Work

The start of the year found me mid-way through a project that was both interesting a challenging. It progressed and was implemented in phases around the middle of the year - overall it was a good result - just a few niggling problems that I could have avoided, but a good result in the end. I then moved from there into the Sprat (small projects) area and was given a project that proved to be a royal pain from start to finish - I can't remember working on a worse project or enjoying work as little as I did on this one. To top it off, the team were having cutbacks so my contract wasn't to be renewed - that's just the nature of contracting. I made enquiries around the place and was offered a contract in the Intranet team until March. This contract is as enjoyable as the previous one wasn't. Though the money is a lot less than I was on, the quality of life is lot better - and so many nice people in one place. It isn't as taxing as I have been used to and my batteries are already recharged - it was a great move.

Holidays

The only one was the trip to the UK, France and Thailand. The main reason I took the trip was for my cousin Vicky's wedding in Lorgues in the south of France. It was a fine trip - I caught up with my mates Rocky and Jodi. I enjoyed the wedding in France and I enjoyed meeting the tigers and other animals in Thailand - the details are within my blog. Other than that, there was nothing - I really should get out more.

Love Life

This has been a barren year and there is nothing much to speak of from the sparse plains on singledom. I have fallen in love a few times but not with anyone who knew or cared.

Websites

I created a couple of new ones (for friends who have started their own businesses) and lost a couple of old ones (to bands who have decided to use MySpace). I am currently working on a new site for a practitioner in South Australia and have also started maintaining an existing site for a friend.

My Blog

I like having a blog, but I had assumed that I'd have lots to say whereas in reality, I don't. The main impetus to starting one was to have somewhere to put my stuff so that other people could look at it without me having to send attachments etc - for things like holiday writeups etc. I just do little bits every now and then when the thoughts come to me. I am currently working on a piece about indigenous Australians that is proving to be a bit tough to capture.

Music

Well, it's been a grand year I must say. I was looking through my diary and there are 35 different musical artists that I have seen - there are more that I came across or were support acts etc, but out of the 35 that were mentioned in my diary, the international ones were: Eric Clapton, The Gotan Project, Boo Hewerdine, The Mammals, Laura Love, Glenn Tilbrook, Albert Lee, The Holmes Brothers, Joe Sample, Randy Crawford, Joan Armatrading, Bryan Ferry and Joss Stone - quite a selection. I already have tickets for next year to see Buddy Guy, Keb Mo, Mavis Staples, Jools Holland, Sinead O'Connor, Pink Martini and The Kings of Leon so that all bodes well for another big year.

Friends

I have lots of these and have made new ones and discarded some old ones - just the normal flow of events. I do appreciate my friends and as I flip through my diary, I am warmed by seeing where I know them from - they are from many places which show me that I am out there - I like the variety of ways that I meet people. The number of individuals who are mentioned in my diary is 47 and I like that number. On top of those mentioned, there were other friends that I spent time with when our paths crossed or when we were at the same places. It is rewarding to have just looked through the names and thought about each person.

My list

I like having the list in my blog and I have continued to tweak it along the way - it keeps me aware of who I am, what I do, why I do things and what I would like to do differently.

Bike

I learnt to ride a motorbike and bought myself a brand new .... scooter. Nine days after that (on my 46th birthday) I wrote it off in a bit of a spill. Oh well, at least it was my fault (so I couldn't adopt a victim mentality) and it was the bike that was written off instead of me. Anyway, I got myself another one and have decided not to fall off this one as I now know of the inconvenience that it causes. But having a scooter has proved to be brilliant - I nip here, there and everywhere - it's all so easy.

Health

I joined a gym in the attempt to lose some weight and to get some fitness in my tired old body. Well, I haven't lost weight that I can tell, but I'd like to think that I have prevented putting on loads of weight, so I shall assume that I have prevented a stone from being put on - well, it could be true. And I guess that I must be in slightly better shape than I was. I really haven't gone as often as I had planned (I'm a busy man!), but I will make more attempts next year.

Outlook

The more I do, see and encounter, the more it becomes clear to me that I have a huge say in how my life works. It isn't the things that matter - it is how I respond, accept and/or resist them that gives them their character and weight in my world. If I can make things good by how I react to them, then why waste my energies in not doing so?

Next year

I don't have any particular hopes for next year - I don't want any expectations to distract me from what I do encounter. An ideal way would be to judge each event that occurs on it's merits at that time - easier said than done. If I have expectations, then I could end up being disappointed that they didn't occur and that would be a discredit to what does actually occur. Having said that, I would love to win the lottery, but my life isn't affected with that in mind.

To summarise

I've had a great year and I appreciate that and I am looking forward to whatever adventures occur next year. I hope to encourage interaction by not sitting back but embracing encounters and being actively involved in them. I trust my instincts and will follow them where they lead without too much umming and ahhing. I will be respectful to myself and others and will be positive about what occurs. I hope that my encounters with others will be a positive experience for them as well as me. Bring it on.