Review of 2025

What did you do in 2025 that you'd never done before?

Turned 40. Visited Vilnius.

Vilnius cathedral in the evening.

Wrapped up an ERC project. Went on a Pride march. Applied for citizenship of a country.

Me having just handed in my application at the Landratsamt.

Did you keep your New Years' resolutions?

Didn't have any.

Do you have any resolutions for next year?

Maybe try to have a healthier lifestyle.

Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes. Congrats to M. and C., who have a very chill baby girl.

Did anyone close to you die?

Sort of. In December, my parents' 19-year-old cat died a quiet death. Jazz had a near-perfectly peaceful, loved life and will be much missed.

The best gift.

What countries did you visit?

United Kingdom, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Lithuania, Denmark, Netherlands, Spain. Doesn't seem like that many in comparison to 2022–4!

What would you like to have in 2026 that you lacked in 2025?

Inner peace.

What date(s) from 2025 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

Nothing etched, this year, except my birthday. But lots of ups and downs.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?

A collective one: getting funding for our Collaborative Research Centre Silence, Noise and Signal in Language. This was a department-wide endeavour, and I am probably not quite in the top five people who put in the most work for it. But it was a substantial amount of work for me and everyone else anyway, and we're very glad to see it pay off!

What was your biggest failure?

Not getting funding for the second phase of SILPAC ("Structuring the input in language processing and change"), a research unit that spans multiple universities. That means that for us it'll end in 2025. We only heard in December, and it's a real blow, since our reviewer comments were almost exclusively positive, and the group was doing really innovative work.

Did you suffer illness or injury?

Not really. Quite a lot of headaches, though.

What was the best thing you bought?

The Bomb Busters board game is pretty good! Though I suppose I ought to say it was my expensive new Mac.

Whose behaviour merited celebration?

Molly Rolf, who defended her exciting, innovative PhD thesis on the diachronic nanosyntax of case.

Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?

Though I wouldn't go as far as "appalled and depressed", I was unimpressed by the antics of some of the EGG old guard.

Where did most of your money go?

My expensive new Mac.

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

Nothing much! But I had a really surprisingly lovely little holiday in the North Vosges.

View from the Grand Wintersberg.

I also got quite excited about series 5 of Stranger Things. In my research I started playing around with ideas about probabilities and language change, and in my teaching I set up a new course, Multilingualism in Medieval Britain, that has hopefully been as fun for my students as it has for me.

What songs will always remind you of 2025?

Comforting Sounds, by Mew. One of my favourite bands at their farewell concert series in Aarhus.

Mew on stage.

Compared to this time last year, are you:

Happier or sadder? Sadder.

Thinner or fatter? Fatter.

Richer or poorer? Richer.

What do you wish you'd done more of?

Walking.

What was the most embarrassing thing that happened to you in 2025?

Being asked for my autograph at a linguistics event.

Who did you meet for the first time?

I got to know our new lecturer in English linguistics, Nadine Bade, who's a great addition to the department both socially and academically.

What was your favourite TV programme?

I watched Bodyguard, Department Q, The Night Agent series 1 and 2, Downton Abbey series 1, and Der Pass series 1. All were entertaining, but not life-changing. Stranger Things series 5 (all but the finale, which isn't out yet) was pretty good, but more entertaining than all of these was Critical Role campaign 4.

What was your favourite film of this year?

I watched Charlie's Angels (2000), John Wick, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Red Notice, The Tourist, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, The Lives of Others, and Men in Black 2. Of those, obviously the best is The Lives of Others, even though it's dull in places.

What was the best book you read in 2025?

In terms of impact and enjoyment over a short space of time, Mick Herron's Slow Horses.

What was the best game you played in 2025?

2025 was a year of replays. The only games I played for the first time were Assassin's Creed Shadows and Age of Wonders 4. AC: Shadows is well constructed and certainly a step up from its rather disappointing predecessor. Age of Wonders 4 is narratively disappointing, as all the AoW games since Shadow Magic have been. I also replayed Cyberpunk 2077 and its expansion Phantom Liberty, which probably takes the title of best game of 2025. Also replays of Dragon Age: Veilguard, Neverwinter Nights 2, and all of the NWN 2 expansions (Mysteries of Westgate, Storm of Zehir, Mask of the Betrayer).

What was your greatest musical discovery?

Blue Foundation.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2025?

Brown fake leather jacket and T-shirt.

What kept you sane?

Olia and Sasha, the two Ukrainians I've been living with for the past three and a half years. They are a grounding influence on me.

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

I was 40, and had a great time: escape room with D. and F., and then a nice afternoon at the St Katharina biergarten with a selection of good people from various phases of my life.

How did you spend Christmas?

Quietly at my parents' place.

What would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Having more energy for reading and thinking.

What political issue stirred you the most?

The ongoing dismantling of higher education across the developed world, which seems to have taken a turn for the worse recently.

Who did you miss?

The usual.

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

No, I wouldn't go that far.

Was 2025 a good year for you?

Not really. It felt like a lot of work and stress for relatively little gain. But it wasn't a bad year either.

What was your favourite moment of the year?

Skirting the iced-over lake to visit the castle at Trakai?

Ice seen from the bridge.

Enjoying the company of excellent friends at St Katharina for my 40th?

Hiking up the Grand Wintersberg in August?

The slopes.

Hard to say.

What is a valuable life lesson you learned in 2025?

Don't overestimate your ability to predict the future.