Nothing fills me with more optimism and enthusiasm and general love than the the start of a new year. It also allows me to take stock of the year gone by, and maybe learn something. So here goes - the last year can be categorised into hits and misses.
Hit: So many new friends! And rediscovered some old ones. And had some pretty decent nooky :-)
Miss: Not been in love even once this year.
Miss: Did not quit smoking.
Hit: Did not start on hard drugs.
Miss: One film released. Total disaster.
Hit: Written two cool (my personal opinion) films, waiting for them to hit the screens
Hit: My day job has been making my bank account look consistently good.
Miss: Just about sick of my day job.
Hit: Travelled to London and Scotland and discovered that they're my new favorite cities in the world.
Miss: HUGE fight with my brother in London.
Hit/Miss: Things are still where they were with Dad. I wonder if it's weird to have an expectation of 'love, understanding and support' from someone just because they're family. I wonder if he feels the same way about me.
Hit: Getting used to having my own place... I think this particular aspect has made me decidedly calmer.
Miss: Calm in another language would probably mean lazy.
Hit: Became an entrepreneur with a friend. Completed a couple of projects with the same.
Miss: Left the company after 3 months. No time and frankly no inclination.
Miss: My friend was diagnosed with ovarian cancer of the malignant kind.
Hit: She's on her way to full recovery right now
Hit: Watched some really cool movies and got introduced to some pretty good music
Hit/Miss: Watched a LOT of crap too. But it is one of my guilty pleasures.
Hmm... reading through my list, i've finally realised a few things.
a) 2008 wasn't the total success it seemed like it was going to be at its beginning, but then i guess that is the running motif of my life.
b) Money and sex don't seem to make me too happy, though they do help me avoid the abyss of depression
c) Working through the year has been a mixed blessing in a way. It gives me money and instantaneous satisfaction, but it doesn't seem to give me 'moments' which would make my year seem worthwhile.
Aaarrrrgh! Even as i wrote this last point, i realised what a totally ungrateful whiny person i sound like. So i'll make up for it by actually putting down the good, the bad and the ugly learnings from my day job:
The Good: Despite having NO background / qualification in graphic design, i got the opportunity to lead a great team of copywriters, concept developers and graphic designers, all in their early 20s, all of them enthusiastic about life, regardless of the cards that have been dealt them. Everyday, watching them work, individually and together, teaches me something about myself, and what i should aspire to. They've also been a bundle of laughs. AND, through them i have learnt how to put an abstract idea into visual form - it has been one of my greatest highs this year.
The Bad: Stupid people exist everywhere. I don't just mean IQ, but also their inability to respect other peoples' talents and flaws, and learn to work around them, inspire them to do their best. The fact that this job has made me face them on a daily basis has a positive side too though - my reservoirs of patience have increased manifold. I'm well on my way to achieving moksha
The Ugly: This year, i have seen my insane side - really, the side which reacts to extreme rage. It's not pretty.
But all in all, it's been a great year of learnings. Also, the fact that i'm writing this in the first week of the new year adds to my rose-tinted view of a year which I couldn't wait to get out of just a few days ago.
And my birthday's coming up too!
