Rapher:Night Owl

I did one of these for last year so thought I’d do another one. Plus it gives me something to do on my 3.5 hour train journey home, heading back up North for Christmas. (though actually most was written once I was at home because train was too busy to properly concentrate on this)

It’s been a strange year, things have occurred which I never thought of let alone believe would ever happen. It started off pretty well, thought I’d managed to put the madness and troubles of 2010 behind me.

Began with me and J hanging out and just playing hours of Lego:Batman on the xbox and watching the Fireworks in London on the TV. A slightly calmer New Years than the previous one. I am not one for big parties and playing xbox and watching Big Bang Theory till 6am is idea of fun for me. Sounds rather pathetic maybe but I don’t really care, I don’t drink so big New Years bashes aren’t all that fun for me, usually I have to look after drunken people and make sure they don’t pass out on the street because the pavement looks comfy.

So here we go, time to ramble on about my year, try to follow, it is not in any logical order and it will go up and down (like this year has).

2011 the year I finally finished my degree and the year when after one rather awesome summer everything seem to go a bit wrong, or it’s all gone wrong as the phrase goes according to some people   Started off pretty well, with SNOW again, lots of it. Then came a few blips and then Oh it was a glorious summer, finished university, BBQs, fires till 5am and sandbar burgers. Not to mention the live music. Then there was the holiday to Berlin which was an amazing week of awesomeness.  As a lifelong Kaberle fan been a horrible year of watching him go from Leaf to Bruin to the worst of all a hab L.

2011 the year I realised where my true loyalties lay and who my real friends were. I found that sometimes you can depend more on people you have never actually met more than those you have known for years. I learnt that I people I thought I knew very well were not the people I thought they were and that some that you feel you should be able to depend on let me down. Equally I have found out who really gives a damn and who is an actual friend as opposed to someone faking it.

2011 the year I was forced to attend a formal occasion and wear something that is not my usual attire …Was a day of somewhat discomfort but all good fun I guess. The May Ball, I guess I had to go as it was the last one of our university career and I was bullied into going  Although it made my feet hurt, me and heels do not agree, I received a ton of compliments which is always nice eh? So although I was completely out of my element and well and truly not in my comfort zone anymore Dorothy, fun was had by all.

2011, the year of many a disappointment and failures and broken dreams and loss. This is most the latter half of the year, late august till December, up till then it seemed ok, then it  all went a bit downhill.  I tried to pursue multiple ‘dreams’ of mine this year and had them all shot down, I am mainly to blame or according to my mum it is all entirely my fault.  Trying to forgot about them and just focus on now and do I actually want to do with my life. I think the reason things failed is because I didn’t want them bad enough or maybe they weren’t the path I was destine to follow. Either way I have some major regrets about this year and I wish I didn’t as they make it hard to progress forward and #scoretheDream Won’t go into what these are, I have blogged a plenty about them.  Not only have I lost dreams I have lost friends, I have fallen out of contact with far too many of my friends recently and think this is something I need to rectify in the new year. On top of that, as I have mentioned before (http://rapher.tumblr.com/post/12255773288/stay-strong-and-beleaf), I lost a dear friend, someone I never met and wish I had, the loveliest young lady ever to grace twitter, always there with advice and support in your time of need, the degree of selflessness  shown by her was something many could learn from and I miss her terribly, although she is gone, she still remains and I would like to thank her for all her kind words of support and encouragement when I was struggling with workload and exams. She pushed me to work hard but also reminded me that I should take a break every now and again. Now it is her apprentice’s ‘job’ to give me the kick I need to push me forward and to remind me to never give up. He is one of the reasons I think I am still striving forward and haven’t completely given up on everything. I shall come the other reasons later.  So Shoutout to my buddy @MarkukLeaf all the wisdom of a jedi knight and the warrior fighting spirit to match (when it comes to campaigning for Europe’s right to watch the greatest game you can name).

