Hello all. Happy New Year and all that! I hope you had a good one, and 2010 has started off well for you. We took a trip to Fontainebleau in France to see in the New Year. Sadly, we pretty much got rained off on all but one of the climbing days, but we still had fun. It’s always risky heading down there at that time of year, but it was worth it.
So, that’s 2009 dispensed with, and I for one am pretty glad really. Obviously, there’s ups and downs in every year, but looking back objectively, there definitely seemed to be more down than up. The big turning point was (fairly obviously) getting made redundant in March. This basically shook up my life hugely, and I’m still feeling the effects from it hugely. I never expected to still be out of (full time) employment by the time 2010 rolled around, but here I am. I had no idea how hard it would be to get in somewhere else, and it’s a lesson I’m learning the hard way. Although my last job wasn’t perfect, I’m incredibly grateful that I got it. I made some fantastic friends, learned a lot and got some valuable professional experience on my CV. I really don’t know where I’m be without all that. I’d be lying if leaving there the way I did was how I expected (or wanted) it to happen, but sometimes you need to have the rug pulled for under you – and rugless was exactly how I ended up.
As shocking as all this was, it did of course mean that I got to go to America for two months, which is something I wouldn’t have changed for the world. That trip for me was the very peak of the year, and maybe it’s because that was so great that the low points felt even lower. I’ve spent many a rainy Wednesday afternoon at home, staring ta rejection emails and wishing I was back in Bishop or Hueco Tanks. All good things have to come to an end I guess, and I’m hugely grateful to Snoo, Ashby and especially Benny for making the trip so great and giving me someone to share it with. It was definitely a trip of a lifetime, but I just hope that it is actually possible to have more than one trip of a life time. I hate to think that I’d never be able to have something like that again…
I have made a decision about where I want to take things though. It’s becoming increasingly apparent to me that I should be doing photography for a living. I shot my first wedding in September, and I loved it! I was really nervous, wasn’t sure how I’d get on with it, but it turned out to be great. Big thanks for Lee & Chloe for taking a chance on me on their big day, and luckily they seem to be as happy with the results as I am. I have a couple more lined up for this year, and I’m really looking forward to them – I’m certainly keen to do more as well. I need to get my act together and become better at the gritty world of self promotion now – something I’ve never been good at, but it’s time to start.
It wasn’t a terrible year by any stretch of the imagination, but in all honesty I am glad to see the back of 2009, and sincerely hope that 2010 is better. Aside from everything I’ve mentioned above, I do have a few resolutions which I’m actually quite excited about. I’m looking to get myself a new fixie bike once we’ve sorted out where in the flat we can store them. This is partly to get around town easier, but also to try and lose some weight and body fat to help with climbing. I’m still trying to finalise a tick list for 2010, but I’m more psyched than ever to really try and push myself with my climbing this year. I’m still unsure of the specifics, but I’d definitely like to get some classic Font 7a’s ticked, as well as some stuff in The Peaks. There’s also routes at Bowles which I can’t wait to get back on when we get some good weather. I’ll keep you posted.
So, there you go. Sorry for the self indulgent post, but it feels good to get something down in writing. It’ll be good to look back on this come this time in 2011. If you read this far, I applaud you! But, enough about me: How was 2009 for everyone else? I’d be interested to know. Have a good one!
