What did you do in 2025 that you’d never done before?
Worked a full year with minimal holiday, minimal eating, minimal shopping and 9 months without alcohol.
Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
- Get in good shape and do a Hyrox event maybe. I tried? I was in okay baseline shape and then trained specifically for Hyrox for 3 months after having purchased a ticket on the Hyrox Australia authorised reseller app (as advertised on the official Hyrox Australia website.) The seller never changed the ticket over to my name as requested and I contacted the seller and site many times without a single response back from either. My credit card provider eventually refunded me but it was a lot of annoyance. Even though it was the only authorised reseller, think it was kind of a scam - they “sold out” instantly so I bought a resale a few weeks later and then they released “more” tickets a couple weeks before event. Not sure how this benefits anyone and would be good to have things more straight-forward.
- Organise my belongings and be aware of everything I have Nope. Maybe in the next house.
- Set myself up well workwise during and after my current contract Nope again, but I got another yearlong contract so will call this a draw
- A swim I want to do Nope again. Didn’t do this swim. No one else did it at least.
- I set my goodreads goal as 100 again, which is achievable and enjoyable It would be, but I did not do it. Got to 90 and then was in a situation where I’d have to read 3 books a day for last few days and did not feel it would be enjoyable so I made a choice not to do it. Oh well.
Did anyone close to you give birth?
Doubtful
Did anyone close to you die?
No one close thankfully but there were a few notable deaths in my swim network especially. A big one was my Russian multiple Olympic medalist friend who I met about 10 year ago now and swam on a multinational relay team with. He had a huge personality and a huge heart - so much fun and absolutely thrilled by the idea of making connections through sport beyond politics. He really thought swimming could save the world. He was 58 and is survived by his daughters, who are world champion artistic swimmers (the hardest sport IMO.)
Thinking about his legacy I was also reminded of another friend who passed awhile back now, he also died of cancer and was the former mayor of one of the biggest cities in Poland and more importantly of of the most intelligent and kind people I have ever met. They are hosting a swim event in his honour this month and I am trying to figure out how to make it but am not sure I’ll be able. He was 78 and born the same year as my mother.
Most interestingly for many people (I get a lot of questions about sharks) may be an acquaintance who was taken by a shark while on a group swim in the Monterey Bay, California, US. She was 55.
Did anyone close to you get married?
Hahaha maybe literally, not figuratively. I always feel like I find myself in weird places where people are taking wedding photos, or tiktok dancing videos?
What countries did you visit?
Indonesia
Switzerland
UAE
Australia (looong visit)
What would you like to have in 2026 that you lacked in 2025?
More stability in terms of work and living situation
What dates from 2025 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
IDK I’m bad with dates, even the events that stood out to me this year I could probably not tell you the exact day
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
IDK maybe getting back to the gym - we did our first Barry’s Bootcamp class in Australia on Christmas Day 2024 and have done 100 classes since then. We used to do challenges like 30 classes in 30 days (one Saturday we even did two in one day) but are not at that level currently. I also run an average of 2 mph slower and not sure but I suspect I don’t lift as heavy either. Oh well.
What was your biggest failure?
Usually this field is something crazy I did or general failures of willpower. This year it was like, the absence of my usual failings? Maybe failure to live life to the fullest.
Did you suffer illness or injury?
A few colds, allergies, nothing big fortunately
What was the best thing you bought?
New apartment and our wooden floors
Whose behaviour merited celebration?
A, forever, always. I have done this survey so many times over the years and this is my only answer that does not change.
Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Aside from the obvious, there were a lot but I think a lot of the ones I was a bit surprised/disappointed by are listed here.
Where did most of your money go?
This was a weird year. Minimal spend on food, alcohol, entertainment, travel, or clothing which are usually my big categories. I banked a full 85% of my pay after taxes which went straight into the new apt and renovation costs.
What did you get really, really, really excited about?
This is horrible but everything I got excited about was kind of a let down. I don’t want to be this anhedonic, pessimistic person who only sees the negative.
What song will always remind you of 2025?
OFC Taylor Swift’s “Life of a Showgirl”
Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder:
Sadder for the world, a bit shellshocked, but still hopeful and optimistic.
Older or wiser:
Older
Thinner or fatter:
Thinner
Richer or poorer:
Less liquid but I think better to have a place and not be paying rent than have more cash on hand.
What do you wish you’d done more of?
Eating protein and vegetables
What do you wish you’d done less of?
Vegetating
How did you spend Christmas?
Oh! It was really nice. A got up early and made breakfast in bed with fruit and coffee and his special biscuits with marmalade, champagne and lovely gift exchange. He’s the best.
How will you be spending New Year’s Eve?
We went to an event at the Sydney Opera House and saw an impromptu concert and a ridiculous amount of fireworks. I think this was definitely an experience we needed to have in Australia. If I did it again I would book a boat or spots for a boat cruise.
What was your favourite TV program?
I liked All’s Fair, Too Much, Love & Anarchy, and Murder Mindfully on Netflix
Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Nope. I’ve kind of given up mustering any feelings on the truly evil people running large parts of the world.
What was the best book you read?
Ooh. I won’t do a full recap like some of my amazing faves but overall I read 90 books and offhand compared to previous years that I’ve tracked, I’ve read a lot more fiction than non-fiction, more science fiction/futuristic or surrealistic settings this year, again 90% female authors similar to most years.
