Goodbye 2009, Welcome 2010!

I am taking time this week to look back over the past year and forward to the next.

For me, 2009 was a good year. I proved to myself (and others) that I have leadership skills, serving as the President of my BNI Chapter for six months. I made the usual progress in developing my professional skills and contacts, taking on a variety of projects and attending several lectures, workshops and conferences. I continued developing my personal skills through reading, listening to podcasts and attending workshops.

It was a year of family events. My sister got married and had her first baby. At the wedding I met some of my relatives from both sides of the family. I got to know my new brother-in-law's family on several occasions. Then we had a holiday in England, and managed to meet many relatives from my mother's side of the family and Ivor's family.

Socially, I have reached a level of comfort in public that would have seemed out of reach a few years ago. Sometimes I still blush when speaking to strangers, but this no longer worries me. I spent time with several of my friends, including some Israeli friends who now live abroad and came to visit. I also renewed and strengthened my contacts with some of my foreign friends, sometimes through social networking sites, sometimes through simple email.

Culturally, I read many books, some of which I wrote about here. I enjoyed some new music, saw fewer films than in previous years, but visited more art exhibitions, also discussed in this blog. I also had my portrait taken.

In general, I have reached a high level of life satisfaction and contentment. I still have things I want to achieve, but from a desire for self-actualization rather than from any deep frustration with my current lifestyle.

Now, my plans for 2010 - not "resolutions", just plans. I will set up a website for my translation business. I hope to manage my time better and work more efficiently. I will get to know my new baby nephew, and spend more time with my parents, perhaps even travelling with them. I hope to have a holiday abroad again. I want to take more photographs. I hope to write more blog posts and increase my readership. Most importantly, I will work on my own writing projects.

Happy New Year!