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Other Resolutions

Authors: Ben K. <benk@tilde.team>

Date: 2020-12-28

Yesterday I saw this thing in the news about a new Haskell foundation for the development and promotion of the language. I took this as a sign that I really should go back to studying Haskell, since I feel that I favor it anyway. Getting news like that was just the kick that made me realize that yes, I should like to sit down with the book again and do some exercises in order to revamp my programming skills.

I don't think I'll ever regret learning Haskell or writing programs in it, and if someday I need to work on a project for which Haskell isn't fit, I'll just switch to another language, but I have to stop making excuses for being readily proficient in a least one. I might as well pick my favorite one, right? Even if it's just for 2021, having a goal is better than not having one even if it's temporary or mutable.

For language learning, I think there's also something I have to give into, which is I need to study Russian a bit more seriously. You might be thinking why I "need" to do that, but mainly it's because I used to live in Tajikistan and may in the future. It's where my wife is from.

Now, Tajikistan is not a Russian speaking country. I'm always very clear on that the nation's language is Persian, and Russian has no future there even though the country is stuck with it for the time being. In spite of my strong, principled resistance to Russian, I already mastered Cyrillic completely thanks to Tajik, to the extent that it's second nature to me. Also I really do have a strong interest in Slavic languages, so I just have to give in and bite the bullet. It will come in handy with travelling and studies and all that, no doubt.

There is also the matter that as much as I hate Russian imperialism, it seems that I really do want to revive the Soviet Union. Make of that what you will.

Even though I do need to progress my German and shouldn't give up on that, I have to mix things up a bit in order not to get bored. Russian is an obvious choice for something I sort of know and can readily improve, and I think I may even get back in touch with my love, Norwegian. Will Irish make a comeback? Maybe. Not likely. (Seriously it's too damn hard of a language.)