January
As mentioned before in my brief Facebook summary, I ended last year by trying to sleep through all the commotion and anticipation of New Year's Eve. This proved more difficult than I expected.
January brought another night where I was sleeping in my car. This time it was South Perth and I had been playing the water challenge at Tigerlil's the night before. My vigilance had paid off and my hangover was minimal.
The weather was hot and I spent a few prolonged work nights hanging around the Perth station waiting for the train home after going to the cricket.
February
February is always an interesting month. Not always enjoyable despite being the month of my birthday. I do not recall any spectacular moments. I must have been working hard.
March
Autumn at last as the old saying goes. I was studying a CPA unit at the time so that was my primary objective.
April
This was the month that I faced the tough decision regarding the future of my footy career. Tough indeed and I believe I played the "don't do anything and see how things pan out" card. I did not receive the call up.
May
The cold weather was a welcomed change from the balmy nights and hot days of the preceding months. Jas and I started going out most Saturday nights; I no longer had to study and the EPL started to dry up.
May is a month I have started to like. The festivities of the summer months have long since past and the new financial year is not far away.
This was also the month we decided to go to Phuket.
June
Spending too much of my time watching footy on Saturdays; a mistake I will not make again.
June 27 - time to go to Phuket. This was a good and relaxing holiday and my first in a long time (read my upcoming Phuket posts for more detail).
July
Nights - gym and watching Tour de France
Days - hitting 3 to 4 chargeable hours a day at work
August
Work picked up and I started playing ressies again. CPA study started to drop off. Optimism levels increasing.
September
A good month of sport indeed. No more footy for me so one or two quiet drinks on a Friday night had become a possibility.
October
Catch up on study, so lame!
November
After a few months of not going out or drinking, it was time for a change. Venues like the races, Tigerlil's and mid-week vodkas for lunch became the norm (I might have only done each one of these once).
I also went to the cricket.
December
It had been arguably 13 months since my last serious hangover. I had forgotten the pain and misery of my once nemesis. We would soon meet again.
It was the second Saturday of December. When I left home late that night I had brought with me my sleeping accessories. This was a bad move. I let my usual wariness slide and before I knew it I was smashed. I stumbled back to the office by around 2am, brushed my teeth and moved my car to the quasi driveway behind the office. I fell asleep quickly and awoke later on in the morning sherp'd and in really bad shape. The next 24 hours were perhaps the toughest I had faced during the year (this wasn't really saying much to be fair). It was a difficult process but eventually I climbed my way out of the abyss.
Other highlights from December - losing motivation for work and going out for work lunches every 3rd day.
Conclusion
Ironically or not, it is now 1630 on New Year's Eve. A full year has almost passed and I am about to head out for a few drinks (no more than 5) and hopefully shouldn't be home too late. Tomorrow is a new day and I plan to enjoy it with full capacity.
Stay tuned
