dizzykj

fangirl woot...

2009-07-26T12:53:00.001+01:00

... just read on AFP's blog that she and himself will be doing signings of the "Who Killed Amanda Palmer?" book at the Union Chapel gig in September, for which I have tickets!

a long day...

2009-06-26T04:42:00.002+01:00

...arrive safely in San Francisco after a very long day and many, many security checks (I got nabbed 3 times in Heathrow and had to not only unpack all my handluggage, but also turn on and then remove the battery from every piece of tech I had on me...).

after getting to hotel, I showered and changed, and headed out. First to Bluebottle Cafe courtesy of Ms Persky, where I met a couple of cool people - one cute and the other with a consultant friend in Chicago! I then had dinner down in SOMA and wandered back.

I'm pretty much ready to crash right now as I think that I've now been up for over 22 hours and my body has decided that enough is enough.

tomorrow I've got the day to myself and then going to a baseball game in the evening as part of the wedding celebrations.

more updates when I have a brain.

a scientific experiment to prove the existence of L-Space

2009-06-09T15:51:00.005+01:00

... well, quasi-scientific, anyway!

my landlord announced yesterday that he was in London and that he'd be coming the flat on Wednesday. Queue panic and lots of 'oh my god, I have to sort out the spare room and make the place look like it's tidy, but not just tidied - as in , I live like this all the time'. I've had the door to the spare room closed for about two months and in my head it was six foot high with crap... I went in last night and found that it wasn't actually that bad, and after an hour or two, it was pretty much done.

next on the list of things to do was to fix the fact that there were 11 boxes of books taking up most of the hallway (the ones from my Grandma - all very exciting). I'd had a plan to go through each box, catalogue them, and then rearrange my entire collection. This obviously wasn't going to be finished by first thing tomorrow so I decided on a quick fix. I rearranged the bookshelves in the library to get maximum bookage (the one big shelf that doesn't have a back is now positioned to be able to put books on both sides!) and then started just putting books on shelves wherever they would fit.

then something strange happened. All my books fit. There is even SPARE space. This shouldn't happen. As Nanila pointed out to me a while ago, there is a natural law which states that there are always more books than shelf space. I then figured out what had happened.

when my books aren't organised, they take up less space than when sorted by category, alphabetically. Over the next couple of weeks I shall now prove this by sorting out my books properly. When they don't fit on the shelves, I will have proven for the first time, that L-Space is blocked by organisation!

must go now - need to call Swiral back and find out about halloween costumes for pets...

the day started off so well...

2009-04-10T20:00:00.004+01:00

...had a lovely lie-in this morning and got up at about 9.30. Did various bits of tidying in the flat and some work - all was good. Then the inevitable happened (well, it's been inevitable for the past 2 months or so) I started looking at my books and realising how many of them aren't in my spreadsheet. I'm now about half way through putting all the missing ones into the spreadsheet. This is the First Stage of sorting books... the madness has begun.

I also realise that I don't own enough bookshelves...

something had to give...

2009-04-02T15:11:00.004+01:00

...I've officially made the decision to pull out of the second-year course I was enrolled in through OU. It's a shame, as it was really interesting, but I had a deadline for my course coincide with a deadline for work, and work won. I may still continue with the first-year course (although it's incredibly dull), will need to decide in the next couple of weeks.

I'm not beating myself up about it though - but if I try and study whilst working again, I'll have to recognise that I go through periods of having to do 14-hour days semi-regularly, and so I'll try to do more work at the start of the course than necessary to give myself some flexibility.

In other (old) news, this is such a great April Fool's from a couple of years ago. Love it!

the benefits of an iced mocha...

2009-03-30T22:29:00.003+01:00

... it can hold as many shots of espresso as you need. My one this evening had four shots and has done the job of keeping me awake through the work I've had to do quite well! Reckon I have about another half hour of work left tonight and then home. Will have to do about the same tomorrow and then report will pretty much be done (which is good, as the deadline is close of play Wed, so just enough time to do lots of proofing!).

had a lovely weekend away for Jane's 30th - an amazing house on an island in Essex which you can only get to at low tide. I'd definitely recommend and am thinking of excuses to get a group of people together to go there for a weekend in June. The house sleeps 10 so if anyone fancies, let me know!

anyway - back to work now and then home to bed. Think I may try and do a cycle or swim in the morning to counter the long-day-sitting-at-desk thing.

on giving women more information about their choices

2009-03-26T12:09:00.002Z

a review of advertising codes by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Broadcast Committee on Advertising Practice (BCAP) is now going to a public consultation. There are a number of recommendations in the report, the most interesting of which is a change to the rules on advertising family planning services (more from the beeb here).

what bothers me about the recommendation is that the lines that are being drawn are between pro-life and pro-choice organisations - both of which will be allowed to advertise. For me, the distinction is not between pro-life and pro-choice, it's between organisations that will give a women information about all of available options and ones that will seek to promote a particular world view.

