Reflections On Another Year #2

This year on my birthday I was having a birthday dinner with some of my friends, including a surprise appearance from my best friend John all the way from Dashwood! And since I recently resurrected my blog, I had the presence of mind to check out last year's review and think about how I felt around this time a year ago. Well, the feelings are similar, namely that I've done a lot of things. But this year I feel like I've developed as a person more than I did last year. Part of that has been by going through difficult experiences too. And that's one part of me that has developed -- the ability to admit my issues more readily and also to learn from my so-called negative experiences. I think one often grows more through things that hurt than through those clear successes in life. So this year, I'll review not just the good stuff.

Good stuff:

• Submitted my final Professional Engineers Ontario licensing application to PEO (the processing begins in February)
  
• Undertook significant new projects and more management responsibilities at GM
  
• Bought my first major non-mobile purchase: my house (I am now renting my house to a family, and they're really nice!)
  
• Broke my land speed-driving record (yes, 227 km/hour on the Autobahn is faster than last year) in a Mercedes E-Class
  
• Wrote 2 more pretty good songs
  
• Organised a small but successful campaign to raise money for orphans in India
  
• Started dating someone really cool who lives near me
  
• Started playing live jazz with my duo/trio at swing dancing nights
  
• Became the Musical Director for the musical Godspell, which my church is putting on

Hard stuff:

• I broke the heart of someone I really cared about
  
• My best friend, John, was in a major accident
  
• I witnessed my extended and immediate family enter into conflicts that strained our relationships and caused a lot of hurt
  
• I learned to accept that I have issues

Things that I've learned:

• Although difficult to admit to yourself, sometimes the best thing you can do for someone is to remove yourself from their life
  
• You can be completely financially organised by spending 2 hours a month on it
  
• In many arguments, you can be right or you can be happy, its up to you
  
• You can love someone even if you disagree with them or don't understand them
  
• If you are offended by something, it is often because you are insecure about something
  
• Love does not always conquer practicality
  
• Not deciding something is a decision in itself, and usually its a bad decision (I'm relearning this one again and again)
  
• Seeing a counsellor/therapist is great way to improve yourself (I'm planning to do this)
  
• Your self is made up of your feelings more than your thoughts
  
• The drive from Windsor to Toronto feels a lot longer than I used to remember