How's Your Year Been (2021)

Another year where it felt like the family had its foot on the break, every so often we let go but we were moving at a slow speed.

My wife and 3 1/2 year old have been healthy. We've worked throughout, my wife' hard graft during her education means we are quite comfortable. The year started slowly, lots of hiking but the abscents of trips abroad was hard (relatively compared to what some were going through).

March saw my wife's uncle pass away which was hard, real fun character. His wife and my in laws did lots together for about 40years. Hiking, real ale and trips away - including to the white Isle. Tragically my father in law died 3 weeks after we buried the uncle, it was when we were only allowed a small number of people in the service but their friends lined the streets which was a touch 😭 As the celebrant who did both services said 'this family have had enough, no more please'. My 3 year still talks about his granddad, who dotted on him but we were straight with him and he knows he is not coming back.

Early part of the year we did lots of outdoor kids activities with friends, then managed some socially distanced festival nights which were amazing to get back to what we love. Once travel was allowed we took the mother in law to Portugal, ball ache with missing test result and me not being able to fly but eventually we had an ace holiday. Few holidays in our crappy old caravan which were fun.

July I managed to get to the semi and finals of the football. Watched England a fair bit over the years but pulled away recently. The semi final was one of the best days I have ever had attending football 👌

Friends married in Cyprus August, the wedding was good. Took my mum who baby sat whilst we had the odd night in Ayai Napa. Came home and my sister married the week after which was a small but fun wedding. The week after another friend got married as the back log from last year caught up! Then a 8 days later we took our best friends to Tenerife, 4 adults and 3 kids, to show them where we enjoy around the island.

August to September was brilliantly manic 😎

Since then we have continued with the kids activities, the clubbing has reappeared with a few nights at WHP and locally. After years of being the only person at work who does my role, I've now got someone who is very competent working with me - means I don't feel I have to do everything 24/7. We see my mother in law a few times a week and I'm sure my son is a saving grace for her. She has booked a month in Ibiza early next year to see a relative, who knows maybe we will get out this year.... 😬

Next year, who knows what will happen. We have booked most of February off work to travel in Thailand but not committed to flights yet. We should sign for another BTL property before Christmas so hopefully that goes smoothly. We have lots of weddings planned, son starts primary school which I can't believe 😳😊 Sure it'll be a roller coaster


Love the forum, keep up the good work mods and posters 🙌
 
Start of the year relatively quiet, anxious scared and covid situation was still not great. Was hard to see how we would get out of the mess and if we would be able to travel etc so as everyone was a bit down,

still continued to not have a cigarette so proud if that

Worked from home, saved money , really done nothing

From about June things started to get a little better with covid was starting to feel better and more positive

Booked my flight to go ibiza in July was so excited....thought there was a possibility clubs might be open so I couldn't wait. The week after I booked started to get a bit down again as the number of cases rose in ibiza and I knew that they would not open the clubs
Changed my flight to October

I thought right, I am going stir crazy I need to live my life, enjoy myself and have fun life is too short, so...I thought f*** it I can party in UK and I can see my family

Went In august to Birmingham to see family and friends for a week, after 2 years was so lovely to see them and I am so grateful that they are ok.

Then went to London on the Sunday for junction 2 festival at tobacco dock. Was great to be in London and to party again! Absolutely shitting myself as never been to a festival on my own but the sense of achievement after was SO amazing! Even if I had to do it sober! Had a good time wasn't amazing and wasn't the best festival but was great partying again nethertheless

Now I had the party bug! Spain clubs were still closed I thought f*** it I am going to mind against in London at fabric. Stayed there for 3 days had a great holiday, mind against didn't play deep house of course ugh...but had a good time. Some guy asked if I was an escort ugh...when I told him I am really offended he said sorry and couldn't run off fast enough! Did meet a nice guy in there though who asked me on a date cudnt believe it, a guy asks out a girl out on a date in a club..
Anyway date went well😉

Now October time, I changed my ibiza flight from July to October just in case. Was going to ibiza with my friend we booked hotel ages ago, however when in the UK I convinced her let's cancel won't be the same not wearing a face mask in the club. I then booked flights, bought ticket to go timewarp mannheim on my own. Keep reading this forum and was getting major ibiza fomo. No masks in clubs, I thought f*** it I have to go ibiza. I decided a few days before, very last minute to f*** timewarp off and go ibiza. Didn't tell my friend though i just went haha...she actually took it rather well ha

Well ibiza...went for 3 nights for the closing, stayed in New algarb, never stayed there before was great!
Went amnesia opening was ok really wasn't amazing, musically not the best but was great to be back in ibiza and amnesia.

