welcoming a new year 2024

It's 1AM on 1 January 2024 in New Zealand. I should get some sleep so will try keep this short.

I now live in town, so walked down to see the fireworks display in my town. We'd had heavy rain and it finally stopped. My shoes were drenched from walking through wet grass. My first pics for the year were fireworks.
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2023 was a very stressful year, with big accomplishments and big losses. The biggest loss, was my Dad, who died unexpectedly in September. I also had surgery on my face for skin cancer, which is expected to take over a year to fully heal.

I lost my court appeal with Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), then I was reassessed later in the year and was awarded a lump sum (ending an over three year battle with ACC).

I published my memoir, Bipolar Courage: Are You Sure You're Not Autistic? just before Dad died (the same week, actually). It's about some of the behind-the-scenes drama during the advocacy journey, which I decided to end around Easter. 

Which was also when an advocacy group I founded was acknowledged by official political leaders in two countries for a major reform. It took ten years, and I am no longer part of the group but it got a better than expected result.

I've been deleting a lot of social media posts and digital files. Also destroyed medical records, court records etc. I burned dozens of journals. It's like closing down some of the hundreds of tabs open at once in my mind, which ends up slowing things down. Only keeping for now, screenshot, photos and notes of what I need to work on my final book inspired by my experiences (Soar Purpose).

I've spent at least 15 years of my life advocating for others. During that time, I've learned to advocate for myself. My need to be heard, as a voice for the vulnerable, has driven me.

I've written the odd blog post but I have hardly made any videos with me in them since. I don't feel motivated to vlog anymore. I don't owe anyone my vulnerability. I've had bullies obsessed with me. Unfortunately, advocacy can  be toxic and have those kinds of risks. Which is one of the main reasons I decided to leave it behind.

I felt quite emotional when the fireworks display ended. 2023 was a tough year for me.

There were also a lot of firsts. I bought my first bed at the age of 50. I've gone flatting for the first time in decades. I bought myself a fridge and a mini oven at the age of 51.

I have some ideas up my sleeve of what I'd like to do in 2024. I bought myself a second-hand entry-level DSLR camera and I'd like to try take some better bird and art pics. I currently have a bridge camera, and while it's a pretty good amateur all rounder, it lacks in some areas.

Anyway, happy New Year from New Zealand! These pics and video clips were with my bridge camera.