Reflections On Another Year

To be honest I couldn't remember where I was on my birthday last year until I dug into my records and realised that the reason was probably because I was alone in Germany for work. The night was an uneventful one, spent at a hotel in Coburg. I guess the company bought me dinner though. But its always better to spend a birthday with at least one person that is truly important to you. This time I spent the evening with my friends John and Mel in Dashwood, so it was time well spent. Actually this birthday turned out really good, as I got a wonderful surprise in an email. Anyway, this seems like a good time to be introspective, and to ask how I've bettered myself.

Some good things I've done:

• Took my Professional Practice Exam with PEO, for my engineering license in Canada (no result yet, but I'm pretty sure I passed)
• Undertook significant new projects and management responsibilities at GM
• Bought my first major purchase: my car (which I have named "Ruby")
• Travelled so much my that I've almost been refused entry to some countries because of my tattered passport (my stats: 27 stamps, 10 of 20 pages used so far)
• Been to 2 new countries: Netherlands (I drove across the entire country), and Italy, to bring my count to 15, if I'm not missing any: Canada, USA, Dominican Republic, N.Ireland, England, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, India, Japan
• Learned to speak German (understanding German is still difficult!)
• Drove a car the fastest I have ever personally driven anything (this was on the Autobahn)
• Became a Platinum member at the Marriott
• Started my blog
• Officially moved out of Toronto -- I'm now residing in Windsor
• Started swing dancing -- I'm no longer a beginner
• Joined my Jazz Quartet
• Finally wrote my first really good song
• Took my first real vacation in 3 years
• Visited my grandparents in my ancestral home
• Spent my first Christmas without any of the following: snow, cold weather, being in Canada, my parents

Important lessons I've learned:

• Don't forget to talk with the people you care about regularly
• Not deciding something is a decision in itself, and usually its a bad decision
• Work is important, but not the most important (I only put the second half of this into action recently)
• Accept your feelings, and don't suppress them
• Recognise when you've received a gift - It's too easy to fail to see the ones that are not wrapped
• Don't be afraid of love
• Confidence will greatly enhance your life

Now, to establish goals for the next year!

Daniel