The sun set after 6pm today. That’s the milestone that usually signals the end of winter for me, or at least the point where I can slow to a jog in my attempts to escape it.

This year’s winter has not had the same effect on me. I’m not entirely sure why, but probably because it just hasn’t been that cold. I didn’t double-jacket/double-pants for a single walk. I didn’t dig out my heavy duty beanie nor my heated gloves. In fact I lost my regular gloves late July and never replaced them. I even slept without socks most nights and I didn’t use my sleeping glove either (right hand for some reason gets a lot colder than my left).

What the heck happened? Is the secret to being warmer in winter simply to just be wealthy enough to have a well insulated house and run the heater without caring about costs (definitely helps)? Is the mattress I bought in January simply warmer than the old one (almost certainly). Is having a fulfilling job, regular catch ups with friends, fun side projects, and a loving family the real secret to feeling warmth in my fingers and toes (Well…) Did I have 9% more fat/muscle on my body compared to last winter? Were the average minimum and maximum temperatures higher in 2026 compared to every other month? (100%)

It’s a mystery. Winter happened, it rained a lot, but it didn’t change me as a person. Scheduling a tropical holiday for the end of July was a super smart move. Even though I got back on August 2nd it has felt like Spring since then. Travelling to Melbourne and Sydney during the subsequent weeks definitely helped the vibes.

I built my own step tracking app, competed in many pub quizzes, and made numerous pumpkin soups. I picked non-rainy mornings for the occasional office commute challenge. I delivered a successful AI governance pilot. I solved a lot of crosswords. I rearranged the microwave and coffee machine in the kitchen. The Knicks won the NBA Championship - and this led to me wearing my Knicks beanie a lot. It had spent many years on my desk as a wrist rest, and because I didn't replace it and kept using my mouse, now I don’t need a wrist rest any more! Thanks, Jalen Brunson.

I listened to ~73 songs per day in winter 2026. In fact, it’s actually a lot higher than that because Spotify scrobbling broke for 15 days in July. I listened to a lot of new albums. This playlist starts with a song I listened to while walking on the sand with a coffee on a grey morning, caffeine being a common trigger for me enjoying a song more than I did on previous listens. A lot of these songs I listened to while in the gym, or while making soup, or walking in the cold.

If that was truly winter, I feel like this summer is going to be a little toasty.

I don't recall even roughly when I first pumped a squirt of Normal conditioner from the bottle in my shower. Some time after the Battle of Issus. It was definitely a while before we moved in 2025, because I remember considering throwing it out instead of packing it. There was no shelf in the old bathroom, and living on the tiles came with some accumulated soap scum.

I did pack it, then we moved and for 16 months the dirty bottle was at eye level every time I showered. It kept on pumping out conditioner though, day after day.

For some reason, the conditioner bottle reminded me of the time I climbed Reinebringen at the end of the Norway trip. Perhaps because - like I had been that night - it was perched on a high up ledge in unpredictable weather. I must have mused this in June last year, and every shower since has prompted the same holiday memory. This could be why I still resisted throwing it out, but the main reason was that it still somehow had conditioner in it. Depressing the nozzle must be releasing less than a gram each time. It felt sisyphean. I was ready to move on, have other holidays, use that unopened bottle of conditioner that I also packed and moved at the start of 2025.

Finally, last month the pumper ran dry. The momentous occasion had arrived. I picked the bottle up from the shelf, and it felt weightier than I had expected. I opened it and peered inside. There was still a considerable amount of conditioner inside...

I was incredibly conflicted at this point. I had been drafting this entry in my head every shower since April and my anniversary of the first shower in the new house. I persisted with the old conditioner, despite needing to pump for extended periods of time to eke any white stuff out. I got tired of this after another week, and finally threw it in the bin today.

This week, coincidentally, I also installed my new great white loofah in the shower. This has actually been in the drawer for the last month. I chose not to hang it until after we got back from the islands, for fate temptation reasons. It's a lot more abrasive than I thought it would be. I don't think that it will be present in the shower in 2028 to conjure any memories of swimming off of Whitehaven Beach.

Today I was called both Bret and Bard.

I wonder if AI can extract and index all my old spam group chat emails from that outlook file I've backed up somewhere and give me insights on my twenties.

While discussing options for a winter getaway, we considered a lot of options. Headway was made into plans for both Vanuatu and Magnetic Island. In the end we picked Hamilton Island and this turned out to be a fortuitous decision.

Other than being not cold, the priorities we had for a holiday destination were: Peace and Quiet. Pools to chill by. Spending as little of our time off travelling as possible.

So one of the best parts of Hamilton Island is that there is an airport right on the island. It took longer to get from home to the plane in Adelaide than it did to get from the plane to the bungalow.

The airport is on the back side of a big hill, so it does not interfere with the natural enjoyment of the island once you’ve landed there.

The fact that the island is so small made the whole stay incredibly easy. We were able to walk to everything each day. There are a lot of tourists and other people zipping about in the numerous golf carts, but these are unnecessary. We even walked to the top of One Tree Hill for the sunset.

The hotel/pools/resort are in the sandy cove. Over a small hill there is the marina/ferry terminal and the shops, bakery, pub and yacht club. Behind/past the resort there is beach and walking trails into the bush and up the hills, leading to secluded coves, shady creeks, cool cliffs and a few lookouts.

Everything from breakfast, coffee, pool, shops, mini golf, table tennis, beer and dinner could be reached by foot.

The hiking trails were great. The network crosses and loops around two heads, with plenty of variety and reward in the trails. We had breakfast at various locations on the island the last three days and it was all peak hiking breakfast experience.

The sunrises and sunsets were also fantastic.

And going in July, after the school holidays, was perfect timing. The pools were close to empty. The water was about 20 degrees. Drinking a coffee by the water and then having a swim was a daily activity.

By the end of the second day I had a thong blister.

Did I have to pay $40 for a bad steak sandwich and a beer? Yes. But groceries from the supermarket and coffee were pretty reasonably priced. The resort itself provided free table tennis, shuttle buses, gym and housekeeping.

It was a very nice place. And I didn’t even go snorkelling or see the crocodile.