I have a bit of experience in this area (having had a termination). When I went to the initial organisation they talked to me about all of my options (including abortion and adoption) but didn't pass judgement on the route I chose. I see this as a completely different thing to going to an organisation who would seek to persuade me to make a choice that fitted in with their views, or worse, attempt to coerce me into making a decision that would not be in my best interests (and effectively take away my right to choose what is best for me). I'm not singling out the pro-lifers here - pro-choice is about choice - to have that, you need to know what you're choosing between.

I think that this report is a great step forward in informing women of their choices. I just hope that the public consultation is not completely sensationalised by the press - there are some issues here that need to be addressed.

one of the many reasons I love Neil Gaiman...

2009-03-26T10:01:00.007Z

When we hold each other, in the darkness, it doesn't make the darkness go away. The bad things are still out there. the nightmares still walking. When we hold each other we feel not safe, but better. "It's all right" we whisper, "I'm here, I love you." And we lie: "I'll never leave you." For just a moment or two the darkness doesn't seem so bad.

I hadn't heard it before, but it's from Hellblazer #27, "Hold Me." and collected in the DC Comics' Neil Gaiman's Midnight Days collection that I'm going to have to get myself.

a randon end to the day...

2009-03-23T02:27:00.005Z

... it started of wonderfully - got up early, did some work, had a coffee, Imyril and boy arrived to take me to East London to collect furniture. Came back to flat, set up new library (yay!), headed West for food, and then went to the Electric Cinema to see Watchman. Great day.

arrived home at about 11.45pm and as I was walking to the flat, I saw great bellows of smoke coming out of the abandoned building a few doors down. There were firemen around, so I didn't really pay that much attention. Walking to the flat, the smoke was very thick and I needed to breath through my pashmina. Got into flat and breathed in the clean air. Mistake. Flat was full of smoke, as I'd left the small window in the toilet open. I thought it not sensible to go to sleep in a smoke-filled flat without finding out if said smoke was dangerous. Closed window and headed outside and met Pip and her husband (whose name has momentarily escaped me) who live in the flat next door to burning building. Was told by firemen not to go back to flat if full of smoke. Waited around for a while. Pip and husband were in dressing gowns, so popped back to flat (after checking with friendly police) and got a couple of coats for them. Met Parker, who lives above Pip and husband. Everyone was getting cold, so as I needed to check on the flat, made peppermint tea for all and, as flat was still smoke-ridden, resumed my place on street corner. We were pushed back quite a way across the road and the New Kent Road was closed. Parker's friend arrived from Wapping (where he'd been able to see the fire!). More waiting around and watching the fire. Went back into flat a couple of times to open windows on the side of the flat not receiving smoke. At about 1.30am, checked on flat again and still eye-watering so opened more windows on that side. Got whiskey for Parker, his friend, Pip, and husband. Kalhua for me. About 2.20, firemen came to tell Pip, husband and Parker that they could go into their flats to pick up things, and good news all round - no serious damage to either property. My flat has almost cleared of smoke now and will sleep with windows open. Firemen have confirmed that smoke is not dangerous (not chemical), so I am all completely safe.

going to bed now, as almost asleep. nice to meet some of the neighbours though.

UPDATE: Here's the Beeb report!

a London thing?