Dc10 closing was good.
The plan...queue at 2pm..reality when I woke up I thought there is no way I am getting there that early.
Got there at 8pm queued for 3 hours was hell! Would not do that again!

Missed dixon, butch the lot, wanted to see solomon briefly but went in that room and so packed and horribly uncomfortable I had to get out of there and back in the other room.
Waiting for adriatique to play deep house and they didn't ugh...damaian lazarus was great

Now waiting for dc10 nyd which I think will happen fingers crossed, covid in ibiza numbers aren't bad at the moment

Spain haven't closed clubs yet...actually neither have Italy, Greece or Poland

2022
I hope it will be a good year, family and friends will be ok

I fully intend to (if I can) have fun and live...life is too short!

Events planned

Amsterdam dgtl April
Junction 2 Boston manor Park June
Ibiza August
Amsterdam ADE October
South africa November friends wedding
 
I guess it's safe to post now that we are in the last week of the year. Personally, this year was much like last year. My nuclear unit is fine. The boys are strong and growing, and we upgraded to a bigger, nicer spot this past spring. My folks seemed to have aged a bit too much due to covid isolation and Dads advancing dementia condition. Watching that weighs on you. Everything just feels a bit heavier and sluggish overall.

My little YouTube hobby continues to grind along. I should be monitized by the spring.

Another missed IBZ trip in June. Fortunately, we swerved on over to Greece and had a good time (food was great, and I put on 20lb), but I miss the island. The anticipation/ disappointment/ burnout got to me in with the canceled trip, so I have not posted regularly here since. I am slowly checking back more and more, though. I think when some events get announced I may perk up a bit. Hope to be back in June 2022 for about 19 days. Wifey found her great grandpa's birth certificate, so we may become official EU citizens soon potentially meaning even more time on the white isle in the coming years.

I read an article today that said Nostradamus predicted that the earth will get hit by a comet in 2022. If we avoid that, I say we declare victory and plant the flag for best year ever. It's all relative, I guess.

I hope everyone here is having an excellent holiday season and safe, prosperous new year.
 
2021 is one of those years that can't end soon enough. But it's hasn't been too bad for me.

I went to Ibiza for the first time in July 2019. Soon after I booked a 3 week trip to Ibiza for June 2020. As the holiday approached international air travel almost completely stopped, and KLM cancelled my flights. In late summer of 2020 I rebooked the trip for June 2021. Surely the pandemic would be over by then.

But things weren't looking too good towards the end of June 2021. Infection rates were still high, Spain had banned both clubbing and just about every other form of partying, and people had to wear masks outdoors. My plans changed and I intended on rebooking my holiday to 2022. But like a lot of things in life, I put it off to the last minute. However, 4 or 5 hours before my flight was to leave the Norwegian government changed their advice on foreign travel. Suddenly it was "acceptable" to travel abroad, and Spain was now on the green list. Within the space of a few hours I convinced my boss to give me 2 weeks holiday, finished whatever I was doing, and was off. The rest of the story is written about somewhere else on this site.

The short version is that Ibiza was closed when I arrived, the West End was dead, there was no partying, and people were wearing masks outdoors. I still had a nice holiday exploring the island on a road bike, and visiting new beaches and places I hadn't seen before. Apart from illegal villa parties, not much was going on. I had a relaxing time and met a few interesting people. It was such a relief just being on holiday and on Ibiza. San An was now waking up from the lockdown and you could sense that it would soon take off again.

My last memory from Ibiza was at the bus terminal in San An watching the bus to the airport arriving. There were a couple of straight-off-the plane-tourists jumping off the bus. The look on their faces was of pure joy. They knew that they had after a year or two finally made it, and had now arrived in paradise.

When I landed back home, Spain had in the meantime turned "yellow" and I had to spend 10 days in quarantine at home. People at work weren't too pleased.

I had also bought plane tickets to Greece 3 weeks after my trip to Ibiza. So after spending 10 days in quarantine, and after being back in the office for only a week 🤨 it was time to decide if Greece was on or not. Fortunately Greece was now a "green" country, and I jumped on a plane to spend just over 4 weeks in a tent on a beach on a Greek island with the post-hippies. I'm used to at least 30 days in a tent each year, although mainly in the mountains or at surf spots. But in this age of Corona a beach in Greece with cheap restaurants and bars nearby, and lots of friendly Greeks, works out just fine.

