Last blog of 2010

Its been a decent chunk of time since my last blog, wanted to get one more post in before 2010 is in the past. Edo is virtually running the site on his own, well in actual fact he is completely running it. Must admit Fatweb is still on my top five sites every time I am online and still offers something quite unique that Facebook and Twitter can’t offer. So big kudos Edo for keeping it running for yet another year! Keep it up!

Needless to say fairly chuffed to see England win the Ashes again! I can’t remember the last time I have seen an English team consistently win like this time. Usually after a big win, it goes to their head and then the following game they crash and burn. Bit like the rugby team this Autumn test series, beat Australia and then crash and burn against South Africa. Apart from football which it has been a god awful year on so many levels English sport has done well which is fantastic to see.

This year has been my fifth year living in London since moving back in Sept 2005 from Canada. Only this month I have found myself a new job which I am really happy about. The four years at Experian was plenty of fun, however, there were a lot of changes going on with management and plenty of turn-over with staff. The final trigger was when I realized that after four years I was the second longest serving employee in the London office! So this fast forwarded my job search.

So for the second half of this year in peaks and troughs I was looking for a new job and it’s a tough job in itself to do. Going through the interview process and sussing out roles and companies is a draining experience. Plus making sure the new role ticks enough boxes such as compensation, location, confidence in management, development and advancement opportunities etc. Having to do all this without talking to anyone at your current job about it, well it all feels quite sneaky and secretive, but you almost have to be because if you announce you want to leave and can’t find something else then it makes you look like a douche bag. Then the interview process which can be up to four in some cases, you have to organize around work which is also a pain in the arse.

Managed to go skydiving this year which was crazy. I must admit the feeling you get when the door opens at 9000 feet or whatever it is and the wind is blowing in your face as you start to move out and step on the wing is mind blowing. Then you just fall. As I went tandem we free falled for 30 seconds and at one point I couldn’t hear anything as a lot of the senses shut down as the body isn’t used to dropping at that speed! A big highlight of this year for sure.

We had plenty of visitors this year: Mum & Dad (Dad twice), Daryl and Mia, Edo & Jen, a couple of Cindy’s friends. Plus went to Canada twice and Germany once, so a great year for seeing family and friends. This I want every year

This year also saw the end of the recession so this should hopefully bring a boost to everyone economically moving forward.

Next year I am really toying around the idea of doing a marathon, either New York or Edinburgh. I lost my Grandad this year mainly due to old age and heart disease. Big lowlight of this year. So I thought it would be a nice touch to run for the British Heart Foundation, but I still need to decide on the commitment. Hmm watch this space.

Congrats to Dan Tan Bell for getting married this year.

Finally, I still have lots of Brunei video from 99/2000 on Video8. I am badgering Angela’s Robin to help me get this into digital format so I can edit and post online taking out bits people may not want to share! Any tips with this please let me know?

Cheers to 2010! And to everyone having an even better 2011!