2009-03-21T16:29:00.005Z

as I was finishing getting dressed at the gym today, the fire alarm went off. As is usual in this situation no-one paid any attention to it (apart from grimacing at the loudness) and we all carried on with life until someone came round to tell us we needed to evacuate the building. At this point, I finished putting my clothes on, put everything into my bag and headed out with everyone. One of the staff-members, who was herding us, said that everyone in the whole gym had exactly the same response - carry on until someone actually says that you have to leave.

my question - is this a London thing, or is it something that everyone does? I kind of equate it to when an announcer on the tube says that the train you're on is terminating at the current station. All of the tourists get off and the Londoners stay put just to make sure (and we're usually proved right - 2 minutes later the train carries on it's original route). But seriously - it was a fire alarm. It could have been an actual fire. We could have been in danger. There was no fear expressed, just a general resentment about the unnecessary interruption.

am also very happy with my gymage recently - I did a 12k cycle followed by a 250m swim today, 10k cycle yesterday and 12k cycles on Wednesday and Thursday. I'm really enjoying it and think that this is going to be the summer that I actually learn to cycle on the roads! (and buy myself a bike - anyone with any knowledge of bike buying - let me know!)

right - now I have to go any sort out flat - I'm converting the office into a library - Yay!

how sounds can induce emotion

2009-03-19T11:52:00.004Z

last night whilst listening to Radio 4, I heard a tune. It filled me with excitement and expectation. It reminded me of being young, sitting in the lounge of our old house in Nazeing. The world instantly felt better and life was obviously going to be filled with wonder.

the tune? The old Formula One intro music from the BBC! It's back on the beeb again this year and to say that I'm glad that they decided to use the same music would be an understatement!

it's the small things.

who knew work was so exhausting..?

2009-03-18T12:33:00.002Z

I seem to have forgotten the art of working all day and then having the energy to do anything else!

In other news, I saw the tag line for a new film called Knowing. It's "What happens when the numbers run out?" Surely, you just add 1?!

interweb at home...

2009-02-25T09:28:00.001Z

YAY!

as predicted...

2009-02-20T11:18:00.005Z

... one of the two pieces of work that I had, I haven't. It's a bugger as if I'd had the choice, it's the bit I would have chosen, but I've met the other client so can't pull out of that one. One the plus side, it is probably a project that Imyril can do, so have passed it on to her reptiley goodness.

I'm not being too stressed/ annoyed though as I'm really enjoying some of the pro bono work I'm doing for various start-ups and NFPs so if it means that I do a bit more of that, then all is still good.

In related news - I am now the proud owner of a limited company! I have a lovely accountant who is being very patient with me (which is good), used to be a tax inspector for the revenue (which is even better), and has a sense of humour (proof? They're called Many Happy Returns!).

***
update: second project is now confirmed so I should be able to get the ToEs sorted today or Monday - up to 25 days between now and the end of March (probably work out to be about 20).

back in the land of the 9 to 5-ers?

2009-02-19T19:21:00.002Z

well... on the face of it yes: I am working with a Management Consultancy doing some really interesting and fab projects with central Gov (for whom I've never worked) on a day rate that I wanted.

on the other side? Although I've done 3 days of work for them, I still have no contract, no definition of the engagement that's binding, and no specifics about exactly what I'll be doing on each of the projects... I'm hoping at this point that this it is because they're so busy they haven't gotten around to sorting it out, rather than the work is going to dissipate and I won't get paid... Either way, I haven't yet told all the rec cons that I'm not available, so hopefully no bridges are burnt if it turns bad.

I would post more, but I've just got chatting to some interesting people (am at Adam St and it suddenly became evening - how/ when did that happen?) so am going to talk to them, instead of you!

ok - no blog post in a while so I should do an update...

2009-02-02T12:15:00.002Z

... but I'm not going to. You know why? Cos it's snowing! Properly snowing! I've walked to a coffee shop where I now am, and got pelted with about 4 or 5 snowballs (and some of them were thrown by adults!). Everyone has a smile on their face, and everyone is walking as there is actually no public transport at all. No buses, about 3 tube trains on the whole of the network and no overground. It's very odd, but fun - very fun!

anyhoo - did this thing for facebook over the weekend and thought I'd copy it here as well. It's a thing where you write 25 random things about yourself and then tag 25 people to do the same.

1. I am the best at procrastinating (ever – 2009). Even when it causes me a reasonable amount of inconvenience, I still won’t do the most simple thing. Example? Right now I’m typing this sat in a café with net access because my interweb at home isn’t working. All I have to do is plug my lappy directly into the router, see if I can fix the problem, and buy a new router if I need to. I’ve been needing to do this for a number of months now.

2. I talk to myself. A lot. I think I’ve always done this, but it became really apparent a couple years ago when I found myself living on my own again – If you’re living with someone and you say “right – what do I need to do now?”, you can fool yourself into thinking that you’re talking to them. Once it’s just you, there is no hiding. I’m now embracing it as early training for the crazy-cat-lady phase of my life to come.

