2010 was an up and down year. I had a lot more - and varied - work to keep me busy, but I also had to spend far too much time chasing monies owed to me and reminding people that 'the cheque is in the post' is the second oldest promise in the world and was getting even older by the nature of month-on-month repetition. Having said that, some of the jobs were interesting and educational and with all £ now finally received, it's a level playing field once more. Once again, I'm open to any design work if anyone wants to alk about projects/rates etc...
Travel-wise I got to spend some quality time with my lovely Jilly and I intend to start spending even more time here in the future (after all, they already have a Civil War hero already named after me). I also managed a break in Paris with the ladies of Highlander WorldWide and the likes of the ever-brilliant David Abramowitz, Peter Wingfield, Lizzie Gracen, Jim Byrnes and Adrian Paul. It was mostly a con-coverage jaunt, but I also managed to squeeze in some evening sight-seeing in the almost tropical climate, got prezzies for the parentals (and Jilly) and also found myself a dab hand at entertaining kids by default. Much thanks needs to go to Carmel, Victoria and Annie who have been responsible for some of my most marvellous international opportunities over the last decade. Though it's often a reciprocal arrangement with both sides doing well ( I hope), I've never forgotten the immense generosity I've gotten in return for my work and it bears putting that down in print/type/pixels etc and repeating how much I value them.
P365 (the photograph-a-day assignment at http://www.p365.org/), was huge fun to be part of. It began as a vague idea and one I wondered if any of us would actually complete, but thanks to the tech efforts of Simon and Steve and the support of other members, it feels really good to have had the discipline to get through it all. If only I had the same discipline for chocolate. (Another thing, I need to diet a bit more successfully in 2011).
I nearly got arrested in Roundhay Park for being in a possession of an offensive camera - actually merely escorted from the premises by a phallanx of bouncer-types - and then subsequently got a very humble apology and a meerkat experience from Leeds City Council to make up or it. I think Charles Darwin has a theory which covers that.
Evolution-wise, I now have a perfectly adorable baby nephew, Zack, so the Mosby generation will continue thanks to Steve and Lynn. If the gene pool is strong, I fully expect he'll be getting tattoos and writing for money before kindergarten. :)
No real resolutions or 2011 except to blog more, get more of my own novel done, get a bit more cash coming in on a predictable monthly basis, do something about my unreliable keyboard (the 'e' is unreliable) and to worry less about the mornonic bleatings of Palin and Beck.
Until then, as it's now the 2nd January, I raise a glass or few to you all.
The HMS Vaguely Optimistic is underway...
