so this year seems to have been characterised by way less blogging than last year! combination of being too busy, nowhere near as emotionally impacted as I was last year and the fact that for a lot of the year, my library has been full of stuff from other rooms which were being renovated! not exactly conducive to being creative...
so, I guess on the whole, it has been, for the most part, a better year than 2012, but FC has still been far too much 'top of mind' and a number of other things have made it a challenging year...that said, as I sit down to write this I find myself much happier and way more content than I was a year ago, so that's good :-)
January: highlight probably my birthday which I celebrated with a High Tea in the QVB with 8 of my close girlfriends (although both Sara and Kirsten were absent)...only other thing of note was that whilst watching cricket, I decided I would in fact fly to England in August to meet up with Dad for a couple of days of Ashes cricket in Durham...
February: undoubtedly one of the most difficult days/periods of my entire career happened this month - on 12 February, someone decided to send a letter of complaint about me to my boss...not a good day and one where I felt I had no-one to turn to other than Nick (in a work context)...he surprised me by being hugely supportive, but that only sparked some hope in me, which of course, was later quickly extinguished by his inconsistent behaviour...
March: made the trip to Melbs with Dad so we could go see Carlton v Richmond with Dan, Sam, Chubbs (who cried because it was too noisy) and Neil (kiss of death)...Tigers won and we all left feeling deflated...things with BD were utterly confusing ahead of his holiday, and I really did start to wonder what message the universe was having me learn re the men in my life!
April: highlight of the month was Dad's 70th birthday party which I hosted in Canberra! was lovely, such a beautiful day with many of his close friends...had lots of fun. had my hair cut much much shorter (loving it) and realised that FC couldn't be a friend as he didn't make a single comment about the much shorter hair...in other news, the much anticipated en-suite renovations commence...which unfortunately seemed to bring on a very nasty chest infection
May: low light occurred on 12th when I saw FC and Serafina in Balmain...realised that I'd been blind the whole time and when I told him he could have told me he simply said 'nothing's changed, not like she's a girlfriend'...really? so there began a period of non communicating with him, and honestly, once I'd gotten used to the idea, it was actually really nice (peaceful even)...a month of bad illness meant I spent most of May on the couch or in bed...en suite renovations finally finished nearly 8 weeks after they started: final product pretty good but felt like a very arduous process
June: Mum and Dad depart #23 for #45 and a significant downsize...I spent a lot of time in May helping them prepare for the big move and was happy to head down to Cbr to assist shortly after they moved in with furniture placement, picture hanging, general organising and putting together a bookshelf with Dad...seem to have cut ties with FC and am enjoying the space
July: the lead up to my trip and I'm busy busy. given the lack of blogging I'm not sure I can recall what exactly happened in July...
August: finally the day of departure arrives and Felix and Leah pick me up on a beautiful winter's day to drop me at the airport...loved every minute of my Virgin Atlantic business class flight to London...Alison and Andy picked me up and I spent a lovely few days with them...included a fabulous shopping day with Alison in Marlow. had a day trip to visit Brian and Brenda and then headed up to Northallerton on the train...had a great few days with Mum and Dad staying with Bob and Pat, met Nick's son Jude, saw Grandma who was a bit worse for wear, and enjoyed 2 days of Ashes cricket at Chester-Le-Street with Dad and Bob (although watching cricket when it's 17 degrees is not my idea of fun!)...then flew to Budapest for a Sarah treat and had 4 days in the Gresham Palace overlooking the Danube...beautiful city, great people, good shopping, was 29 degrees just about every day and I thoroughly enjoyed pottering around and exploring the place...then onto Hong Kong where I met up with Kirst and Pissoir for 5 days of shopping, exploring, eating etc...was a load of fun and between us I think we left HK with 34 pairs of shoes (21 of which were mine!)...had dinner with Dan, always lovely to see him...flew home with Qantas as Virgin plane trouble - would not recommend even though I came bus class on their A380....simply wonderful holiday, loved every minute of it and saw England through different eyes for the first time...