When I arrived back home Greece had turned into a "dark red" country, which meant I now had to spend 5 days in hotel quarantine, and then 5 days in quarantine at home. I was however officially "at work" whilst in hotel quarantine, although without a PC or my work mobile. All I had was an ancient non-smart Nokia phone, and an old smart phone with no SIM-card. The hotel did however have wifi.

I was supposed to attend a work meeting at 9 AM the morning after arriving. The IT-geeks at work don't answer the phone before 9 AM. But within 5 minutes they had given me the codes and stuff, I had full access to my emails, had downloaded Teams on the old smart phone, and was in the meeting (on camera) as if I was at home. Hardly anyone noticed where I was. 😉

Towards the end of my stay in hotel quarantine, Kabul suddenly fell to the Taliban, and the Norwegian army were evacuating Afghans to Oslo. Some of them arrived at the hotel where I was staying. I got to speak to one of them, but he hadn't "landed" yet. He was still totally stressed out after his ordeal at the airport in Kabul. One of my regrets of 2021 was not spending more time talking to the refugees from Kabul.

2021 wasn't the year any of us had hoped for. But I got 6 weeks of holiday in the Mediterranean during the summer. I really can't complain about the technicalities and the minor setbacks. Hardly any of my friends made it out of the country at all.
 
Snowy said:
Gavdos. My plan was to camp along the south coast of Crete, and every other day or so do a section of the E4 hiking trail. But I ended up on Gavdos.
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Cool. We stayed in Hora Safakion for a couple of weeks and would look out across the water every day, wondering what the island was like. Almost took a day trip. Looks like I should have... We also stayed in Matala, which has camping and a few hippie hold outs too.
 
Always look out for this thread every year, fascinating to see how people are getting on - sorry for everyone who has had a really tough year and wishing everyone all the best for the year ahead - more positive times hopefully around the corner!

Not been on here loads this year, just dabbled here and there often drawn by the music threads of late but hoping for some more gossip once things start progressing a bit. It has been a relatively steady year for me - work from home saved me a good 3 hours a day of commuting (was 100% at home until June and was back 3 days a week but now we'll wait and see I guess) so like many I have really welcomed the shift in work/life balance and I have been able to spend a lot more time with family. We welcomed a new baby girl at the end of June so wasn't in a mad rush to get back to the clubs or even really able to with a 4 year old around too! Managed Waterworks festival in September which was great fun but thats about it...Will be looking out for a few things early this year and hopefully will be back to normal for the summer - still got Glastonbury booked and will almost certainly be hitting Ibiza in May or October or maybe both!

All the best to all Spotlighters new and old! Hope everyone gets to enjoy a glass of something later and spend some time with loved ones.
 
Well my year kicked off with being depressed. That second lockdown that went from sort of late September 2020 through to March 2021 seriously took its toll. Of course on so many not just myself.

Week after week I were drinking myself to oblivion over a weekend. It started to get out of hand when I found myself drinking an Irish coffee of a Friday afternoon while I was still working to then walking to the local shop completely sloshed to pick up more alcohol. I would find myself in the living room drunk, watching music sets to gone 2am and roasting people on social media.

I drank because it made me feel numb. When I wasn't drunk I had terrible anxiety. There was so much going on in my head. I wanted to achieve so much yet felt hopeless and stuck.

What didn't help was looking at all these influencers swanning off to Dubai with literally no sympathy for others. So I unfollowed. And I actually now to date avoid pretty much anything on social media that doesn't provide me with value and entertainment.

Anyhow whilst I was in this dark place I strangely found myself becoming so much wiser and more educated. I took to reading daily about money, business, finances, property and overall self development.

I then came out of my dark place around March and I felt so appreciative of all the smaller things and with this new found focus and burning desire to achieve so much more in life.

However what wasn't great was I was completely out of shape.
Here is a picture first day back at the gym after 16 weeks of no weights and many many drunken weekends.

PicsArt_06-20-07.58.34.jpg

You could say it was quite an interesting experiment as to be honest I feel considering the length of time not working out and how much I was eating. My body was quite resilient and though I didn't lose too much muscle mass I didn't put on a major amount of fat.

Anyhow roll all the way to September and we were fortunate enough to have got away to Ibiza for a week.

Here me and my girlfriend are over on Formentera
IMG_20210926_101350_162.jpg

I have learnt so much over the course of the past year and I could hand on heart say that the situation for me personally and what covid has done has been more good than harm. I wouldn't change a thing.

