Wednesday 2 January 2019

LOOKING BACK AT 2018

Well, hello 2019! Just like that, the year is over, and before I get deep into reflecting on what's to come, I thought it might be quite nice to share what I got up to in 2018.

This was a pretty tiring year for me. Lots of great things happened, but I also spent a lot more time worrying and stressing about things than was probably healthy (some of that was unavoidable, but some was totally in my control - have I learned my lesson? We'll see). But I got to go to amazing places! And I did cool things. And I have very wonderful, funny, smart people in my life! Overall, I guess you weren't too bad, 2018.

Here's how my year went.

January

The year got off to a pretty excellent start, with a week in Fuerteventura to celebrate my ace boyfriend's birthday (I blogged about the trip here if you want to see where we went). The weather was beautiful, the company was loads of fun, and the very best bit - we climbed a volcanic crater where we discovered loads of tiny ground squirrels that clambered all over you!

I always find January a bit flat and grey, so it was so much fun to have something big to look forward to, and go adventuring so early in the year!


February

In February, on a bit of a whim, I chopped all of my hair off into a pixie cut. I've never had hair this short, and I didn't really think about what I was doing, but it absolutely is one of the best hair decisions I've ever made. 10 months on, I've been growing it into a slightly shaggier pixie, and I'm starting to feel a bit out of my depth trying to style it, but I've decided 2019 is going to be the year of hairbands for me!

This month we also played loads and loads of mariokart, broom broom!

March

March brought Scotland's big snow, and I got to have a snow day at home for the first time in years (I'd been abroad during the last big mega snow storm, so I missed all the fun). Is it bad that I found the snow super exciting? It was just so surreal to be in the city with no traffic, watching very wholesome scenes out my window of kids building snowmen.

I hibernated most of March. It was a really frantic work month (I need to mentally prepare for that this year!), so most weekends were spent, cosy indoors, playing Stardew Valley (I was obsessed!).

April

This was a really fun month! I went to lots of things at the Science Festival, then headed up north for a week of wild camping at Loch Assynt - it was beautiful, and so peaceful, and exactly what I needed before the busy summer season started.

Then, even though it was probably a bad idea to do back-to-back holidays at such an intense time of year, I headed to Stockholm for a long weekend with my mum and sisters. We've started doing these #tweediesontour trips every year and I love them so much! It's so nice to get the opportunity to explore a new city, and hang out with my family.

May

May was busy and STRESSFUL. The countdown to the Film Festival was on, and there was just so much to do, and seemingly not enough time to do it. But, I've worked enough festivals to know that things have a handy habit of coming together in the end, and this was no exception, we managed to hit stressy deadlines and launch the programme smoothly in the end.

This was also the month my boyfriend moved in!

June

June was Film Festival time, and it took over my life! As always it was a whirlwind, but I do love it - I got to see amazing films, meet interesting people, party hard with film folk, and pretty much everything went smoothly, PHEW.  I'm very lucky to have a great team and wonderful work pals who help keep me sane!

July

Post-festival I was TIRED. I got quite sick in July, which meant a huge chunk of the month was just written off, I had to skip fun things, and just quietly lounged around my flat waiting to feel better. I picked up painting again though! I fell severely short of my aim to paint one thing per month, but I do think I'm getting better each time I paint, which is something.

August

Edinburgh's August festivals rolled into town and I still felt a bit burned out, so I didn't really manage to drum up much enthusiasm to see many shows. I did manage to hang out in festival spaces though, and languorously soaked up the sunshine (we had a proper summer this year, what a treat!), caught up with loads of pals, and spent a few lovely afternoons in the gardens of the Book Festival (best books I've read this year are Normal People by Sally Rooney, The Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenni Fagan, and The Beekeeper by Maxence Fermine).

The month, which had felt sweet and healing, then ended abruptly with a scare, and the realisation that the people you love are not invincible.

September

The world was in better spirits, and we went to Croatia for a week of exploring the nooks and crannies of a beautiful island, reading books on a rooftop, soaking in sunshine and drinking very nice wine. Times like this make me feel very lucky indeed (and wish I could live on a tiny hot island, maybe one day?).

October

Back to the grind, but I was lucky enough to get to go to London Film Festival on the excuse of learning how the big festivals do it! I watched new films, spent a lot of time looking at branding, drank at rooftop receptions, and tried to look like I knew what I was doing.

The fun things this month were over-shadowed by the poor plight of Soba, our hedgehog, who had to be put down. It was the saddest time, and really took the light out of the month.

November

By now, I was SKINT from all the holidays I'd been on (when will I learn to budget?). November was a month of hibernating, of seeing my family and waiting on the outcome of a very scary day. The days turned darker, the nights got cold. I cried with a pal about losing pets in an old man pub (to the slight bemusement of the other people there).

But it was also the month of playing Taiko no Tatsujin! I became a drum master! I went on Christmassy nights out and had delightful times with pals! I went to the theatre! I saw a sword swallower! I saw the lights of hope and things feeling brighter, and it was good.

December

And then it was December. I was very ready for a month of light and lols and festivities, and (despite my boyfriend being briefly hospitalised!), it has been a delightful month. I turned 33 and had lovely times with my family and friends, then escaped up north for a lazy weekend with books and a fire (the dream).

Christmas was spent in our lovely cosy flat, playing games, entertaining, and watching millions of movies, and it has been bright and easy and calm and good. We said hello to Udon, welcoming a new baby hedgehog home much sooner than I expected. I'm spending my nights telling her to be brave, it's a big world out there, but it's full of promise and friendship, and it's here for us all.

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