Of 2010

This has been one of the most important years of my life.It has been a year of uncertainty, of joy, of heartache, of new experiences, of friends, of learning, of immense personal growth. I wouldn’t want to revisit it but it has been simply life-changing. And I have embraced the lessons learned.There have been many areas of my life that have stabilised as a result of the challenging and difficult journey I have been on. I want to put a few thoughts down in writing.Friendships. I’d like to acknowledge the friends that have been a part of my life for years. They have been there for me unconditionally through the lows and the nauseating teenage-like highs. I have lost some friends (for now) and have gained many new ones through a variety of networks - both offline (real world) and online. All have listened and advised and helped. And have not been afraid to tell me when I’m being an ass. I am incredibly grateful to them and thankful that they’re there. Lesson Learned: Be open to meeting people on your journey.Relationships/Dating/Self-Image.At the beginning of the year I was in the middle of a relationship that wasn’t a relationship, but with the benefit of hindsight, I recognise that it probably was. I was in no way emotionally equipped to deal with it and I think I dealt with it poorly. I pretty much shut down after that on any sort of intimate level. I spent most of the year in a kind of self-loathing headspace - although most  people wouldn’t have been able to see it. It wasn’t until September that things cleared and I realised that I was OK and started to like my self again and that there was a better than even chance that I might be able to meet someone nice who liked me for me and wanted to spend their time with me. Working this through was made more of a challenge as there was a toxic influence in my workplace that really caused a lot of pain, frustration and self-doubt. Happily, I have in the last few months been able to put that aside, be confident and actually talk to women and ask some out on dates. With some success! Lesson Learned: don’t focus on the one person who treats you with contempt when there are hundreds of people that actually like you and want to add to your travels.On to Travel.This year I visited Tokyo. It was my first time in Japan and I absolutely loved the place. The people, the culture, the attitudes - all made absolute sense. I came away from there with a determination to not sweat the small stuff. To not hold on to grudges. We in the West tend to revisit past hurts on a regular basis, and can do so for years. This is not actually helpful to ones soul. I also managed to get across to Melbourne for a long weekend back in October. It was just a wonderful break. I really enjoyed meeting up with old friends and spending time with new friends met through Twitter. I got to see the Tim Burton exhibition and watch the AFL Grand Final with someone who was passionate about the game. Lesson Learned: Visit new places, discover new cultures, breathe in change and realise how good I’ve got it here in New Zealand.Food and Cooking.A revolution! In January I was horrible in the kitchen. Unmotivated. Uninspired. Unhealthy. Then, love him or hate him, I discovered Jamie Olivers’ iPhone App. And it literally turned my culinary life around. I bought all the kitchen equipment I needed to learn to cook. I worked through his recipes. I started purchasing cookbooks. I downloaded more recipe Apps and have started collecting recipes from other people. I have discovered that I love cooking for people - and have started to invite people around (take a number!). It has really only been in the last few months that I have let people back into my ‘world’ and cooking has been the key. Lesson Learned. Guys that cook are attractive!Ambition and Inspiration.Over the last few years I really have coasted and have been a little directionless. 2010 brought people into my world who have rekindled my ambition and inspired me to push myself to discover just what I’m capable of. These are people that lift and motivate just by being in the same room as me. I am looking forward to setting some goals for 2011 that will be challenging and rewarding. Lesson Learned: draw inspiration and enthusiasm from people around you.I think that will do as a summary. Where I am today is vastly different from where I was at the beginning of the year. I have amazing new people in my life who just add so much. An acquaintance commented this week that she’s never seen me so happy - there is definitely a spark in my eyes that wasn’t there earlier in the year. I am excited to see what 2011 will bring. To all of you who are in my life, thank you. Lets play!- Simon.PS. Perhaps one of my biggest achievements has been to wean myself off FarmVille. However I replaced it with Twitter. I believe it's a gain.