company of my hill-dwelling friends! Stay tuned for another year in the life.'

Well, some of that has come true! But not all. My quality of life has remained largely constant. My efforts with therapy have not really paid off yet. Maybe my expectations are a bit high for reasons of my sister. Just one video call with her is always more useful than months of therapy as I have found it so far. But you would think that very effective therapist would be around in this area as well. This quest continues!

What is happening on the dating front I already touched on. Nothing has happened with regards to boiler replacement and Ukrainians. But at least I have now made a decision about how I want to proceed with heating my house in a sustainable way. Stay tuned, as that should happen this year!

I have also indeed taking up bigger responsibilities within the cave rescue team. I am not a controller yet, but it is likely to happen. And I have last year done my first independent statistics practical session with the students. 2024 should bring more of that!

I had partial success with the cat and the garden: the cat still has bald patches, although they are not too bad as they have been. But she still seems to be otherwise happy and healthy cat. The vet isn't too worried about it. And the garden is still beautiful, because its location is so amazing even an untalented gardener like me cannot spoil it, but it is not quite at the level where I wanted to be. But the good news is that the blank slate I mentioned last time is now an appreciated part of the garden. I just put some hardy plants there, and make the effort of removing everything else. The soil is very poor so that is not much work! I enjoy that bed as it is now. It is a big improvement on what it was.

And the last thing I mentioned were my Gerlan friends! I am very glad to say they are still very much around. As I write this, I am already pondering what dessert I will make for our first dinner of the year. 

So what of 2024? I think some of the big things of the year (that haven't been mentioned yet) might be work-related. In this year, I will apply for promotion to senior lecturer. Will that be granted? Time will tell. But then I also have to make a start with applying for a senior fellowship of the Higher Education Academy. I want to do some of that in summer when I have a bit of time. And it will have to be my new functions that provide me with the inspiration for the arguments I will use.

I also mentioned before how much AI has changed my job; I expect developments to go so fast that by the end of the year we will have had to make more adjustments, or at least consider making them. What will AI be capable of when ChatGPT is not one year old but two?

One thing seems a proper old-fashioned New Year's resolution: this year I want to read more books than last year. That shouldn't be hard! I don't read much other than scientific literature and the newspaper… I really love reading books; I just don't seem to have the discipline to make time for it. But this year has already started better, and maybe I’ll managed to keep it up.

Another thing is that this should be the year where I diversify my racing. As I already announced, I will add competitive biking to my repertoire. And I really hope to get a few more (running) medals, as I must say, I quite enjoy winning them!

I probably will need some running success to distract me as I am really worried about all sort of things going on in politics. The UK expects elections, and even though that is a possibility of change for the better; we have seen too often that it can turn out to be a change for the worse. The Dutch will probably get a pretty awful coalition, and I'm scared to even think about the US elections. And how will the situation in Gaza go from here?

And what else? I think otherwise I intend to just trundle on as I have been trundling on in 2023. But I will see whether life throws me any curveballs. Who knows what will come up that I totally don't see coming yet!

Last day of 2023

On the 28th I came home, and it was bedtime when I got there. I was glad I would have some days in which I could just do my normal life. Hang out with the cat, do chores, go for runs… and that almost imperceptibly brought me to New Year’s Eve. 

I started the day well. I went for a coffee with Kate! In Cafe Siabod, which would close early in the year. This was one of our last chances.

When I was there anyway, I went for a run from the café. I just changed into my running kit on the parking lot, and off I was. The start of that run involved retracing my steps from almost exactly a year ago. I had come down that path on my first date with Dave, on January 1st! I thought there was some symbolism in using the last day of the year to reclaim that route.

It wasn't particularly good running day. It wasn't quite as soaking wet as the day before, but it was still wet and windy. But that was okay! I ran to the top of the path, from where it drops down to Llyn Crafnant. From there the path isn't very good, so not too suitable for running, hence that I turned back.

When I got home I needed a shower and lunch. And then I set to work on something I should have done quite a while ago. I still hadn't used my new saw! And it was about time. I didn't really want to go into the new year without having at least tried it. So I rolled out an extension lead and checked if I remembered how the whole thing works. And the answer is: insufficiently!

It is a powerful piece of kit, so I didn't want to underestimate it. I went back in, downloaded the user manual, printed it out, and had another look. And I did some trial sawing. It is quick and versatile!

I would start the year with a walk with Sue and Dean, and a walk is not complete without cake. And I didn't have cake. So I left my saw behind again, and went to the kitchen. And when the cake was done it was time for dinner.

After dinner I did what I often do then: sit in the comfortable chair by the fire, often joined by the cat. Then I read, or do something on my phone. I had brought out a very nice beer to festoon the occasion. It was nice and warm and the cat was very comfortable. A good evening!

I went to bed way before midnight. That was 2023! Now bring on 2024. God knows what that will bring…

Trip back home

Coming back from the Netherlands by train tends to be quicker, but more stressful, than going there. The difference is where I need to get through security and passport control. On the way out that happens in London. The first stop after London, after all, is in the EU. So I make sure to book my trains to London in such a way I have plenty of time on St Pancras.

On the way back, all this has to happen in Brussels, as that is where I board a train that takes me out of the EU again, and back into the UK. Nobody wants to check me for anything in Amsterdam! I can just pootle to Belgium without anyone being interested in that. But if I buy my tickets, I buy them in one go, and they always only offer an itinerary that has about an hour in Brussels. And that’s a bit tight when anything goes wrong! But it does mean I can rock up in Amsterdam minutes before the train departs, spend only an hour in Brussels, and can just jump on the first train north from Euston once I get there. That’s quite efficient! 