3. I can’t get tasks done unless I write them on a list. Preferably with timings.

4. I will never grow out of black eyeliner.

5. I am very proximity based in keeping in touch. I love my friends and think about them a lot, but don’t get around to contacting them (see point 1).

6. I am very happy that I’ve learnt the knack of being late. This is very new for me and I still can’t be late for appointments, but for general arrangements like meeting in the pub I no longer arrive everywhere 20 minutes early.

7. I’m looking forward to the day that I’m a grown-up. The signs or success are as follows: I go to bed when I’m tired; I keep my bedroom tidy; I fix things when they’re broken.

8. I am currently trying to break my habit of falling for broken men and trying to fix them. I’m really good at it – by the time we split up they’re fully formed and ready to get married. To someone else. I’ve done this at least 3 times (that I know of) now…

9. I love my work. I never understand people who want to make lots of money and stop working. If I had lots of money, I’d still do what I do, but maybe not charge for it. The buzz of fixing a problem or a company is amazing.

10. I’m really proud of myself for working on the Obama campaign. I had an amazing time and met some amazing people, but the main and coolest thing was that I did everything I could to try and change the world. I need to do that more.

11. I’m very nervous about starting my degree. I’m doing it through OU and although I don’t think I’ll have any problems intellectually with the subject matter (Politics, Philosophy & Economics), I’m really worried about actually doing the work. This is partly due to my dyslexia and also because I haven’t applied myself to anything over this kind of length of time ever.

12. I am really comfortable not being one of the cool and popular kids - this is my place in the world and I’ve accepted it. I now get really disconcerted if I cross over into that category at all (which only happens occasionally, but is occurring more than it used to).

13. I love being in my 30s. I always knew that this would be my time to shine, and I am.

14. I own too many shoes. I’ve just done a clear out/ tidy of the flat and found over 50 pairs of shoes. They are in all styles and although I know that I won’t wear a lot of them ever again, I can’t throw them away, because

15. I cannot throw things away. I keep shoe boxes, nice paper bags (the kind with the rope handles) and anything and everything else. If it’s in good condition (or could be again with enough care and attention), then it stays.

16. My books are my most prized possessions - I have over two thousand and counting.

17. My life would be unimaginable without Radio 4. I have it on all the time in my flat. I often stay awake until 12.59am so that I can hear the presenter wishing me a good night’s sleep.

18. I’m really happy that I’ve started exercising properly again. I now do pilates, training and swimming. I’m trying to find a Tai Chi class at 7am in the morning and am going to start ballet again pretty soon. I’m loving being active, being in shape, and generally having a good relationship with my body.

19. I take great comfort in being an Atheist. If I ever need to draw strength to get through a period in my life, I think about how insignificant we are in the world, that we are a completely random event, and that we will be gone at some point. It gives me perspective and makes me feel incredibly free.

20. I cherish my anonymity above all else. There have been times in my life where I could have taken a path that would have eroded this and I have always shied away from it. I do not understand people who seek to have their privacy invaded.

21. I have great faith in humanity. I know that individuals can do abhorrent things, but I think that every one of them has the capacity to do good and to strive to be better.

22. I can listen to an album on repeat for days on end. Right now I’m listing to the first Garbage album and it’s been playing for the last few days on my iPod. Music reflects and enhances my mood better than any drug.

23. I went on a helicopter two weeks ago – it was the best thing ever – people asked me what I’d seen, but I didn’t really take anything in other than the sensation of flying. Can’t wait to do it again.

24. I will never stop using the word ‘cool’. It’s been good to me for at least 24 years and I’m not going to turn my back on it now.

25. My favourite view of London is standing on the North end of Waterloo Bridge, directly over the river, looking East. I am incapable of thinking anything when I see that view – all I do is feel passionate about London and generally happy about everything. The minute I’m standing over the water, a lingering smile hits my face.

first cut of books for holiday - suggestions please

2008-12-20T19:33:00.007Z

Prince2 Revealed - Colin Bentley

The Lean Six Sigma Pocket Toolbook - George, Rowlands, Price, Maxey

The Girl Who Played Go - Shan Sa

Letter from America - Alistair Cooke

Brecht on Theatre

Our Country's Good - Timberlake Wertenbaker

The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham

Curious and Interesting Numbers - David Wells

Cryptanalysis - Helen Fouche Gaines

The Glass Bead Game - Hermann Hesse

Small Is The New Big - Seth Godin

The Edge of Conflagration - S.J. Goldsmith

Does God Play Dice - Ian Stewart

The Way by Swann's - Marcel Proust

Capitalism At The Crossroads - Stuart L. Hart

Change Management - Paton & McCalman

User - Blake Nelson

Surfacing - Margaret Atwood

Thinking Visually - Malcolm Craig

Understanding Organisations - Charles Handy

The Wee Free Men - Terry Pratchett

there will obviously be holiday trash added to this, bought at the airport.

