ast day of the year, so it’s time for the traditional summaries and round-ups.  It’s certainly been a busy year – some good stuff (Ireland, graduation, starting Honours), and some not so good (the general feeling of malaise across the city as the adrenaline of 2010 and 11 wore off, and the long slog to recovery began), and some just really hard work (Honours, new responsibilities at work).  We lost George, but we gained Parsnips and Pushkin.  Definitely a lot of ups and downs, and some of it was a real struggle to get through.  I’ve had to make a lot of compromises (like prioritising study over keeping in touch with friends) and rethink a lot of things.  But I think the main thing I can say about 2012 is that I survived it.  And in doing so I’ve learnt a bit more about what I’m capable of, so I know I can keep going and get through this degree no matter what obstacles are thrown in my path by the next few years.

Anyway, enough deep thought, on with the trivial.

2012 in first lines*

*actually, most of the first lines were along the line of “sorry I haven’t updated in so long”, so these are instead the first contentful lines of each month**

**yes, amazingly I did manage at least one entry in every month of this year. It surprised me too!

January: “It seems the earth wants to remind us that just because it’s a new year, that doesn’t mean the end of the aftershocks.  We were rudely awakened twice during the night by big ones, a 5.1 at about half past one, and then a 5.5 at quarter to six.”

February: “We haven’t quite settled on their names yet, so I can’t introduce you, but I can show you photos of the two little additions to our family.”

March: “I knew the Honours year is a hard one, but I didn’t know it would be HARD.  We’re only three weeks into term, and I’m already finding it a struggle to keep up with all the reading that’s needed… not to mention the thinking.”

April: “Got back from Ireland a week ago, but between jet-lag, the inevitable cold I caught on the plane, visitors, catching up with work and study, and of course graduation (I’ve got my BA!!!) I’ve only just managed to finish the release notes from the trip, let alone transcribing my travel journal.”

May: “Work is hotting up as we get closer to our big launch, and study takes up most of my free time. And this week I seem to suddenly have a social life – as well as last night’s meetup, I’ve been invited to Jenny’s book launch tonight and another colleague’s birthday party tomorrow night.”

June: “I keep telling people it hardly ever snows in Christchurch, but I may have to revise that.”

July: “I’ve taken the day off work to attempt to get an essay written, and that’s [photo] the reading pile I’ve accumulated for it (the books, though they look impressive, are not the biggest bit – most of them I’m only using one chapter from – it’s the pile of journal articles stacked beside them that have taken me weeks to read through!).”

August: “Finally I’ve got my new computer!”

September: “That was cool.  We just had the edge of a huge thunderstorm pass over (from the look of things, the main part went right over the city centre) – loads of thunder and lightning, which lasted about half an hour, and then, just as the lightning was dying down, we heard a strange roaring in the distance which seemed to be getting closer.”

October: “The end (for this year anyway) is in sight – I’ve written an almost just about semi final draft of my paper, and if I can catch up with my lecturer on Tuesday to clarify a few last points I should be able to get it finished in the next week or so… and then I can relax a bit and enjoy the summer.”

November: “One of the nicer side-effects of the earthquakes is that because we lost almost all of the city’s arthouse cinemas, the mainstream cinemas have started showing a broader range of films to cater to some of that market.”

December: “December is suddenly upon us, and the round of Christmas/end of year functions has started – I’ve already been to three, and it’s only the 9th.”

Yep, as I suspected, study was the dominant theme for the year!

2012 in photos

January:

February:

March:

April:

May:

June:

July:

August:

September:

October:

November:

December:

I hope that whatever 2012 was for you, 2013 is better!