2009: a retrospective

It is time to come out of my winter hibernation and put something up on this here blog again. As some of you will know, a very bad thing happened to our family in January, which has overshadowed everything recently. In fact January sucked so much I am starting my year in February this year. I’m going to start this new year by put down a memory aid to help me remember what I did last year.

I’ve shamelessly stolen this from my dear friend Rosie, safe in the knowledge that she stole it from one of her friends. Therefore by the bit-torrent rule, that makes it ok. Here we go:

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
Sold a house! It was a stressful time for the first 5 months of the year as there were plenty of viewings but no-one was biting. Then in May we got 2 offers in one day, and the sale was all agreed in about 2 hours! We had 7 weeks to get organised before the new owner’s daughter moved in which meant it could be done in a relaxed manner.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next this year?
I don’t do resolutions, however for the coming year I want to get more exercise as I’ve been very lazy over the last year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Sadly our cat Pyewacket died this year, just short of his 13th birthday. He had inoperable cancer in his gums and jaw which was very aggressive. From finding out on March, we had about 8 weeks before he had to be put down. It was very sad as he was physically as strong as ever (and he was a very strong cat, he used to try to get into the bathroom when I was in there by putting his paw under the door and pulling - the door creaked as it bent!) but the cancer meant he was starting to feel pain when he ate, and it was only going to get worse so we had no choice.

5. What countries did you visit?
New Zealand and France.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
I’m going to play it safe here and go for a new house and a more active lifestyle. And a platinum trophy on one of my PS3 games (I’m looking at you Buzz TV!).

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
May 8 as the day we had to get Pyewacket put down. That was the hardest thing I have ever had to do, and it still upsets me to think about it.
June 25 as the day we sold our flat. After 11 years I thought it would be harder to leave, but it was kind of a relief in the end. When you own a house there are all sorts of stresses and worries, and that all went away in an instant and the feeling of freedom was exhilarating. It is still strange to think that flat where we personalised practically everything is now owned by someone else.
November 27 as the day I lost my job. In a ridiculous situation where my job was essentially given to someone with no experience, I was made redundant. However a decent redundancy package for my 5 years service (though they boasted about it being above the statutory minimum – I ended up £11 better off) softened the blow, as did getting a job that started 6 weeks later on the same pay with better conditions. My new employer is so much better that I think this was one of the best things to happen to me in years.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I’m not sure if it really counts as an achievement, but selling our house was a major task completed. I was very pleased that despite the stresses of the year I had no problems with depression, in contrast to 2008. I am learning to spot the signs and take action in advance, which has helped a lot.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Procrastination. Too much time spent avoiding doing things. The fact that this blog entry has taken weeks to produce shows that this hasn’t changed for 2010. Yet.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing of note, though I had a weird reaction on holiday in NZ when my forehead and the bridge of my nose swelled up a bit, making me look a bit like a caveman. Didn’t hurt and went away after a couple of days, but it was quite strange.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My replacement PS3 (after our original one was stolen in June 2008). Since moving out of Edinburgh it has become our entertainment hub. Watching Blu-Ray movies, DVDs and shows streamed from our NAS box, along with PlayTV for our recordable TV needs. It is also our replacement stereo now that our entire music collection is on the NAS (admittedly with a very limited functionality) and of course the games! Uncharted was the best gaming experience I have had in a long time (up there with the Monkey Island games).

12. Where did most of your money go?
In one go, probably solicitors fees and vet bills. Over the course of the year, petrol costs have become our biggest expense now we are commuting the 40 miles to Edinburgh on a daily basis. Our poor car has gone from 12,000 miles to 30,000 miles in 9 months!

13. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Blogging – I’ve never had a diary before, and this is just a more interactive way of keeping a journal. After an initial flurry I slowed down, but am ready to start up again.
Blackout Rugby – a great online rugby management game I started playing in June 2008. Last year I got promoted to the top division which was great fun and consumed a lot of my time. Got relegated in the new year though, so its back to the drawing board. It’s free to join and play, but takes a bit of work and time to get into it properly.
Twitter – Didn’t really get it at first, but soon became a convert. Nice way to keep in touch and share things with friends. It is also useful for keeping up to date with game offers (@frugalgaming) and blogs. And anyone who says it is pointless/stupid and then updates their facebook status is an idiothole as it’s effectively the same thing.

14. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Poker Face by Lady GaGa. First heard it in a shop in NZ and thought “what the hell is that crap?” Spent most of the year by turns being irritated, confused and entertained by her and her songs.

