Very belated 2013 review. Drafted sometime during the course of 2014, but only published in 2015 (but backdated to 2014, haha). With the Boy’s help / suggestions on high and low lights.
Highlights:
- Got married! In Vegas!! With Elvis!!! At Graceland Wedding Chapel, the same wedding chapel where Jon Bon Jovi got married!!!!
- Honeymoon = US roadtrip, in a Red. Mustang. Convertible. Route: Vegas, Grand Canyon, Denver, Monument Valley, Mouht Rushmore, Great Plains, Chicago, Detroit, Niagara Falls, Boston, Philadelphia, DC, Atlantic City, NYC
- Became a mother – which seemed inconceivable not too long ago. Hell, I still find it hard to believe most days… me? A mum??!! But apparently it’s true.. my baby Ao, my Little Buddy Bug who gazes at me, smiles for me, laughs with me, and sometimes cries and screams at me… he’s relying on me for milk, love, nappy-changes, entertainment, and all-round Mummy-ness. Pretty scary thought.
- Lived in NYC for 3 months. My giant port of dreams. Gateway to unlimited possibilities. The Larger-Than-Life Apple that seduced me with my first whiff of its fragrance, way back in 1999, when a small-town girl with starry eyes and big dreams ran wildly through its mythical streets and phantasmagorical buildings. The last time I was in NYC, I had told myself that the next time I returned, it would be to live in the city. And finally, I managed it, almost 10 years since my previous visit.
- Became a student again, in NYC. I really enjoyed learning, humbling though the experience was. Learning to approach things in new ways, breaking down, building up.
- Learned Ruby on Rails. Finally learning a programming language. Tick! More than 10 years after I tried learning Perl.
- *** Restaurants: Alinea (!!), 11 Madison, Residence de la Pinede
- Watched my first ever Cirque du Soleil – Zumanity, in Vegas. Unfortunately, Felix Cane was no longer performing there. Instead, she was on the MJ Immortal tour. Bummer.
Lowlights:
- Those early weeks and months with the baby – this was probably the most stressful period of my life. Time moved like molasses, and the first 2 months felt like 2 years (and I certainly felt I aged multiple times that!)
- Didn’t add a single new country. Since I started working (i.e. became financially independent and hence fund my own holidays), this is probably the first calendar year during which I haven’t added a new country*, haven’t made any progress towards my life objective. (Note: need to check if this is true)
~~~
Other key events or experiences (which don’t quite merit being an ‘official’ high or low light, but are good to note down anyway):
The Good:
- Refurbished our bedroom (managed by the Boy while I was in NYC)
- Stayed the legendary Bellagio. We even had a room overlooking the fountain
- Wedding of ex-colleagues NH/AG in Provence
- Participated in and won several auctions on eBay, for the first time in my life! (Stokke cot, Stokke Tripp Trapp etc.)
- Breastfed, which was a very interesting experience. It was awful at the beginning, and I was in so much pain. But after I got the hang of it, it was really nice to have a really close connection to the baby, and be able to feed him, whenever, wherever.
The Bad & The Ugly:
- Pregnancy & Morning Sickness. In hindsight, my pregnancy was incredibly smooth and uneventful, which is a good thing. But during the pregnancy, I was quite stressed because I really hated the way my body was changing, and worried that I would never lose the weight etc. Morning sickness was really bad if I didn’t eat at exactly 9, 12, 4, 7. Sometimes I would feel like throwing up while crossing the road, which is pretty dangerous. But in fact, I only actually vomitted once.
- C-section. There was a lot of drama involved in getting NHS C-section. Crying at 3 separate appointments. Speaking to a clinical psychologist… it was pretty weird having to talk about my childhood etc.
Note:
* Need to check if this is true