Happy New Year!
It is the morning of New Year’s Eve here in western Canada. There is more than a foot of snow on the ground, but the sky is a clear blue. A beautiful last day to a volatile year.
We spent the first months unable to leave Iki Island due to travel restrictions. I made a big breakthrough in my book. We made plans to move to Osaka and put the kids into international school. Then we had to undergo an emergency international move under pandemic conditions. My father passed away suddenly. I think I found my purpose in life. We had to settle into a new house in a new community, new schools and finally a new job.
It was all too much, and we have no space for all the reflection here. So I will close out with some final lists. Apologies as I assume your inbox is already full of year end roundups, so here is another one to throw onto the pile, as we say goodbye to 2021.
I wish you health and happiness in 2022.
/ck
🖋 From the Blog
2021 in Books
Good reading year for me this year. Six of my forty were for
New writing elsewhere, by me (2021 edition)
Roundup of pieces I wrote for other publications this year. Not as many as I would have liked, but more than 2020 so I will mark it up as a win.
Top 5 viewed posts on the blog this year:
- Sudden Goodbyes
- Why Iki?
- Journaling Part 2: The Daily Note and Morning Pages
- My year on Ikijima, a remote Japanese island
- Marking 1 year on Iki
🧭 Elsewhere
My review of “unlikely nun” Setouchi Jakuchō’s Places. Link →
Gorgeous 90 sec Ultra HD clip of Iki Island. I miss that place! 😢 YouTube →
This thread between Dan Savage and Cory Doctorow on tech privacy vs convenience is a MUST read 👀 Link →
The government reaction to the pandemic in 4 words Link →
Xmas day marked the 30th anniversary of the end of the USSR. The moment was captured with a punch. Link →
Imagine traveling behind the Iron Curtain in the 80s to teach Buddhism?! Amazing podcast interview. Link →
📖 What I’m Reading
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
(32% Complete)
His writing is so fluid, he just brings you along. I have only previously read Remains of the Day, which I loved, and I think I will love this book too.