September: rude shock coming back to work, seem to now be talking to Nick again (in fact he texted most days I was away), but then I find out he's having a 40th and I'm not invited :-( yep, he says he thought he was doing the right thing, so again I attempt the 'cut off' and this seems to be going well for a while, but inevitably he finds a way to get back in and I let him! mental note to self: this must eventually stop...Sept 8th Dad, Dan, Rat and I go to the MCG to cheer Carlton on as they seek revenge against the Tigers (we only make it into finals footy coz Essendon cheat and get kicked out so we move from 9th to 8th and find ourselves playing in September)....we are down and out, and then we make a comeback and win by 20! there is much jubilation amongst the Rodgers/Sims clan and we just about lose our voices cheering and have a few celebratory bevvies at the Hilton before I fly home...I can't talk for 3 days...sadly we lose the next week and participate no further into September, but still, didn't even expect to be there...and, we got further than the arch enemy Collingwood!
October: having successfully survived the en suite renovation, it seems I can no longer tolerate the state of the tiles in living area, main bathroom or laundry, so for the 2nd time in a year, I embark on renovations (this time major) and yet again I get sick, although truthfully, the chest infection/lung issues which started in April, haven't in fact gone yet and I seem to have an ongoing rather horrible cough which seems to be immune to any of the many medications I try...I finally get around to bringing my pay situation to boss's attention and what ensues is such a horror conversation I just about resign on the spot! of course I don't, and over the course of the next few weeks I spend a lot of time mulling over what I want to do...Leah helps, Sal is amazing and I come out of this period with a much more healthy approach to work and a changed attitude, which strangely enough seems to result in me enjoying work much more, and ironically still wanting to do a great job...additionally, seems my reaction to conversation with boss has given my an opportunity to really see and learn my 'process' and that is invaluable...so I guess, not all is lost...
November: seems to go by in a blur as my home is yet again a building site (this particular renovation: all floor tiles, laundry room and main bathroom) is a major interruption and the dust is virtually unbearable...quality of work better than en-suite and overall a much better experience but still, I yearn for the sanctuary to be returned to sanctuary status...I introduce Leah to Bell Shakespeare's Hamlet for her birthday which I love but she doesn't (oh well!)....early in the month John and Leah host a Halloween party and in Sarah fashion I'm about the only person who goes in 'non dress up' (I don't do dress up)...despite not really wanting to go it was a really fun night which I enjoyed...
December: and here we are, almost at the end of another year and in 21 days I'll be 45 - which I simply cannot believe! renovations are complete, couple of new pieces of furniture arrive and I look forward to the entire pad being finished as Christmas approaches. I look forward to a few quiet days in Canberra with Mum and Dad to help them celebrate their first Christmas at The Grange...and I look forward to a quiet NYE with Leah where we will reflect on the year that's been...
so, on reflection it's probably been marginally better than 2012 - certainly it's been a year of huge reflection and learning for me, I've learned a lot about myself, I've found much comfort and solace in my friendship with Leah, my continued friendship with Sara, my beautiful home and in coming to a place of acceptance about where work fits into my life...I've continued to oscillate with my 'relationship' with FC, Mark Broomhead sadly lost his battle with cancer on 11/12/13 which has been very sad for Sam and Neil....beautiful man, will never be forgotten, and truly, the world is a lesser place without him....
so looking ahead, I'm hoping that 2014 will be a healthier year for me, a year where I focus on qualifying as an interior decorator and perhaps finishing that novel, a year where maybe just maybe I'll meet someone really special...where my friendship with Leah will continue to grow, where my family and friends (and me) will be healthy and happy, where I will really get clear on what I want life post current employer to look like, perhaps I'll even get fit...if I'm lucky, March will offer up a bonus and a well deserved pay rise to get me to the median (although as I said to Sal, $25k won't change my life so even if it isn't forthcoming, I suspect I'll be ok with that...if not initially, eventually)...and November will bring a trip to Canada and thanksgiving with my beautiful friends P.A. and Elliot as well as a shopping trip in downtown NYC...
so, lots to be thankful for really, and hopeful that this time next year I'll be posting about how much I've learned, how happy I am, how successful 2014 was, and how much I'm looking forward to 2015....
ciao!
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