As is usual with my procrastinating self, I’ve left the 2010 review to 2011.

I was struggling to come up with “achievements” of the year, so the Boy actually helped me with coming up with a lot of the below. He thinks I’m too harsh on myself (and him) and am inclined to diminish my achievements as well as his. Perhaps so.

I was looking for blow-out, exciting things that I’ve done which stand out to my mind (almost nothing does to me), but I guess in my own little, almost unconscious way, I’ve done a lot of pretty interesting stuff, which might have been exciting when I was younger, but now seems less impressive to me (I just keep expecting MORE from myself)… which is probably me being overly blasé.

So anyway, my review below:

Achievements:
Travel
– visited black Africa (“the heart of darkness”, which I have not read, haha): DRC and Congo Brazzaville [February 2010]
– visited a new continent: Australia [September 2010]
– dived the Great Barrier Reef [September 2010]
– added new countries: Australia, DRC, Congo B, Turkey [April], Syria [April], Lebanon [April], South Korea [August], Canada [July]
– visited a total of 16 countries in the year [2010 calendar year]
Other
– became a 50% shareholder of a start-up company [incorporation date: March 2010]
– started pole dancing [26 May 2010]
– became a British citizen (yay!!) [30 June 2010]
– attended my first real concert, and an OUTDOOR one, in HYDE PARK (how cool that would have been to me as a kid!): Kings of Leon [June], and then a second one by David Guetta [August]
– fulfilled my childhood promise to buy my dad a car (or at least I contributed almost all of my liquid savings for my dad to buy a car, not that he can buy a fancy car, especially if brand new, given the high taxes that are slapped on imported cars) [November 2010]

Other highlights:
– did several 3-star restaurants (despite being significantly poorer this year): Hyo-Tei [January], Mitzutani [January], Alain Ducasse at Dorchester [June], Hof Van Cleve [July], Pres de Eugenie [September]
– attended Trinity May Ball in Cambridge [June 2010, bizarrely enough]
– became an owner of a piece of Chanel for the first time in my life – a bag hook (*pet**pet*), which was my birthday pressie from the Boy [July 2010]
– had a housewarming and birthday BBQ in our flat [July 2010]
– took a practical driving test……and failed! (this is probably more of a lowlight than a highlight) [October 2010]
– redecorated the living room of our flat [April – November 2010]
– changed job for the first time in my “adult” life [October – November 2010]
– met an old friend from primary school who I haven’t seen since was 12 [November 2010]
– did a food-focussed roadtrip around Peninsular Malaysia, eating loads of yummy street/hawker food: Melaka, Ipoh, Taiping, Penang, Kota Bharu, Kuala Terrenganu, Kuantan, Johor Bahru, Seremban [November 2010]
– first time I was bitten by several leeches, while hiking at Templar’s Park (this is probably more of a lowlight than a highlight) [November 2010]
– four weddings in four different continents [2010 calendar year]
– my first ever New Year’s Eve party in Paris (russian-themed party. hee hee… I’m still starry-eyed about the perceived glamour and chicness of paris) [31 December 2010 – 1 January 2011]