Review of 2024

What did you do in 2024 that you'd never done before?

Assessed four doctoral thesis and one habilitation thesis. Took part in a national grant evaluation panel. Travelled on a party boat. Was certified C2 in a language that isn't my native one.

Just liked this sunset; no real significance to it.

Did you keep your New Years' resolutions?

Didn't have any.

Do you have any resolutions for next year?

No.

Did anyone close to you give birth?

No.

Did anyone close to you die?

No, luckily.

What countries did you visit?

UK, France, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, Belgium, Romania, Moldova, Norway. Two new countries, namely Finland and Moldova; not as many as last year, though in fairness that was a very high bar.

What would you like to have in 2025 that you lacked in 2024?

More time and energy for hiking.

The Black Forest, from a hike with T.

What date(s) from 2024 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

No special dates.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Carrying out a successful hiring process for a new permanent colleague in English linguistics in Konstanz.

What was your biggest failure?

Losing another expensive hat.

Did you suffer illness or injury?

I had a number of colds and a fair few headaches, but nothing worse than that.

What was the best thing you bought?

In terms of physical items: a new television. In terms of experiences, and overall: my trip to Moldova.

A Moldovan beer on a Moldova train.

Whose behaviour merited celebration?

Once again, my wonderful doctoral students, three of whom graduated this year with excellent dissertations – well done Gemma, Katharina and Raquel!

A stellar cake for a stellar STARFISH student.

Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?

People who thought that voting for a convicted criminal, ethnonationalist and enabler of fascists and conspiracy theorists would make anything better.

Where did most of your money go?

Travel of various kinds.

What did you get really, really, really excited about?

I was pretty excited by Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which, while not as bad as people have been making out online, wasn't stellar either.

What songs will always remind you of 2024?

Lana Del Rey, Video Games

Midas Fall, Cold Waves Divide Us

Compared to this time last year, are you:

Happier or sadder? Sadder, I think. But 2023 was exceptionally happy.

Thinner or fatter? About the same.

Richer or poorer? Richer.

What do you wish you'd done more of?

My non-screen-related hobbies, like hiking and painting miniatures.

Lakeshore near Friedrichshafen.

What was the most embarrassing thing that happened to you in 2024?

Probably the aforementioned hat incident.

Who did you meet for the first time?

Well, you know who you are.

What was your favourite TV programme?

Brooklyn 99, which I powered through in its entirety. I also enjoyed Benioff & Weiss's adaptation of Three-Body Problem more than I thought I would.

What was your favourite film of this year?

My Neighbor Totoro, with an honourable mention for In Bruges.

A photo I took in Bruges. It has nothing to do with the movie.

What was the best book you read in 2024?

A Visit from the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan.

What was the best game you played in 2024?

Assassin's Creed Mirage was a disappointment, as was Dragon Age: The Veilguard (though that was largely because my hopes for it were extremely high). Life is Strange: Double Exposure met my expectations, but didn't exceed them; Jedi Survivor was a very long and enjoyable game. Nothing tops Baldur's Gate 3, however, which I completed at the start of this year.

What was your greatest musical discovery?

New albums by Frost* and Pure Reason Revolution.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2024?

New brown faux-leather jacket.

Me and a wheel.

What kept you sane?

Meisterbäckerei Schneckenburger.

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

We had a guest speaker at Konstanz, the excellent J., with whom I went to dinner in the evening at one of my favourite local restaurants (along with other friends). I was 39, an uninteresting age by any metric.

How did you spend Christmas?

With my parents and my brother, the estimable M.

The Walkdens at Weihnachten.

What would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Getting another ERC grant... but that was too much to expect, and at least one truly excellent person did get one in my category this year, so I'm not unhappy.

What political issue stirred you the most?

The war in Ukraine, still ongoing, still thousands of casualties per day.

Who did you miss?

People like K. in Bergen and D. and F. in Edinburgh who happened to fall ill when I was visiting – really bad luck. Conversely, though, it was great to catch up with C. in Krakow, J. in Konstanz, a different J. also in Konstanz, yet another J. in Leiden, A., L., W., L., R., N., H., and several other lovely people in Ghent, C. and K. in Oslo, a different K. in Bergen, and more.

Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

I don't think so, though my opinion of some has soured.

Was 2024 a good year for you?

Yes, it was fine, though not as outstanding as 2023 on a personal level.

What was your favourite moment of the year?

This is really hard to say, as ever. I had a good day of striding round the Moldovan countryside.

River valley near Trebujeni.

It was lovely also to visit the goats on Mt. Fløyen. 

Friendly goat.

And to explore the picture-perfect spa town of Bad Lauchstädt with my mum.

Park in Bad Lauchstädt.

And despite the ups and downs of the tip as a whole, it was nice to catch up with D. in Stockholm and Helsinki.

View from the boat.

What is a valuable life lesson you learned in 2024?

I never remember my previous life lessons, so I'm reluctant to write anything here. But perhaps this: others' achievements can often mean more to me than my own.