Curious January – Looking back with Curiosity

Hello February. Frequent readers know we are heading into my second favorite month today. So many happy things take place in February starting with an annual anniversary trip. But before I share all about my plans let’s first have a look back what great things curious January had in store.

I satisfied my curious mind by

• sourcing the following books to read about ethnicities this year:
  1. Leaving Mother Lake by Yang Erche Namu – a matriarchy at the edges of Himalaya
  I didn’t come any further. I think I want to read one book on Aborigines and maybe one about Kurds. Suggestions welcome.
• spending some time in my AI community, participated in 2 challenges and listened to two webinars.
• reading four new to me authors.

I satisfied my curious life by

• having a planning session with husband. We have so many great things in the calendar now.
• booking my return flight from the Arctic.
• attending a NBA game here in Berlin – this was so cool. Do you want a recap?
• booking our anniversary get-away at the cabin by the sea. It’s go time tomorrow. Yeah.
• booking our spot at the golf licensing course.
• catching some northern lights. Very subtle to the naked eye but I saw some colors.

I satisfied my curious connections by

• starting my volunteer role as church council member – lots of time and meetings already.
• hosting brunch for my parents.
• quickly dropping in at my parents big party even though we had other plans (Pearl Wedding Anniversary but the husband didn’t feel well).
• having a FaceTime call with my best friend.
• planning a weekend with my dad in the workshop – dates are in the calendar. October it is.
• meeting with my online bookclub. I think we were all a bit tired.
• celebrating my dads birthday with a nice dinner.
• spending a whole afternoon with my sister just meandering through Berlin and hopping into every shop after a wonderful brunch.
• commenting on 93 blog posts.

I tickeled my curious soul by

• enjoying the winter air and hopefully a bit more snow – mostly walks daily. Often with the husband. Admiring icicles.
• starting my routine of one-line-journaling again. Such a gem.
• lighting candles almost daily.
• trying out affirmations. Interesting. Need to explore further.
• mindfully taking time to breath 5 times.

I curiously continued my health journey by

• doing yoga everyday in January. I celebrate by getting myself yoga blocks. Finally.
• doing everything to get rid of my cold and then be patient to not overdo it with exercise.
• starting the behavioral sleep therapy
• also starting a glucose monitoring for my migraines.

I was most curious about

• curiosity – but I haven’t really dove as deep into it as I had hoped. One podcast episode though and a few pages in a book.

I did one new thing

• ice box treatment. 3 minutes in -110°C (-166°F) – this was amazing. I could see myself doing this every months. Expensive though.

I managed to check off a few not so curious things

• spending two hours scheduling routine tasks in my to-do app.
  Such a game changer for more focus.
• putting away the Christmas decorations before January 6th. by January 10th.
• getting back to cleaner eating and less sugary treats. There were days without candy, cake and chocolate.
• calling the landlord asking for lower rent since apartments left and right are being rented for less. No luck, valid arguments (maybe) and lots of information about the development of our block.

Winter in Berlin. The river Havel is completely frozen. Unfortunately it is not safe to go iceskating.

I will tickle my curious mind by
…sticking to my AI community routine.
…reading one non fiction book.
…watching the olympics and learning things about sports and people and nations.

I will tickle my curious life by
…enjoying our anniversary trip.
…exploring the surroundings of our little cabin a bit further than usually.
…getting to know the people on my Arctic expedition in a zoom call.
…going through my preparations and checking if I am all set for the Arctic.
…purchasing the last items (hotel room for arrival date, fleece gloves, snow boots?, backpack?)

I will tickle curious connections by
…meeting up with my best friend and having a belated birthday celebration.
…having a valentines double date with our friends.
…meeting my co-working friend in Hamburg for dinner.
…meeting a former colleague for lunch
…meeting a freelance colleague and my AI coach for an after work drink.
…writing some snail mail while sitting by the fire in our cabin.
…joining the CBBC. Thanks Engie for hosing once again.

I will curiously continue my health journey by
…doing 10 min core training every day and if possible continue my yoga routine.
…meeting up with my neurologist.
…stopping at the piercing studio to change the piercings to the final jewelry.
…adamantly sticking to my vitamin intake.
…not Throwing all my no-cake-candy-chocolate habit over board during vacation.
…voluntarily quarantining in order to stay healthy for my trip.

I will tickle my curious soul by
…spending time doing a puzzle.
…staring into the fire.
…listening to the waves crash to shore.
…enjoying snow and cold weather.

I am going to be curious about aka The Curiosity Club
…reading up on the Arctic and getting my mind ready. I have a whole Pinterest board, a podcast list and a multitude of books. I am running out of time.

I will commit to the following not so curious things
…earning some money aka working my a** off.
…supporting the husband as much as I can in his ongoing struggle to save the company.
…sitting down and doing a financial status quo – something planned for November pushed to December, January but still hasn’t happened. It’s urgent.

How did your year start? Any curious things happened in your life? What are you currently curious about? Any curiosities you want to explore in February?