I am really excited for 2022 as my main goal will be starting my own company with the plan to purchase my first buy to let property and then many many more there after.

Continue to build on my youtube and instagram page dedicated to motorcycle content

Oh and we are also flying to Ibiza on the 1st of June for two weeks!!

Also I want to say that whilst I don't post very much these days I do typically visit for a quick read from time to time to see what is going on. I hope to actually meet some of you on the island one day.

Best wishes to all on the forum

Cheers
 
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Life of Rye said:
Week after week I were drinking myself to oblivion over a weekend. It started to get out of hand when I found myself drinking an Irish coffee of a Friday afternoon while I was still working to then walking to the local shop completely sloshed to pick up more alcohol. I would find myself in the living room drunk, watching music sets to gone 2am and roasting people on social media.
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This bit really struck a chord with me as went through a spell of starting to drink as soon as I logged off work on a Friday also guilty of late night booze walks of shame to Tesco Express, and then in what seems like 5mins it'd be 2/3am with some random Soundcloud mix on. All fun and games until the morning after...

I've stopped buying booze for the house now (Xmas aside) as I don't like how rough it was making me feel. Policy in 2022 is only drinking at home if I have visitors or if im specifically pre-drinking for an event.
 
Life of Rye said:
Well my year kicked off with being depressed. That second lockdown that went from sort of late September 2020 through to March 2021 seriously took its toll. Of course on so many not just myself.

Week after week I were drinking myself to oblivion over a weekend. It started to get out of hand when I found myself drinking an Irish coffee of a Friday afternoon while I was still working to then walking to the local shop completely sloshed to pick up more alcohol. I would find myself in the living room drunk, watching music sets to gone 2am and roasting people on social media.

I drank because it made me feel numb. When I wasn't drunk I had terrible anxiety. There was so much going on in my head. I wanted to achieve so much yet felt hopeless and stuck.

What didn't help was looking at all these influencers swanning off to Dubai with literally no sympathy for others. So I unfollowed. And I actually now to date avoid pretty much anything on social media that doesn't provide me with value and entertainment.

Anyhow whilst I was in this dark place I strangely found myself becoming so much wiser and more educated. I took to reading daily about money, business, finances, property and overall self development.

I then came out of my dark place around March and I felt so appreciative of all the smaller things and with this new found focus and burning desire to achieve so much more in life.

However what wasn't great was I was completely out of shape.
Here is a picture first day back at the gym after 16 weeks of no weights and many many drunken weekends.

View attachment 13128

You could say it was quite an interesting experiment as to be honest I feel considering the length of time not working out and how much I was eating. My body was quite resilient and though I didn't lose too much muscle mass I didn't put on a major amount of fat.

Anyhow roll all the way to September and we were fortunate enough to have got away to Ibiza for a week.

Here me and my girlfriend are over on Formentera
View attachment 13129

I have learnt so much over the course of the past year and I could hand on heart say that the situation for me personally and what covid has done has been more good than harm. I wouldn't change a thing.

I am really excited for 2022 as my main goal will be starting my own company with the plan to purchase my first buy to let property and then many many more there after.

Continue to build on my youtube and instagram page dedicated to motorcycle content

Oh and we are also flying to Ibiza on the 1st of June for two weeks!!

Also I want to say that whilst I don't post very much these days I do typically visit for a quick read from time to time to see what is going on. I hope to actually meet some of you on the island one day.

Best wishes to all on the forum

Cheers
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Glad to see you are back on track Rye. Im like that first picture but without any muscle, at the age i am you tend to lose it very quickly. Ive revving myself up to get fit again. Can fully sympathise with the drinking thing, lockdown/restrictions isn't easy for some. I think MH is going to be a bigger issue than ever over the next few years and even beyond as a result of Convid.
 
2021...where to even start?

The election had been confirmed for a while and we officially kicked Cheeto Benito out of office, but not before he incited a literal riot and attempted to stage the dumbest coup in history one year ago to this very day.

Lockdowns were gone, but no one with half a brain thought Covid was going anywhere and we were rolling out vaccines faster than anyone imagined - things were looking up. Then the harsh reality that 35% of this country are dumber than potatoes sunk in and Covid has become a plague of stupidity.

I was fed up with the rhetoric and needed to escape so I found myself flying to Vegas just about every month. Who knew free rooms, booze, and cheap flights would be fun?

