2010 - that was the year that was

It's 2011. It seems like only last week it was 2010...

A year in review always seems more momentous after the fact. But some stuff did happen worth chronicling.

January
In a journal entry in early January I wrote: "I do feel like I need to get out of [workplace]. I feel disengaged and unmotivated. Money is tight in the organisation but I feel very calm... I think I just don't care about [workplace] any more." Four months later I was gone.

February
Rumours of redundancies at work. It doesn't help when a load of redundancy packs are discovered on the printer (for real!). The eventual announcement reveals over 30 redundancies are needed - over a third of the organisation.

March
While under notice of redundancy I did a few days freelance in the office where I would end up working just seven weeks later!

Had a great morning at United Christian Broadcasting talking through issues in the news from a freelance theological point of view.

April
Was interviewed for and offered a new job the day before my birthday. Then I went to the theatre and met Dirk Benedict!

May
Started the new job. Spent a week in London with my Dad at the London Festival of Stamps. Didn't vote for either of the parties in the new coalition government.

June
Did a talk in life group about Satan. 2010 was a year of heavy topics to talk about - Evil and Satan over two talks, the Trinity in 20 minutes and another 20 minute one on Heaven. Also, one of my stints on UCB ticked off a vocal Christian bigot, so that was good.

Disappointing Florence & the Machine gig at Cooper's Field in Cardiff. Why was it disappointing, I hear you ask...

July
Being made redundant has an upside - you can get training paid for by the government. I had a fun couple of days playing about with Dreamweaver. Also saw Terrorvision at yet another 'we said we retired but we quite like gigging so here we are again' gigs.

August
Saw Toy Story 3. Nearly cried. Went to a wedding. Didn't cry. I don't cry at weddings. I don't really understand why people do. That's just one of the many things that makes me feel like I'm abnormal.

September
We spent a week in Sussex with Mum and Dad. A number of highlights - Beachy Head, Dungeness, a cliff railway in Hastings, a steam railway in Tenterden.

Fantastic gig - Barenaked Ladies in Bristol. Probably number 2 on my all-time gig list. Also the place where we heard Joel Plaskett for the first time.

October
A football match, an ice hockey match, my boss won a national award, and laser combat in the woods with the Glenwood Taliban. What a month!

November
This won't make much sense unless you're a writer, too. Or maybe it will. But anyway, I had to write an introduction for a report 'from' our programme chairs. I wrote it, and rewrote it and then it got rewritten again by someone else and then they had a look at it and tweaked it, and in the final result only two paragraphs of mine survived unchanged.

Then at a national event, to over 300 of the key players from across Wales, one of our chairs got up and summed up everything we do using two of the sentences I wrote.

Those were my words. Being spoken by a very important person.

At that moment I knew what it must feel like to be a speechwriter for a president or equivalent. To hear your words articulated by someone else is incredible. It meant so much, but most of all it meant that when I wrote them I caught the essence and 'got it right'.

(In other news, the house next door is raided by the police because the tenants have been using it to farm cannabis!)

December
I have an enquiry about publishing my Zodiac Team novel. I also get asked to do some freelance writing for a national organisation in the New Year. My brother and sister-in-law go public with news that, tangentially, means I am going to be an Uncle. Snow threatens to white out Christmas, but fails. However, the bad weather means we don't get to the church carol service and also miss out on going to a footie match on Boxing Day.

December was some month, to end some year.