Reflecting!

So, 2010 has nearly run its course, and 2011 is not many hours away! A whole year of blipping is done, and I had wondered whether to stop at this point. However, when I mentioned it on facebook, quite a lot of people seemed to think continuing wasn't a bad idea, and it really isn't much trouble - especially now I have the netbook. So, even though the person who started me on this no longer comments, and even though many of my friends who used to blip have decided to do other things with their lives, I'll probably continue. It's a jolly sight easier than the Ears blog anyway, and I kept that going for a whole year!

So, today brings with it a feeling of "out with the old". I did consider blipping a picture of a line of rubbish bins, but wanted something more positive, to reflect my current mood. We have a fine meal of fillet steak planned for this evening, and will enjoy curling up on our sofas with the TV or videos (whichever appeals more). I expect I shall doze off and the Wonderspouse will wake me just before midnight. And this year I shall say "Happy New Year" and mean it!

This morning we went into town briefly to collect a few bits and pieces, and I've been busy sorting filing and doing a bit of internet organizing. I also selected my top ten people of twitter for 2010 - see here if you're interested in that kind of thing - which really made me think how wonderful some people have been to me this year.

Anyway, to the picture! You've spent a whole year looking at the view from my side of the camera, so I thought it was time you saw what my subjects do when they're having their pictures taken - this picture is reflected in the bathroom mirror and shows that I've painted my nails sparkly for New Year! You also get to see my camera - which has been used for all 365 blips. It was a birthday present from my friend Scharwenka a year or so ago. Those of you who are photo buffs will know what all the numbers and so on mean. I don't. I know that if I set the switch to one setting it flashes, if to another it doesn't. I know if I press the button with the flower on it then I can take close-ups without them getting blurred! And that's about it, aside from a couple of occasions where I played with the sepia and black and white settings!

After a whole year of taking pictures every day I'm no more a photographer than I was a year ago. Scharwenka plays with his pictures, interested in what he can do to them. What you get from me is just how it comes out of the camera. It's not that I don't like taking photographs, it's just that I like playing the viola, or doing maths MORE, and there are only so many hours in the day. I could quite easily learn about lenses and so on, but I shall never buy expensive camera equipment - there will always be something ahead of it on the wish-list - if I had the money for a posh camera, I'd buy a saxophone, or a cello, or a shiny new flumpophone, or a purple bass guitar, etc etc etc. The camera you see above is perfect for my needs - it fits into my handbag, so I take it with me (a bigger one would get left at home), and it does everything I want it to and more.

Reflecting on 2010 as a whole brings mixed feelings. It has been a year of contrasts, but, in general, of progress. During the first 2 weeks of February I was suicidally depressed, and struggling with almost everything. That seems a very long way away now. Listening to my mental health team, taking their advice, and working with those around me has led me to a much better place. I'm also moving away from negative influences, learning that some people simply won't accept help and there is little point trying. The best thing is to move on.

I'm excited about 2011. There will be big life-changes in store - I need to find employment since I left my last job in 2010. The Wonderspouse will also need a new job because his contract expires in 2011. I have a significant birthday coming up, and we are now settled with our family of five fabulous felines. I am also now practising the viola SERIOUSLY again, and have resumed work on my maths degree! On January 4th, the Wonderspouse and I will start working on our fitness levels - both by changing our eating habits to lose weight and by exercising!

If I take away just one thing from 2010, it is this: life can deal some pretty harsh blows, things can be pretty awful. What makes somebody who they are is not what happens to them, but how they deal with it! This year I have taken back control of my own life, my own mind, and, to some extent, my own future!

It feels good!

Have the happiest of Happy New Years blipfoto people! See you next year tomorrow!