The Year Ahead, Part One

It's very rare for me to find myself looking forward to an entire year. I look forward to events within a year, but I never think "this is it. This is going to be a great year and I'm looking forward to it." Yet, despite no big event to look forward to, I am ridiculously excited about 2015 and the things I think it is going to bring my way.

One of those things is Swahili. I have spent the last two weeks not-so-patiently waiting for the book I ordered to arrive.

This order apparently moves slower than a pride of lions at rest

I went to one of my favourite local stores, Munro's, to place the order because I like to support them, but it means that I ordered during the Christmas crazies and I knew it wouldn't get here right away. So I've been waiting. And by waiting, I've been walking to the store every day on my lunch break and wandering the aisles. They have my number and will phone me when the book arrives but until then, I will continue to haunt their discount book piles.

The plan once I actually get the book in my hot little hands? Half an hour a day, aiming for a chapter a week until completion. While fluency would be lovely, my end goal is to know that I speak enough to not have to use English at the markets. My pro-tip for travelling in East Africa: the more Swahili you speak, the lower the shop/stall keepers opening price will be.

Another item I'm excited about is this little guy that I received for Christmas:

I've had a bunch of projects around my apartment that I've wanted to do for a number of years but being the proud owner of a hammer and exactly two screwdrivers (a Philips and a slotted, in case anyone cares), they've been a little beyond my ability. For Christmas, I got this sexy thing along with a 11 head screwdriver. 

Along with just being able to hang a few items that require pilot holes, I can finally take apart my great-step-grandma's (follow that family connection!) 1930s-ish Singer-sewing table and refinish it. (One of these tables.) The sewing machine still works but the varnish is peeling and snags clothes. To properly refinish it, I need to take the sewing machine out and take the table top apart. I CAN FINALLY DO THAT!

My other (main, willing to talk about right now) project is trying to refinish a 1960s chair that once belonged to my old roommate. It was left behind when she moved out despite the fact that I actually hated the chair. There are a couple of things wrong with it (actually wrong, not just a "I don't like it" wrong) and I've debated trying to fix it before. I figure this is a win-win project. If it's successful, I have a new chair. If it's unsuccessful, my parents are getting firewood for Christmas next year.

One of the other things I excited for is happening this weekend, so I'll save it for an 'after' post with pictures!