Auld Lang Syne
So ended another year - in the company of some of my best friends and my partner, dancing to a kickass soul band.
I look back on the last 3 years and think that, realistically, 2011 won't be all that different. We have a government that is determined to slowly push a neoconservative agenda through, the economy is still sluggish, my sector ain't getting pay rises for some years as we're still 'recovering from the recession'.
On a personal level though, I am really hoping for less Suck.
2008 saw me with a kickass band, career prospects, love and good health. Then both my mum and then dad nearly died, there were many evenings in hospital and fears for loss. My band broke up through fighting, my long-term relationship ended and I made a fuckup at work that resulted in me needing to get a fresh start. I became a batchelor (swinging) and made the most of that for some months, all the while realising I was wasting myself.
2009 started fantastically: 3 new bands, more confidence, new job with more money, no health scares. Also, a new and exciting relationship with my current partner. Then again, things began to go wrong: fighting with the bands, relationship drama that nearly ended it, and worst of all realising I was in the wrong job and was being bullied.
2010: I started my working year with about half an hour of actual work and then got rushed to hospital with a collapsed lung. Possibly just one of those things, but more likely the stress of being in a work environment I loathed. I took the excuse of hospitalisation to resign from work and became a beneficiary for the first time in 15 years. Gradually, my health and confidence improved to the point where I got a new job that gave me more satisfaction. Still lost 2 bands along the way. Then I was hospitalised again. Oh, and dad nearly died again.
So: I'm alive, my parents are alive, my relationship is solid and loving, I have plenty of time and energy for music, I'm fit and healthy and I have wonderful, supporting friends. I suppose all the events above could have wrecked someone who didn't have self-belief and a network of support...but I do.
Hello, 2011. Pleased to meet you. Don't give me any shit, and we'll get along just fine.
I look back on the last 3 years and think that, realistically, 2011 won't be all that different. We have a government that is determined to slowly push a neoconservative agenda through, the economy is still sluggish, my sector ain't getting pay rises for some years as we're still 'recovering from the recession'.
On a personal level though, I am really hoping for less Suck.
2008 saw me with a kickass band, career prospects, love and good health. Then both my mum and then dad nearly died, there were many evenings in hospital and fears for loss. My band broke up through fighting, my long-term relationship ended and I made a fuckup at work that resulted in me needing to get a fresh start. I became a batchelor (swinging) and made the most of that for some months, all the while realising I was wasting myself.
2009 started fantastically: 3 new bands, more confidence, new job with more money, no health scares. Also, a new and exciting relationship with my current partner. Then again, things began to go wrong: fighting with the bands, relationship drama that nearly ended it, and worst of all realising I was in the wrong job and was being bullied.
2010: I started my working year with about half an hour of actual work and then got rushed to hospital with a collapsed lung. Possibly just one of those things, but more likely the stress of being in a work environment I loathed. I took the excuse of hospitalisation to resign from work and became a beneficiary for the first time in 15 years. Gradually, my health and confidence improved to the point where I got a new job that gave me more satisfaction. Still lost 2 bands along the way. Then I was hospitalised again. Oh, and dad nearly died again.
So: I'm alive, my parents are alive, my relationship is solid and loving, I have plenty of time and energy for music, I'm fit and healthy and I have wonderful, supporting friends. I suppose all the events above could have wrecked someone who didn't have self-belief and a network of support...but I do.
Hello, 2011. Pleased to meet you. Don't give me any shit, and we'll get along just fine.