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2007 started with me looking forwards rather than backwards, and with a view not only to take opportunities that came my way, but make my own as well. On the whole, as with the other six goals I published in January, I achieved this to a certain extent, but there was still room for improvement.
This is my third attempt at writing this entry. For the last month I have been feeling incredibly down, reflective and just damn right miserable. What started off as a regular reboot, prompted by the anniversary of my being here last year (and the comparisons that can be drawn), turned into a sad, sorry journey into the unknown, confronting old feelings that I never fully resolved.
Unsurprisingly, I feel compelled to write a review of this last year, which I think I can say with some confidence has been very different from previous years. Having said that it seems like I’ve spent the last five or so months looking back. Some recent posts to this blog are ample proof of the sort of reflective mood I’ve been in lately.
Whilst I don’t want to over play my move to California (and I think it can be said that I have been doing so recently - this blog is testament to that), but as soon as my feet touch the ground at SFO it almost feels as if the next era of my life is set to begin. So as the final hours tick away on this one, I just wanted to pay tribute to three people who have become very important to me over the last four or five years.
A couple of days ago I turned 26 (yes that’s right, yet another belated blog entry).
Unlike previous birthdays, 26 seems to have grabbed me as a major milestone. The jump from 25 to 26 seems much larger than the one year increase would have you believe. Part of this may be my current situation (are you noting a theme running through my entries of late…?), and partly as I am now on the wrong side of 20, and approaching 30 fast!
Something Jon said to me a couple of weeks ago has festered in my mind the last couple of days. He said that we grow up most between the ages of 16 and 26. When I look back at all I have learnt, accomplished and gained during this time, I can see why.
In little over 8 weeks time (and pending a successful visa interview) I will be heading back to the United States, in a move which could almost be described as permanent (although I would prefer to think of it more as just for the immediate future). It will come as no surprise then, that as the departure date creeps ever closer, the enormity of such a move is very much at the forefront of my mind.
I can’t help but feel that this blog is getting a little self-involved. So instead I want to talk not about me, but a pair of old trainers, that after 3 years of loyal service are going into retirement.
As of this week I am no longer an employee of Orange Vision Ltd, but working for Ning, Inc. where I am now a Senior Designer (currently as a full-time consultant). Yeah that’s right - Ning, Inc. of Palo Alto, California. It doesn’t take a genius to realise what a fantastic opportunity this is, and one I don’t think I have fully come to terms with, and perhaps never will!
Today finally saw the end of a long journey, one that I have been on since I was 8 years old.
As the year draws to a close, I thought it may be an idea to recall the events and achievements of the last 12 months - both personally, and those of my closest friends too. Looking back, 2004 was a year of two halves, and after reading the following, a thesis of the year 2004 almost, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out which half was more rewarding (the absence of Mark and Lard being the only exception).
As the nights draw in, and the hot summer days fade into distant memory (the last hot summer day being August 2003) I’ve suddenly realised that this is my favourite time of year. It’s taken me this long to work it out, but something about the cold fresh air, the smell of the central heating (decent films appearing at the cinemas). It’s nice don’t you think?
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