Summary of a decade
200
I was in my second year of university living in a house in Gosforth with 4 of my friends. I turned 20 and got my baby star kitty on my birthday. I had various breakdowns over university coursework.
2001
I moved to my dad’s house with Neil and Eric. I went a bit crazy and took a semester off university – everything went a bit mental this year. I got pocky kitty cat. I dyed my hair pink and blonde and blue and various other colours.
2002
I discovered the joys of playstation dance mats. I started selling stuff on ebay – the start of an obsession and semi-career. I went to visit Celeste in Cardiff and got my eyebrow pierced. I learned how to make sushi. I started my final year at uni, ate too much candy corn and played a lot of final fantasy
2003
I was in a car crash and got some compensation money with which i bought a sewing machine and started making clothes. I watched a lot of japanese horror movies. I went a bit loopy trying to write my dissertation. I started doing freelance work. My ebay hobby turned into a mini empire and i made a fortune selling copied cds of japanese fashion magazines. I graduated from uni but didn’t go to my graduation.I started working at a supermarket in the evening, freelancing and job hunting and ebaying during the day. I won 96 mars bars.
2004
I started a job as a software tester for a bank but was only there for a week before I got another job as a web designer at a school. I had a horrible commute involving a train, ferry and bus every day and all the pupils and staff were crazy (I had a brick thrown through my office window at one point. This job eventually made me so miserable that I would feel sick every night at the thought of having to wake up the next day and do it all again. I went to norway twice and began to have fantasies about moving there and staying forever. Me and Neil bought a flat and moved in together. I went to New York with my mum. I started a Japanese class with Neil and we planned a holiday to Japan. I got so sick of work that I put a date on my calendar to leave, whether or not I’d found a new job. Just before the end of the year I had an interview for a job at a college and they offered me the job – I was beyond ecstatic.
2005
I started working at the college, which was fabulous (for a while at least, ha), I met lots of lovely new people and had lots of fun work nights out. I went to Japan for the first time. I went to Greece with Lucy, got very drunk and fell over on the beach and lost my shoes. Not much else happened this year from what I can see!
2006
I managed to scratch a chunk out of my cornea and couldn’t see properly for a week. I went back to Japan with Neil and we broke up while we were there. My dad got married. I found a nice little flat and moved in, living by myself for the first time ever. I managed to score a trip to China with work. I went to Iceland with my brother and walked on a glacier. I started going to the gym and loved it, much to my suprise. I started running. I discovered just how much I loved being on my own. I went to Copenhagen with Lucy just before christmas.
2007
I went to Thailand – my first proper experience of travelling on my own and had an amazing time. I went to Oslo for the weekend with Vicky. I took my japanese GCSE test and got an A. I ran my first 5k and a 10k race. I went climbing for the first time and actually enjoyed it (I think mostly because of the adrenaline rush from omg-I’m-going-to-die feeling…) I went to Cuba with Lucy and Coddy. I went to Hong Kong for New Year with my mum.
2008
I went back to Japan with my friend Helen. I walked part of the penine way (about 50 miles) and was suprised how much I enjoyed it. I went to Budapest for Lucy’s hen party and then was a bridesmade at her wedding. I’d had enough of work by now and I planned to leave my job and travel the world. I left in October and travelled through India, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia before the year was out. I really can’t believe it’s been over a year since I did this but at the same time it feels like a lifetime ago. I met a lot of fun people and had some amazing experiences. I sailed down the Ganges, hiked in the Annapurnas and shot an AK47.
2009
I caught a train down from Bangkok to Malaysia and had a couple of weeks there before travelling back to Thailand to meet up with my mum. We had a couple of weeks together before she flew to Australia and I flew to Bali. I met Made after being in Bali only a few days and fell for him like I never had for anyone before. I took a short trip to Australia to renew my visa and came straight back to Bali. I learned to drive a motorbike although I’ll still only do it on quiet roads. I learned enough indonesian to have basic conversations without english (should really be fluent by now but i’ll make that a resolution for 2010). I started working freelance again. I learned how to pray in a Balinese temple. I moved in with Made’s family and we got married in November. My parents and Lucy and Coddy came out for the wedding. My friend Tania came out for New Year. I don’t think there’s been another year where I’ve been so consistently happy and 2009 has gone scarily fast. I’m looking forward to another 10 years of happy times 
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