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder?
About the same. There have been a lot of ups and downs in the year, but overall it all has balanced out.
b) thinner or fatter?
A bit fatter, which looks ridiculous as it has all been added as a pot belly.
c) richer or poorer?
Richer I guess, but the money is all earmarked for our next move. We are certainly in a more stable position now though.

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Relaxing in the sun. I wanted to spend the summer getting a tan on the patio, but the Scottish weather decided it would rain for 3 months instead. Our trip to NZ in Jan/Feb was nice and hot, but by the end of the year that was a long time ago.

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Worrying. I spent a lot of the year worrying about stuff. From the flat (will it sell? Is the skylight leaking again [yes it was]? Will the buyers pull out?) to the car (is it going to break down? What’s that noise? Why haven’t I booked a service yet?) to our cat (that one was justified I think). Hopefully this year will have fewer causes for concern, but I’m also going to try to relax more.

18. How will you spend Christmas?
Well it’s been and gone, so I can confirm I had a busy morning with all the family round – about 20 people in the house at one point. Some cracking gifts (pipe wrench fight t-shirt!) and fun chat. Then a fantastic dinner with maw and paw–in-law, 2 of DW’s aunties and her cousin. Then we retired to our lounge to watch TV. A great day and a memorable Christmas. And there was tons of snow outside, with Christmas coming during about 4 weeks of weather where the temperature got down as low as -16C and never got above 0C!

19. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Yes, with Paris – possibly the most beautiful city I have ever visited (Stockholm was impressive, but Paris is on a different scale). It more than lived up to expectations!

20. What was your favourite TV program?
Psych. Love the dialogue between Shaun and Gus, and I think I get about half the 80’s cultural references. Also discovered Greys Anatomy, which is pretty good, and Big Bang Theory which is great for getting your geek on.

21. What was the best book you read?
The Player of Games by Iain M Banks. Didn’t read many books last year, but this one was a cracker. Banks creates a vivid and believable universe in his sci-fi books that really pulls you in.

22. What was your favourite film of this year?
Tricky one as I’ve seen a lot of films this year. The special effects and 3D in Avatar was amazing (really, really amazing) but the story, while entertaining, was not the greatest. Still a 9/10 but not the best I’ve seen in 2009. Watchmen was pretty good, I Love You Man was surprisingly hilarious, Star Trek was excellent but I think my favourite was (500) Days of Summer.

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Turned 33 this year, and spent most of my birthday cleaning out our flat and taking things to the recycling centre. Drove to visit our friends Rick and Fiona in their new house in Dalkeith with the roof down on the car enjoying the sun, then a meal at the Great Wall on Lothian Road (sadly now closed down). A good day all told.

24. What kept you sane?
My dear wife. She is always on hand to pep me up when I’m feeling down or worried about things, saving me from bouts of depression or panic. She is without question the most important person in my life and I only hope I can give her even half the support she gives me. Love you honey. ;) x

25. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I don’t think I fancy anyone famous. I don’t really get a lot of the fixations in the media (Cheryl Cole etc) and find the desperation of a lot of the attention seeking celebrities (and wannabes) pretty distasteful. Having said that if pushed I would probably say Jennifer Love Hewitt because I watched Ghost Whisperer a couple of nights ago. She wears a lot of nighties in that show.

26. Who did you miss?
My cat Pyewacket. We understood one another so well that I could get him to do what I wanted with just a look or a quick hand gesture. I’ve never had that kind of connection with a family pet before. He had such a big personality that no-one outside our house ever knew, as he didn’t like socialising with strangers. I had thought I was over it but writing this blog has brought it all back. I miss him a lot.

27. Who was the best new person you met?
Back in May I met my nephew’s girlfriend Rachael for the first time. She was a lovely person and I got to know her a lot better of the following months of the year, especially when we moved to Sauchie. She was genuinely one of the nicest people I have ever met, never had a bad word to say about anyone and would defend you to the last. Tragically Rachael was killed in a car crash in January this year which has been devastating for the family. She was so loved and will be missed by everyone.

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Looking back at the answers above, it seems like 2009 was a pretty bad year, but it wasn’t really. There were a lot of good things that happened, just a couple of big bad things that stole focus I think.

I am going to change the appearance of my blog as although I love the look of it, it is functionally poor and attempting alterations results in an HTML nightmare I sometimes think I’ll never wake up from. I’ll try to add more functionality to it as well to make it a bit more interesting. If you read this on Facebook you might not be aware that it is fed from my blog page, statanomaly.blospot.com. Now you are.

As mentioned above I don’t do New Year resolutions, but I will pledge to try to update this blog much more regularly. I also pledge to answer my phone at least once a month by saying “Talk to me”.