Baseball started back up in April and it was great to be out playing again, had a fun season and looking forward to more this year.

By June I was getting really bored with Vegas and had my trip to Ibiza still on the books, but with the restrictions still in place and the info getting posted up in here (thanks @stivi ) it seemed like there was zero chance it was going to happen. Work was an absolute beast in June and July, I was double vaxx'd, and I was about ready to implode. My trip was scheduled for the second week of August and my friend had bailed so it would be me traveling solo if it went ahead. I talked to the Mrs. about it and she essentially told me to GTFO, my stress level was through the roof and she said I needed to go, so off I went.

Up until now I haven't written anything about my trip, I ended up getting absolutely stupid drunk on the flight over and spent my first 3 days jetlagged out of my mind. I stayed in the North end of PDB/Fig for the first half and enjoyed the area. My biggest regret was not getting a rental car. I probably logged 30 miles on foot over the course of my first 4 days on the island and by day 3 I was ready to see more of the island than the general area I was in. Unfortunately car rental prices were astronomical (I got a quote for $1000/day for 3 days at one spot, average was ~$350/day form a couple others) and so I ended up cabbing into San An a few times and then made my trek over Pikes for the last 3 days. Pikes definitely didn't disappoint, had a great time even with all the restrictions in place. Met up with a couple spotlighters (shoutout to @TiffyBennett1 and @Clara ) and had a blast.

By the end of my time on the island I was ready to head home (thanks Euro heat wave). I had a good time and knew that most places were going to be closed and it would essentially be a beach/pool vacation. Still ended up getting super depressed about it after I got back. First time on the island and it wasn't a let down, but no matter how much I knew it's not going to be "normal" I was still hoping for some magic.

Ended up traveling a bit more (couple trips to NYC, Arizona) and rounded out the year by getting Covid at a friend's bday party I wasn't planning on attending (oh the irony...).

I'm all patched up and back to normal (well, normal for me anyways...). Hoping for a great 2022 and looking forward to another trip to the island in June (assuming things are open and dancing is back). Going to be a stressful Feb and March while I study for my licensing exam, been dreading it for years.

HUGE shout out to all the people on here, always love reading about what's going on with everyone.

@Life of Rye your out of shape is my in shape...lol

Guessing it'll be a race to see who can be the next millionaire from video content between @AntonioGeordio and @CasaNegron

Thanks to @stivi and the rest of the spotlight crew for having a place I can come relax and look forward to something :)

I haven't seen anything from @Buckley since his trip to Mexico, I can only assume he was carted off by cartel members and they are living it up

I hope everyone has a safe, prosperous, and FUN 2022. Hope to meet you all on the island one day :)
 
B_Falls said:
I haven't seen anything from @Buckley since his trip to Mexico, I can only assume he was carted off by cartel members and they are living it up
Click to expand...
The Buckley Brothers cartel blackmailed me for ice-cream a number of times, but they were the only mob I encountered. Back home and beavering away, but looking forward to a great year.

Onwards all!
 
Good post Life On Rye. We probably have about zero in common but I relate to aspects of what you were saying - the drinking, the introspection, the new life aims. Not sure "I wouldn't change a thing" though. I think I know what you mean but it all still feels a like horror show I would never wish on anyone again.
 
Life of Rye said:
View attachment 13128
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OT , sorry Stivi ...
Im training , too ...

My experience :
This is not so much fat. 5 kg too much , not more. Its not easy to hold the body fat under 10 percent , for a longer time ,for me. If you are older , like me , its nearly impossible. I have to eat nothing to reach it. Its unhealthy. 5kgs plus for training and then lost weight for ibiza , like the most other guys. Then I look similar to your picture .
When I played football a couple of years ago ( high amateur lige ) , I had underweight problems : 3 or 4 Training sessions / week and match at the weekend. No alcohol.
We all get older , fu...
 
feynman said:
OT , sorry Stivi ...
Im training , too ...

My experience :
This is not so much fat. 5 kg too much , not more. Its not easy to hold the body fat under 10 percent , for a longer time ,for me. If you are older , like me , its nearly impossible. I have to eat nothing to reach it. Its unhealthy. 5kgs plus for training and then lost weight for ibiza , like the most other guys. Then I look similar to your picture .
When I played football a couple of years ago ( high amateur lige ) , I had underweight problems : 3 or 4 Training sessions / week and match at the weekend. No alcohol.
We all get older , fu...
Click to expand...
Cortisol is enemy numero one for me
 
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