I do this every year. Usually before New Years Day but seriously, lately, I couldn't be fucked blogging and I've been spending a lot of time away from home (mostly in Brighton with my friends).
So anyways, here it is... 2006 in review!
Work - So more and more people were resigning from AX cos the management was absolute shit house and everything was down the drain. I chose to hang on for a few more months as I needed the money and the start of the year is usually a really bad time to look for casual retail work as most places are filled to the brim with Xmas casuals. I worked for 4 hours on New Years Day 2006 with Romy and that was heaps fun. We had about 3 customers the whole day and it was sweet.
Into the year I got less and less shifts because I wasn't part of the manager's exclusive football club and in the end, I found myself wasting my time trying to get shifts. I was like fuck em. So I left and decided not to work for the rest of the year and concentrate on uni. Being jobless for the rest of the year was fantastic despite the fact that I was downright poor and my savings account decaying into a pile of... well, nothing. I had weekends and a lot of spare time out of uni but it meant I couldn't spend on anything apart from petrol!
Towards the end of 2006, I applied for work at another clothing store as a Xmas casual and got that pretty easily. Just rocked up to a group interview and next day I got a call saying I got the job! Couldn't be easier! But it was really a joke because this entire summer, I've so far worked less than 20 hours! HAHA. But I didn't really give a hoot cos Monash was paying me shitloads to re-do my thesis experiments. I'm currently living off that!
I'm going to be starting real work soon so I really don't care if I'm not working at some random clothing store, standing around and folding clothes. Ugh. I'm an office girl now!
(So in this section I really should have mentioned the 20 million professional jobs that I applied for and the 10 million interviews I had to do to get these jobs but I have gone on way too much about it already in a few posts below and I shall refrain. But it is by no means not a big part of my year! Looking for a professional job seemed like all I did this year...)
I got a temp job at Bosch in Germany, I got this awesome job here in Melbourne. Big decisions but I decided to, eventually, stay here.
Family - Hmmm... smooth. Nothing crazy out of the blue things this year... we're just a normal happy middle-ish class family living out in suburbia giving eachother all the support and love we all need. Coming home to unconditional love - what more do you really want? Justin left for 2 months to China in November and will be coming home soon. I miss him!
Love - In 2005, I said in this section "2006? Come what may." Hmm... Need I say more?
Friends - Couldn't be happier with the friends I have. Finishing uni, I know it would have not been the same with my awesome buddies. Playing squash twice a week, hanging out for lunch, coffee or beer, messing around in lectures, it was all very special and I look back with a smile on my face thinking what uni would have been like if I hadn't known these people. And that extends to my personal social life too. I've become such good friends with these guys that they have become my primary social group. I love doing stuff with them and I don't think I'll ever be sick of spending time with them. Some interesting transitions in circumstances e.g.: Brendan and Robyn, Steve joining our group, etc have brought a completely new dimension to the friendship that we all share and for the better. I hope we can keep this up this year when everyone starts full time work...
Not just giving my uni friends all the spotlight, I have many other great friends who I don't see as often as I would like that are always still there and whom I still think of and love. You know who you are and I'm so grateful to have you all in my life!!
Health - No huge things this year. Hardly got any colds... or anything really. Of course I'm constantly battling my silly sensitive stomach to the horrid pains of heartburn or gastrititis or however you spell that. But that is something I've lived with my whole life so it doesn't really count! Go me!
Art - If I thought last year was embarassing, this year is like ten million times worse. I bought a mini tabletop easel yesterday (but that wasn't in 2006, damnit!). I did a total of 1 painting (experimenting and trying out my "iTunes shuffle + strong emotion = art" theory and methodology - worked really well but couldn't be fucked doing any more). I bought a mini sketchbook for my doodles in lectures and filled a few pages. That about it.
If you refer to music as art, I've been playing guitar a lot more lately and I bought myself a new keyboard which is sitting nicely on my desk right now. I'm trying to get back into piano playing. It's great. Also recorded a few covers but they weren't that great. But still... playing around and getting to know Apple's Garageband is a lot of fun! Oh, amateur stuff rocks.
Gigs - Went to the Big Day Out: Cut Copy, Wolfmother, Franz Ferdinand, Iggy Pop, The Presets, Faker, The Grates, White Stripes, etc etc (I can't remember the line up, but it was awesome). Arctic Monkeys, The Grates, Faker, Transparanoia (Something For Kate), Ryuichi Sakamoto & Alva Noto, erm... I *think* that's it. I've forgotten.
Travel - Not as crash hot as last year but I went to Bangkok, Singapore.... and umm... Lake Eildon??
Self - I don't think I've changed so much on a deeper level this year as I did last year when I stepped out of my comfort zone to travel to America and stuff... but this year I found myself looking deeper into what I called my 'values' and re-iterating what is considered 'acceptable' and what I am ok with. I'm open minded but at the same time just as old fashioned. Those lines sorta blur for certain topics and I really didn't know when I should stay open minded or old fashioned. I've definitely been riding a bit of an emotional roller coast this year... oh more than ever. But it has helped me a lot to learn to emotionally stabilise myself. I'm a girl, I'm naturally emotional... but
Alas.
Music - Been getting really into Aussie indie music. Aussie music is absolutely fantastic lately. Just so good. In no particular order, I've been digging Darren Hanlon, Bob Evans, Macromantics, Subaudible Hum, Gotye, Little Birdy
Yeah the list continues about 500 more artists but hey, less is more.
Overall, 2006 was a quiet year, it was a noisy year. Not much happened in terms of significant events (apart from me finally being able to waterski!!) but lots of thoughts ran through my head more than ever. Between the good and the bad, yes and no, and just basically continuing to find my place in this world, or at least the situations I've gotten myself into. Towards the close of the year though things cleared a bit. I decided on the job here in melbourne and focused my thoughts on getting that part of my life to work out. Summer was awesome spent with friends... it was balmy, it was special. I didn't go anywhere overseas, for once in like 3 years (over summer that is), but it was good and relaxing nevertheless. My memories if summer 2006/07 is a colourful one. Brighton, the pool, bars, friends, Eildon. With some rough bits in between. Basically, using the term, "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times". Well and truly.
Happy New Year everyone. May it be a safe, happy and prosperous one.
xx
