After my looking back on 2021 post, I thought I'd write about what I'm looking forward to next year and maybe set some rough goals. So I don't forget what my goals are, I'm going to put (some) of them on my Now page.

Health and running always appears on the list of stuff I'd like to do more regularly. Rather than set a distance goal, which would probably be a bit too ambitious, I'm going to set a simpler goal: 100 runs next year. That works out to about 2 runs per week. Doable. And it should be habit forming. Should I surpass it earlier in the year than anticipated, I might adjust it higher.

There's a lot I'd like to get done in Tanzawa next year. On the top of my list is strava integration (to track my runs :) ), theming, and some better instructions / deployment options. Oh and proper photo posts. It would also be great to actually get a site (Tanzawa powered or otherwise) up on tanzawa.blog, since I've owned the domain for about a year now.

I can't really say what, but I'm really looking forward to this next year at Octopus in Japan. This first year has been in build mode and this next year is launch mode.  We're going to make some big strides in growing green electricity in Japan and the team we've got is really good and getting better (We're hiring - join the fun!).

It's been a long 2 years with the pandemic. I'm hoping we can find some time to travel in Japan a bit and let Leo ride his first Shinkansen. Not sure on the destination yet. Maybe somewhere I haven't been before.

This isn't entirely under my control, but I would like to visit America. I haven't back since I moved back to Japan in early 2017. And with Leo being almost 4 and having only met 3 members of my family (my brother and mom I flew out here on separate occasions, my younger brother just happened to be studying abroad in Japan when Leo was born).

I may be starting (or resuming?)  a new tradition with another year in review post ( 2020 ).

2021 was a good year.  This post is a highlight of all of the good things that happened this year.

Tanzawa
This year started with a sprint of programming and blogging. I first showed Tanzawa to the world on January 3rd. Over the course of the next couple months, I built  it up enough to support various indieweb protocols and got it to the point where I could import my Wordpress blog data. A few months after that I worked up the courage to open source it. And since then I've been iterating on it when I have the chance to add fun features like trips and plugins.

Health
After fretting about which license to release Tanzawa under, I started fretting more about getting vaccinated. I fretted enough about this that I managed to annoy my wife, but that fretting paid off as I got myself and my family vaccinated early. Thankfully we haven't gotten sick (with covid or anything else), knock on wood.

I've never been able to keep running regularly, but this year I've managed to make it more regular. I've done this by not being as strict to myself. I don't have a set schedule, which is useful to beat yourself up with when you miss a run. Instead I just to run 2 to 3 times a week. A "missed" run this week doesn't matter if I plan to continue running for years ago.

Kindergarten
Leo started kindergarten this year. Before it started, we could tell that he was ready to start venturing off a bit. And since he's been going it's also released a lot of stress at the house. The terrible twos during a pandemic weren't fun (toddlers, amirite?). But he's adjusted to it well and we've got a good rhythm.

I've been able to take days off work and join him on field trips be an active participant in his pre-school life, which has been a lot of fun. I enjoy being able to spend time with him and see how Japanese pre-school life is.

Writing
I got an article published in Web+DB Press about getting started with GraphQL and Django. This is notable, not just as it's in an actual magazine, but that it's in Japanese. This was my second time authoring something in print in Japanese. Without the support of my old company, I doubt I'll be writing anything in print anytime soon.

Climate Change
I changed jobs and joined Octopus Energy. While I expected it to be a good change (as I wouldn't changed jobs otherwise), having a job that lets me use my Python/Django skills and lets me help in the fight against climate change in a real way has been a big positive influence in my day-to-day life.

One aspect of this change has been a new social group, a worldwide network of employees that care about climate change and fighting it. The other, larger aspect, is that I no longer feel this dread about climate change because I am helping to fight it, both in Japan and abroad everyday. Directly in Japan because my work will help increase the adoption of renewables. Indirectly because the work in Japan enables work and investment outside of Japan to further speed the renewable transition.

Joy of Cycling
I've never been a fan of driving. I resisted getting my drivers' license until I was 18 (in the Texas suburbs) and only then I got it because I was forced (no public transit and everything is miles apart). Fun fact: I never completed drivers' education. I did 1 class (of 3) with a teacher in California, which was enough to get my learners' permit. Before completing, I moved to Texas with my learners' permit and used that to convert it into a license (with the 10 minute driving test).

Growing up in southern California I used to ride my bike everywhere. This year was the year that I remembered that. First with a cross-bike. And again with an e-bike mama-chari (Panasonic) I used to putter around town and take Leo to and from Kindergarten. Not only does each ride save emissions I may have emitted from a car. But each ride, no matter the weather, I've got a smile on my face.