When the Cheshire emerges...

On this day one year ago I did a pretty good wrap of my 2012 highlights and I was excited for 2013. Now I'm hanging out for it to be tomorrow so I can start afresh and get my life re-sorted.

I don't really know what I should say about 2013 as a year.

It started great with my trips to the Australian Open and Brisbane/Port Stephens. I have nothing but good memories with those, so can't complain about the summer really.

But then it just fell to pieces by the time winter came along. There were so many things not clicking in different parts of my life and I felt rather lost. I was unhappy with work, which didn't make for a healthy mind, and felt helpless.

The last few months have really helped in restoring what I thought was gone. I'm still getting there, but I really feel anything's going to be better than the rollercoaster of the last 12 months. My connections with friends in Dubbo strengthened when I needed them most, and for that I'm eternally grateful.

And importantly, I landed a job that piqued my curiosity as well as that of many who know my new employer's reputation.

This year has made me doubt my abilities as a journalist, and I still have those doubts sometimes. But in Darwin I've been given the chance to give it a red-hot go and that's all I ask. In a completely different vibe from Dubbo, I've been socially active from the start with people that want my company - no questions asked. You couldn't imagine the difference it makes, whether you know people in a place (as I actually do here) or not.

Having said all of that, it's over. There were lessons learned, as outlined perfectly by this blogger. January 1 brings that fresh start we all need at this time, that knowledge anything's possible. There's plenty for me to look forward to in 2014, namely my World Cup trip and two weddings to attend. I have hope, and that's all I wish for everyone else.

Happy New Year to you all. Sorry for the soppiness. x

As 2012 comes to an end, we often reflect on the highlights and low points. Yesterday was definitely a highlight, with my Twitter review of the past year.

London 2012 and Eurovision dominated conversation, while Luke, my Twitter BFF since January, was most involved in my discussions. Take a look if you like. It's a pretty graphic.

***

It's the end of 2012, so I'm going to reflect a bit about what my year's been like in a nutshell.

January brought about the Australian Open and its frustrations, the beginning of my year-long shoe watch (still yet to be completed on here I realise) and I wasn't sure about definite locations for my New Zealand trip. I embarked on that trip at the end of February, beforehand having discovered I was falling in love with reading all over again.

March was mostly holidaying still, while April brought about the return of the mullet in my life, realising my social experiments for Dubbo had largely failed and beginning a trip down memory lane from my epic 2011 adventure.

May. Wow. Introducing Julia and Luke somewhat to Eurovision during my 10th year of watching, being chosen as the runner-up for the Dubbo Showgirl and dramas within Fairfax made it a crazy month.

June was when I discovered online streaming (hel-lo Euro 2012) but July was when I received a crazy amount of hits for a photo I used of Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker (455 at time of writing), The Dark Knight Rises happened and the Olympics had started while home for my birthday.

The end of August marked my time at cadet camp as well as the end of a crazy two months of sports watching, then September got crazy in another way as I travelled from Dubbo to Adelaide and back by car. There are still entries to come on that, again, a result of recent developments.

I was tired in October, but still felt plenty was going on as I found I was allergic to running and then sided with most of Australian AFL fans on the Kurt Tippett saga. Oh, and I was mesmerised by the 7 Up series.

November saw the end of Big Brother's return and Stereosonic (my first festival in more than 12 months), not to mention the beginning of my recent blogging decline with photo issues. December hasn't been without its moments though, namely the prank call scandal, the end of the world and my quest to become a professional blogger for Expedia.com.au.

It's been a pretty huge year.

I've been blessed with the opportunity for more travel, both domestically and the great time in NZ. I've spent time with family and friends well, seeing as it doesn't come around much with my current location, and while there's been turmoil in the company, work's alright. I'm constantly learning about myself and others and that's all I can ask for.

I think 2013 has the potential to be my biggest year yet. I just have to utilise it early. Happy new year!

*For the record, I don't know what my favourite film of 2012 was. I'm yet to see The Hobbit and haven't had time to really assess it. But I think The Dark Knight Rises would be up there.