(apologies - too hung over to actually link to each book on Amazon so you'll have to look them up yourselves..!)

last day of contract...

2008-12-19T11:46:00.002Z

... and I'm feeling really good.

I've spent 8 months working for this client over the past year and I've delivered two really high-profile and complex projects. Both have been incredibly well received and I'm leaving here with a CV that will allow me to carry on doing exactly what I want to do.

I've got a couple of days milling around London, a trip to Stortford for Christmas, to Swirral's on the 27th, back to London for New Year, and then off to St Lucia for two weeks on Jan 4th. Life couldn't really be that much better.

Christmas shopping is happening on Saturday and Sunday and I'm also going to try and track down a couple of summer dresses as well.

all in all - pretty damn lovely!

Ice-Skating!

2008-12-01T00:02:00.004Z

went Ice-skating this evening at Somerset House and it was the most amazing and best thing ever... I forgot quite how much I love it and I do really need to learn properly. The only way I can describe it is being the nearest thing possible to flying. Gliding over the ice you have such a sense of freedom (or at least I know I will when I get good - really need to learn where the centre needs to be placed and which part of the blade to use!).

now all I need to do is find classes - am thinking of Queensway which has classes on a Wednesday evening! If anyone else fancies - let me know!

evil combination = how did it get so late?

2008-11-29T04:44:00.004Z

I got my old lappy back from Swiral at the weekend (where it had lived whilst I was away). I found the DVD that Tara had given me with all 12 episodes of The Middleman*. I installed DivX.

the inevitable happened... I really should go to bed now.

*I was very excited to discover that this is the original source for Made Of Awesome, amongst other fab things

all cosumer electronics need a little love...

2008-11-28T16:45:00.002Z

... since I got back from the States, my router hasn't been working. I knew that it was my fault for going away for so long without explaining things so I've been turning it off and on for the last few weeks, hoping that the attention would be enough. I was wrong.

today I thought it was actually time to plug my lappy directly to the router and see what was going on (had it forgotten its password etc.). I connected it up and before I could even open up the browser, it started working! Just like that. If I go away again I may leave a gosling with it to make sure that it understands that I do appreciate it!

in other news, I'm still ill but I think I'm getting better which is good.

the weekend should be lovely - dinner with Dunc tomorrow evening and then ice-skating and dinner on Sunday!

now I have the interweb back again, I'm going to spend the rest of the evening looking at random things on wikipedia...

VAT - a bit like money laundering - who knew?

2008-11-17T20:15:00.003Z

after a bit of procrastination, I finally got around to thinking about VAT and whether I've hit the threshold - answer? Yes. In August... oh dear. I got into a bit of a panic and rang the VAT office - they were quite nice and said that they'd send me stuff. I then realised that I could register online and so have done - I just need to work out now how much of a penalty I have to pay (it really is a tax on being lazy - something I wholly approve of as I have a stupid thought process that thinks if this happens enough then I'll start getting around to doing things on time...).

I then looked into VAT a bit more, and as far as I can see - I'm going to make money out of it...

first things first - we're in a bit of a silly situation as the Government will give money to the NHS Trust for whom I'm working, who will then give it to me, so I can give it back to the Government (and rinse and repeat - oh hang on, this isn't a shampoo ad...)

second thing - I'm going to bill my client for the VAT and then I don't have to give all of that money to the VAT man?! Evidently I take the money, off-set any VAT I've paid for things like stationery and phone billage and then give the remaining to HMRC. It doesn't seem to matter that I'll have already off-set these things against my income tax. It feels a bit like stealing, and more like money laundering (in the sense that it's quite complicated and then I end up with money that I seem to have got for free).