Here are the ones I tagged as best of 2025 (sorted roughly in order of preference top to bottom but as always, your mileage may vary):
The Satisfaction Café: A Novel - Wang, Kathy - Kathy is an online friend from another website and just such an impressive woman and incredibly skilled and hardworking writer. This is actually her third novel and the whole concept is so lovely and sweet - I think she really came into her own with this one. I don’t usually like such wholesome fare but she is just great. This one is kind of like Maeve Binchy/Marion Keyes but a bit more literary fiction/Amy Tan maybe versus chick lit leaning if that makes sense (I love chick lit though.) I also really loved her second book “Imposter Syndrome” (a spy novel) and her first one “Family Trust (kind of like Succession meets Crazy Rich Asians?)
The Centre - Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi - Totally creepy sci-fi about a mysterious center that offers fluency in additional languages in just 10 days - I loved it and no spoilers but this still would be incredibly hard for me to turn down even knowing everything about the program.
Chlorine - Song, Jade - Okay it’s about a competitive swimmer and wannabe mermaid so I love it and of course the title but also such a well written, scary, and spine tingling queer sci-fi body horror piece. It may be YA too? I am not sure.
I Regret Almost Everything - Mcnally, Keith - Great autobiography by the NYC-famous proprietor Balthazar, Pastis, Odeon, and Nells. Well written and he’s had an incredibly interesting live even before his restaurant career. Probably a terrible person but that is interesting too. 1 of 7 books from male authors I read this year.
This Is a Love Story - Soffer, Jessica - Again on the wholesome side for me. Some parts of the writing were poetic and fragmented/repetitive to the point it was annoying to read but I am glad I pushed through because the overall love story between a couple of 50 years, the family, and New York City was so beautiful. Made me homesick as hell too.
Monarch - Wuehle, Candice - back to the less wholesome side. This is a queer horror sci-fi spy novel and I loved it.
Annie Bot - Greer, Sierra - Well written fast paced book about a sentient AI companion robot. Feminist sci-fi futuristic stuff.
Acts of Desperation - Nolan, Megan - A contemporary, tormented, obsessive love story. Like Sally Rooney, but less boring.
Park Avenue - Ahdieh, Renee - This one had a little of everything. Drama, travel, romance and high stakes for the protagonist. There was a very unexpected twist at the end too that I enjoyed.
Honorable mention:
The Unexpected Spy: From the CIA to the FBI, My Secret Life Taking Down Some of the World’s Most Notorious Terrorists - Tracy Walder - I follow Tracy on insta and really like her, the book was good but even basic things seemed to be redacted so it was not as exciting or as detailed as I would like. I think my expectations were too high, maybe I was thinking it would be like “Alias” or “Covert Affairs” which is unrealistic and even if things were like that, it could not be shared. Maybe more like “Homeland” with all the drama redacted. Oh well. Still a cool book from an impressive woman. The co-author Jessica Anya Blau also wrote Shopgirls which I liked as well, super cute and well written, would like to read more of her books.
What was your greatest musical discovery?
Addison Rae
Sofia Isella
What did you want and get?
A “permanent” place to live
What did you want and not get?
I would have been v happy to have a permanent job at my last employer, or another year’s contract. I was happy to get an other contract pretty much straight away though,
What was your favourite film of this year?
I liked “The Substance” and “The Last Showgirl” - I think they came out the year before but I watched them this year on the plane to Jakarta.
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 46 and we went to a “cold” plunge and sauna in the Sydney Harbour in an iconic Gadigal swimming spot.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
A sizeable lottery win - yes, this!
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2025?
Soft black clothing and negligees at home and outdated tweed clothing from my NYC life at work. I still find my old stuff slightly better than most things I can buy here or online but the gen Z women on my team ooh and ah whenever I wear Chanel shoes and accessories so I have been positively influenced to incorporate all the great vintage stuff I already have into my regular dressing. (Or more likely they are taking the piss because Chanel is probably Tall Poppy personified.)
What kept you sane?
I am not sane but mostly manage to keep myself in check based on a vague sense that I should work hard and behave appropriately so as not get kicked out of this host country where if I’m lucky I will probably have ten more years before it devolves to the level of my origin country.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Alexander Skarsgård - he has been my top (only?) male crush since “True Blood” but his press tour for “Pillion” kind of took it up a notch. I don’t know that I will ever see the movie (usually I’d say I would watch it on a plane but that seems inappropriate here) but his outfits and posing with the rottweiler puppy just about kilt me!
Looking back I am impressed by my self control back in 2013 when I attended a small screening of a forgettable spy movie “The East” at Nitehawk Cinema in Brooklyn where he and Elliot Page were in attendance. I was coming out of a gender neutral toilet and we were literally in the doorway at the same time as he went in. I did not touch him or do anything embarassing. He was disgustingly hot then and is probably even hotter now. (Yes I realise I am going to get sedated at the care home when I am old and spouting off stories like this and…”I swam the English Channel/have three guinness world records…ran with the bulls in Pamplona, etc.”)
Sidenote - at the time Skarsgård was dating Elliot Page, who turned up to the screening in literal sweatpants, way back before athleisure was a thing. I have since read his bio Pageboy which is pretty good but I was curious to see if Page would write about this relationship but he was not mentioned whatsover and the sweatpants were NOT EXPLAINED.
What political issue stirred you the most?
Like 250 separate things right at the mo but it all boils down to the patriarchy so will stop there and not work myself into a frenzy thinking about it.
Who do you miss?
My old self; my old life
Who was the best new person/people you met?
My new work colleagues.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2025:
Work hard
Expect nothing
Appreciate everything
A quote that sums up your year:
“I salute you if you’re much too much to handle”
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