Month-in-Review Highlights: January 2024
Our part of Lausanne, down by Lake Geneva (which you can somewhat discern in the background) got a surprising about of snow in early January. We don’t usually get more than a dusting, which doesn’t stick long. Lausanne, Switzerland. January 10, 2024.
I postmortem each month shortly after it ends. Previously, I used these posts to hold myself accountable on progress toward my annual goals. Starting in January 2023, I broadened these posts to address more generally my observations and experiences for the month. (To read previous months’ reviews, click here.)
Brace yourself while I express something wholly conventional:
My, do the years pass quickly.
Somehow, January ended. Felt long in some ways, sure, but mostly shockingly short. Nonetheless, I got a lot done and made a good start on tackling my 2024 objectives.
Side note: A few weeks back, my husband made a comment about our eligibility for citizenship here in Switzerland in “only five years” and all I could think was how the time’s passing too quickly as it is for me to anticipate the zip-by of five more years of this too-short blip of an existence.
Anyway, so this progress I made in 2024. What’d it look like?
I kicked my own tail to get through another heavy-duty revision of a novel I finished way back in 2022, sending the revised manuscript to two readers for feedback before I call the latest version done and decide whether to send it out to agents again for consideration. I still like the story and I think it’s enjoyable and perhaps insightful—certainly more so than other manuscripts I’ve written and decided had no role other than as a file on my hard drive after having served as a good writing exercise—yet the person who created the piece never really knows how it comes across to others until others let them know. I’ll make my decision based on what my wise readers have to say.
(By the way: I joked recently with a few writers that each time someone offers to read a writer’s work in draft, a fairy gets its wings. They all laughed because they all know exactly what I mean. All this to say: If you’re ever open to reading a draft of something, hey hey, let me know.)
This means I can now start in on the other writing projects I have on my plate, including mapping a novel idea I have that I’d like to draft next year and working through the revision process on the novel manuscript I finished last year.
Now that I have some traction with the actual writing again after such a long hiatus to focus on my marketing agency, I really need to build back my writing and publishing network. Toward that end, I’ve signed up for several workshops and seminars and have even booked attendance at several literary festivals this year. (And if you know anyone in publishing I could connect with, please let me know.)
On the less exciting side, I also got into the nitty-gritty with all sorts of financial things (managing financial things across two countries makes for an interesting challenge). An objective for this year is to clarify a few open questions.
Otherwise, I failed miserably at using my French much in the real world in January. Unlike my native language, my acquired language gets very rusty very quickly when I don’t use it very regularly. And alas, when it comes to going beyond the basics—simple conversations in stores and with service providers—opportunities can be hard to find. My best luck so far has been through volunteering activity, which I didn’t have much time for in January. Back to it in February, then.
But! To end on a high note: I did get to a museum exhibition, and even had a friend join me. I realized at the end of the year how much I missed museums after having somewhat neglected them late in 2023, so I’ve made it a goal to get to one museum or cultural event per month in 2024. Could be a tall order, but at least it’s a fun one.
And here we are in February. A leap year, too. I suppose I should be happy to have one more day in the year, but for some reason I find leap years discombobulating. I’m not a fan, though I can’t quite discern or articulate why.