2011, the year of ace music.  Finding new music is always exciting and this year I found a lot or more it found me. Now not wanting to inflate their ego’s more but I know it will, shoutouts to three awesome people who are not only some of the greatest friends one could ask for but also my sources of tune discovery, my music taste is a strange blend of each of them. For the truly bizarre and sometimes relaxing chilled out and happy ear times the lovely @jesickaa never disappoints. Now someone who’s music choices I rarely disagree with and someone with whom I discovered what I think he will agree is the best music find of the year quite possibly is @Chiser99 . He is loud and hard to ignore and you often get force-fed the music but it is always awesome ( in my opinion) and if you want obscure music, he’ll know it (possibly before it exists, he is just that hipster  ). Next thanks to this ace person, I now have a even greater love of music made by angry sounding Germans or neue deutsche härte… the likes of Rammstein, Eisbrecher and OOMPH! Always manages to cheer me up no end. So *glove-tap* to my hockey loving friend @Benmcfc who I bet is as pumped as I am for Rammstein live next year.  As I write this, I am listening to Caribou one of the really quite brilliant bands I discovered this year, ‘’Sun’’ I think is my number 1 song of this year.

2011, the year  of 30 Rock. Although this was discovered years ago, it has really come into its element with me this year, many an hour of this year (especially in past few months) have been spent watching and rewatching this show. It is just super clever and funny and brilliantly written, I urge you if you haven’t to watch it.  Now I am a huge fan of The Big Bang Theory but this show is starting to overtake BBT as my favourite show.

2011, the year of change, big change. Lets see, graduated University, moved back home, got driven bonkers by parents and so decided to make a major change and move out…one I made a decision, two I made it rather quickly, three I moved down south *shocked-face*, four I moved in with someone I never expected to live with, tbh I had been expecting to be at uni still for the next 3-4years. Do not regret my decision, for the most part  bazinga…no I love it, only downside is I am down south and it’s Reading but the company more than makes up for it (most of the time). Him winding me up is like a game for him, he wants a response and one day maybe I will snap  but hey I bet I am equally as annoying to live with, what with my excessive baking and terrible Forza skills.

There is more I could say but eh there is too much for just one blog, so instead going to end with a list of *glove taps* to the people who have made this year for me. Most of these will be twitter handles and I suggest you follow all these folks if you don’t already because they are just the bees knees.  Firstly, @MarkUkLeaf, as much as you tell me to, you remember that you need to #ScoretheDream too, never stop fighting and MTFBWY. @Chiser99, thank you, I appreciate everything. You say you aren’t good with the whole empathy thing but you are just fine with it, cheered me up when I’m down and I hope I haven’t been too annoying to live with *surprise tomato attack*. @Jesickaa, *triangles and squares* I miss you now I am not living in the same city as you, this year has been fun, miss the library times with you and I hope next year brings happier times for you, my once again blue haired friend. @OakleyInc, this guy is one of the greatest Leafs fans I know, hopefully 2012 will give me the chance to finally meet you and other awesome leafers, never have I known someone with such passion for ones team and a sport. Strong minded but huge heart. Also shoutout #TeamMonster member @Jill_and_tonic , always making me smile and she loves the Swedish giant J as much as I do.  Ah my #insomniacclub buddies @Doh79 and @Janiceromero thank you for keeping me company when I can’t sleep, hopefully 2012 will be a year when we can all sleep like ‘normal’ people. Or will I as my bud @DJay2411 says always be a nightowl? Someone else who has given me advice and support or just made me smile is @Learningonthego, fellow chocolate button lover and blogger. My nap-a-holic friend @LeafsUk11/@toastunderbeans, in the year and half I have known you, you have tried to sell me on naps and Apple, I have tried to learn the supposed wonders of napping but like Apple, neither agrees with me, in fact I have grown to dislike both more I think. Sorry. But we will always  have Batman. My ‘’Soft Kitty’’ loving bud @Tasia_lee, part of my awesome crew on twitter.

So many people, all the true beleafers, you know who you are, all the people who keep me company on twitter and who I can say are my friends though I am yet to meet many of you, including my Canadian twin @Chantaljalbert and Technology wizard @Mdee14 and blogger extraordinaire @Xterratu.  Plus the uk leafsnation’s loyal leader @Scotsman7 and the sharp witted @mzdemure  and the man who just wants his team to be the best @wewantacupcom.

Some of you I have only just met this year, others I have known for a while, either way I hope I continue to know you J

I’d love to continue but I think this post is long enough already so sorry to those who are not mentioned I still appreciate each and every one of you and I am most grateful for the things I do have.  Not wanting to sound like a massive walking cliché but this is that sort of post I guess, I’ve learnt  sometimes as hard as it seems, it is best to be positive and move forward and also to be grateful for what one has as you never know when it will be gone.

Well New Years this time around ain’t going to be anything special, well no big party anyway. Going to be here, at home with the family, well most of them, sister will be in New York watching the ball drop, not fair is it…

Anyway enough about me…

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Live long and Prosper

Rapher xox