This time I took the train that gave me 20 minutes changing time in Amsterdam, which was fine. We reached Schiphol without issues. But before Rotterdam the train came to a halt. An announcement said there was an issue with the overhead cables. Oh dear. 

My view when we were standing still between Schiphol and Rotterdam

After a while we get moving again. Train personnel kept us well-informed. And they went through the train, checking how many of us wanted to go to London. They counted 96. (Wouldn’t they just know from Eurostar bookings?) and when we approached Brussels, they said our connecting train would wait. But we had to be quick!

I made sure I was quick. There were Eurostar employees strategically placed to guide us in the right direction. I was one of the first ones at the ticket gates. One of the first through security. And the first through passport control, and the first on the train. Success! And it would leave 30 minutes late. Maybe they could catch up a bit along the way.

To my surprise, we were fed! I had made sandwiches, but we got quite a good meal. I went for the vegetarian option. Very snazzy! I also had a seat  in a row only one seat wide, so the advantages of both window and aisle seat. 

Impressive food

We got to London St Pancras with that same 30 minutes delay. I walked to Euston, hoping to be able to catch a direct train home. And I soon realised my luck had run out.

Disconcerting results when I checked for trains from Euston I could catch

There were no trains on the light board. An announcement spoke of serious delays in quite a lot of London for reasons of the emergency services dealing with an incident. I spoke with a railway employee, and his best advice was to make my way to Marylebone, and head to Birmingham from there. That’s roughly in the right direction. 

Bad news on the monitor

I wondered if I could walk, but I would need Google Maps for that, and it looked like the station’s signal was crammed full of other frustrated travellers. I would just take the underground. I headed down the stairs, and found a patient TfL man willing to tell me with which line I needed on what platform, and how I could pay the fare. And I got there. Marylebone was filled to the brim with travellers like me. But it did have a train to Birmingham Moor Street. That seemed to be my best bet. 

The train was not run by Avanti, from whom I had bought my ticket, but in Euston already announcements claimed that that day, a lot of rail companies would accept each other’s tickets. So I was let through the ticket gates, onto the platform. 

This train was many people’s best bet. Getting on the train reminded me of stories about the Tokyo Metro. It seemed full, but more people kept cramming in. At least it left. And there was a spirit of solidarity among the travellers.

Busy!

I had found out my next best bet was to walk to Birmingham New Street. There seemed to be a train to Crewe from there. That vanished from existence. I briefly saw a train to Holyhead announced. That also vanished from existence. A railway employee recommended the train to Aberystwyth, which would stop in Shrewsbury. That would get me again a bit closer to my goal. 

Birmingham was busy! And the station imposing. I found some chairs and had an improvised evening meal. 

Approaching Birmingham New Street on foot

The platform for my train was worryingly busy. Would this be another Tokyo situation? But it was ok. I found a place to sit. And at the first few stops, many people got out, so there was room to spare. And it got better; the train was nominally going to Aberystwyth, but in Shrewsbury it got split, and my carriage continued straight to Bangor. Good! 

I should originally have arrived there at 19:37. The train I was actually in had an ETA of 21:52. And actually arrived at 22:00.  Oh well. That’s 14 hours of travel. Only two hours worse than on the way out! 

Christmas in the Netherlands 2023

I had been nervous about whether I would make it at all this Christmas, but all went well! My mum looked surprised when I walked in. She didn’t expect me so early! My Christmas visit had started. But I went to bed early, still having quite a cold.

I went to Monique. Together we went out into the pouring rain to walk the dog. In the evening we did some games that Mike won. Before another early night! And in the morning I did my ankle physiotherapy exercises. The dog looked puzzled. What on Earth was I doing? But then she decided it didn’t matter, and she just joined in. So cute!

Triple selfie

 

I also went to my dad for Christmas dinner. I was the first to arrive. Soon after my nephew David appeared; he would be shared chef with my stepmother Joke. I went for a nice walk with my dad. Later all other guests appeared: my sister with the entire family, including father in law. My niece had brought dessert. And we went for a walk again. Because we could! 

Dinner pic

My dad’s house is easily big enough for all these guests, but whether the dining table would be remained to be seen. It was! It was tight but we did it. It was a good family meal.

I spent Boxing Day with my mum. We went for a walk too! I still didn’t go for a run, as my cold had lost most of its power, but not all of it. And we celebrated by drinking bockbeer (at my request). 

Beautiful Amersfoort

The last day was for cousins. When I’m in the Netherlands we try to meet up with as many of my generation as we can muster. And this time we had a good score! Six in all, with one being a partner. We met in Amsterdam, as my westernmost cousin joined for the first time. It was really good to see everyone! And we made sure to make plans for the new year’s family reunion. 

When we were done my sister said she wasn’t in a hurry, and suggested tagging a cinema visit on. And I thought we might as well. My mother had been feeling a bit under the weather, and had gone to bed. I figured she would feel obliged to entertain me if I would be at her place. Maybe best to come home later and let her sleep! So we went. 

We saw the latest Wim Wenders: Perfect Days. It was a beautiful film! And then we went back to the train east.

Amsterdam Noord under a dramatic sky

I had one last evening with my mother. That was nice! And then it was time to go home again. Back to the cat! And back to my normal life. I will be back!