I'm generally confused about all this, but it appears that it's not only legal, but expected... mmm... I shall wait for the nasty men in black shades to turn up.

in other news, I'm home now and properly back into the swing of things here. I'm missing everyone in the States massively, particularly Jessey, but I've seen so many great friends over the past few days that I've really felt glad to be back.

I can definitely recommend Fortnum & Mason's Classic Tea - they do a dairy free version - so on Saturday to celebrate Jude's 30th, I ate copious amounts of scones and clotted cream (have no idea how they do this, but I'm not complaining) which was wonderful!

and talking of 30th birthdays, I'm really looking forward to my party now (it's on Sat - tee hee!). I have a gorgeous dress courtesy of my folks, and I can't wait to see everyone. Now all I need to do is get around to telling everyone when it is... Drop me an email if you've missed messages about it and want to come along!

the long days really begin...

2008-10-27T13:57:00.002Z

... got home at 4am this morning and back at work by 8.30. We're pretty much going to be here now until at least midnight every night now and pillows and a duvet have been brought into the office.

words fail me - this is so amazing!

2008-10-22T21:52:00.010+01:00

"I Didn't Vote For Obama" by kentuckyscott
Monday, October 20, 2008

I'm a middle-class white guy living in Jacksonville , Florida . I've got a wife and two kids. Because the kids had no school today, I took a vacation day from work, and took the kids downtown to vote early. Fifty-nine inutes later, two smiling children and I proudly sported "I Voted" stickers.
But I didn't vote for Obama.

I voted for my ancestors, who believed in the promise of this country and came with with nothing as immigrants. I voted for my parents, who taught in the public schools for decades. I voted for Steve, an acquaintance of mine from Kentucky . (Killed by an IED two years ago in Iraq ). I voted for Shawn, another who's been to Iraq twice, and Afghanistan once, and who'll be going back to Afghanistan again soon -- and whose family earned eleven bucks a month too much to qualify for food stamps when the war started. I voted for April, the only African-American girl in my high school -- it was years before it occurred to me how different her experience of our school must have been. I voted for my college friends who are Christian, Jewish, Mormon, and y es -- Muslim.

I voted for my grandfathers, who worked hard in factories and died too young. I voted for the plumber who worked on my house, because I want him to get a REAL tax break. I voted for four little angels from Birmingham . I voted for a bunch of dead white men who, although personally flawed, were willing to pledge their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor, and used a time of great crisis to expand freedom rather than suspend it. I voted for all those people and more, and I voted for all of you, too.

But mostly, I voted selfishly: I voted for two little kids, one who has ballet in an hour, and one who has baseball practice at the same time. I voted for a world where they can be confident that their government will represent the best that is in this country, and that will in turn demand the best of them.
I voted for a government that will be respected in the world. I voted for an economy that will reward work above guile. I voted for everything I believe in. Sure, I filled in the circle next to the name Obama, but it wasn't him I was voting for -- it was every single one of us, and those I love most of all."

turning 30, reflexions and what's next...

2008-10-20T03:34:00.006+01:00

... my 20s were amazing. I've had a great 10 years - it's been hard in places, but I've got to a point where I not only like who I am, but feel like I have the ability to do anything to which I set my mind. I have some amazing friends and my relationship with my family is better than it's ever been. This is all good.

this year in particular has been better than I could have wished but, after the last couple of years, I've really just been getting through each day at a time and haven't had the ability to think about the future and make plans.

being here in Chicago and working on the campaign has made me remember how much I love politics, and turning 30 has led me to think about my long-term career goals. These things are linked. I've been saying for a few years that my dream job would be Communications Director for the Labour Party, and I now feel like I'm at a point where I can start planning how to get the experience to get there. Living out here, even for such a short time, has also solidified a thought I've had for years about working and living in America at some-point properly.

so - here are some of my goals, in no particular order, for the next 10 years:

study for a degree - probably in Politics and Communication
network more at home, both business-wise and politically
get my EMBA, hopefully at LBS
live and work in America for at least a year
get more involved in the Labour Party
see more of my friends, keep the ones I have and meet more
build on my career successes this year
spend time on me and keep myself healthy

it's funny - because having written the above list, I've noticed that meeting the right guy and having a family are not there. I do want to do these things, but feel that if I spend my time focusing on the things I can affect, then these things will fall into place. This reminds me of the Serenity Prayer:

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

that's me right now. Life is good, it will continue to get better and I'm looking forward to the future in way that I never have before.