Christmas Eve reflections 2009

I find myself sitting in bed in London this Christmas eve – very different to arriving in Whangarei at Kate’s parents’ house with my friend Rob, this time in 2008. Different side of the world, opposite season, and very urban compared to what is pretty rural in New Zealand.

And much has happened this year:

• I have moved from NZ back to London – not sure how long for, but I’m here for now
• Kate came too
• I had a month long Fellowship in Japan
• I ran workshops all over New Zealand and went back in November this year to run some more
• I wrote, produced and was the talent for an educational DVD that has distributed all over the emegency management sector in New Zealand
• I have started work at the Department of Health in the UK as the Swine Flu Vaccine Policy Coordinator, while maintaining my business in New Zealand
• I secured a promotion at the Department of Health to Policy Manager in the Quality Framework Team, starting in the New Year
• I have secured honorary positions at the School of Psychology, Massey University, NZ and the National Centre for Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan
• I attended a training course at Fordham University, New York
• I had a paper published in the New Zealand Medical Journal
• I bought a house in Wellington (subject to various conditions being met) and am looking to do the same in London
• I turned 40
• I took up running, with some gusto
• I played a lot of cricket, both in NZ and in the UK
• And best of all, Kate and I got engaged to be married.

Along the way, I have met some fantastic people, traveled all over New Zealand, to Japan, the USA, Sweden, the Netherlands, and France. I have renewed old friendships and rekindled connections with my family through being back in London. I think this has probably been one of the more eventful and satisfying years of my life. In fact, the decade started with my clinical training at University College London, which was one of the better decisions I have made in my life, as was my decision to go to New Zealand. But more reflections about the decade in another post. For now, I feel happy to be alive, to be sharing my life with wonderful people, satisfied with my achievements for the year and challenges for the next, and grateful for the privileges that my life has afforded me, compared to many, many others.