Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011

So it's nearly the end of this year, so seems like a good as time as any to actually write in my LJ. In hindsight this year could have been better, but I continue to be the master of my own destiny, at least when it comes to tracking the causal relationships of events. I continue to lead a ridiculously charmed life, which has the interesting side effect that when things don't go well I can generally see exactly which bit of stupidity caused it. The stupidity I am capable of is of course boundless. So 2011 would be a good year if I'm less stupid than I was in 2010.

So 2010:

• It was an entire year spent living with Rachael, which has been better than I deserved.
  
• It was the year the house I'd bought stopped being a project and starting being a home with the addition of a single piece of carpet.
  
• It was a year when I got to rediscover that I'm actually pretty good at what I do for living, especially when it comes to picking up lots of new things from scratch.
  
• It was also the year that I discovered my ability to focus and motivate myself is directly proportional to the extent of my workload.
  
• It was a year when I didn't have to commute anywhere for work, but didn't walk in any where as often as I hoped because I still can't wake up in the morning.
  
• It was a year getting to know some wonderful people better, but not getting to see my friends anywhere as near much as I would like.
  
• In fact it was the year where it felt like 'out of sight, out of mind' was a good description of state my social circle here in Bath.
  
• It was a year when I learnt to make better use of my time, so at least I'm almost always doing something I intend to, rather than just procrastinating my free time away.
  It was a year I saw a few good films (Toy Story 3, Inception stick in my mind), played many good games (Mass Effect 2, Racettear, Deus Ex ), and read a good quantity of books (Warbreaker, Sum, The Machine of Death, Song of Ice and Fire (first 4 books), Hyperion, Endymion, She Shall Wear Midnight, Redwall, The Algebrist, The Lies of Locke Lamora), discovering new authors and losing myself in other worlds.
  
• It was a year of not making enough costume, and making it all at the last minute, but doing it all enjoyably with Rachael (even when it all was really just helping her make her own).
  
• It was a year of larping, but not enough, certainly not as much as I hoped.
  
• It was a year where I was an awful GM, but made up for things for knowing when to apologise and treating in others with respect.
  
• It was a year of letting someone's behaviour affect me more than I wanted.
  
• It was a year of admitting how stupid I'd been and facing the consequences of my own actions, and learning to live with the kind of person I really am.
  
• It was a year of worrying about money while at least feeling secure in my assets.
  
• It was a year I cooked enough food to feed 30 odd people in one sitting, and learnt it's all about choosing things to scale.
  
• It was a year about having good company over for dinner, but once again not as many or as often as I'd liked.
  
• It was a year spent worrying about how hard and long my Dad is working, and feeling guilty for depending on him so much.
  
• It was the year I went to watch a film to see Bruce Boxleitner and instead mostly got Jeff Bridges spouting zen and going walk about through the uncanny valley, but enjoyed myself anyway.
  

Overall's its a year, I got older, I got a bit wiser (by dint of having made more mistakes I won't be repeating). It's been fun, but it shows many areas for improvement.

This year coming: LJ more, larp more, cosplay more, learn more (I miss science), keep the garden under control, make the house nicer, be a better person and spend more time with friends regardless of distance even if I have to hunt them down to do so.

We're having a quite evening celebrating the change of the year as Rachael is unfortunately still battling the flu (probably the unholy offspring of the one I had before and over Christmas, and the one her sister had at the same time). Not perhaps how we had intended to start the year, but a reasonable foundation and one that can be built on.