2008: A Photo Montage

Tom works on his groove at our pad
Champions!
The romantic interlude in Oxford didn't quite work out, but I did bag a room with a view
And the High Street is still beautiful
Day Tripping with Nick and Kata
Outside Buckingham Palace
Off Piste, Val Thorens, France
On Piste!
Red Sky At Night . . .
. . . get pissed with the Irish
Global Cooling?
On route to Via Diodati on the Newhaven - Dieppe ferry looking like a true Frenchman
Downtime for David in Brighton
Italian Men seem good at attracting gorgeous girls . . . hmm . . .
. . . and losing your dignity
Tanith Lee and Harry Harrison are the famous ones . . . well as famous as SF writers get!
Dean shows how to pull off the man-bag . . .
. . . not sure about the flat cap though . . .
Lee's right-hand man is the grim reaper
Jeff ups the ante for Villa Diodati by discovering a villa outside Lyon
Best. Writer's Group. Ever.
Twins Birthday
Isle of Wight
Food Lines
Woooah . . . J E N G A!
Carn Meini, Wales

Conflict Resolution

2008? Get out of here!

2009. Welcome!

So, as is the custom of the times, a swift review of the year that's gone, and a golden-tinted view of the year to come . . .

I made five resolutions exactly one year ago. Let's see how they went down.

1. Write at least three hundred words a day.
- No stats available on this one. I certainly failed to write each and every day, and even if I took the word count cumulatively and made an average I think it would be somewhat less than 300 words per day. FAIL.

2. Read a piece of short fiction every day.
- Read my three-hundred and sixth fifth story yesterday! Although I didn't follow the resolution to the letter, playing major catch-up in the latter months of the year, I'm taking this one. I'll post seperately about this monumental achievement. Ahem. PASS.

3. Keep searching for a soulmate.
- Okay, the search largely didn't leave the confines of internet dating -- I'm not one for flirting in coffee shops or supermarkets -- but I can't say I didn't try. Met many great girls, just not the right one. Work in progress. PASS.

4. Do at least thirty minutes of vigorous excercise three times a week.
- Slowed down towards the end of the year, but pretty much had this one wrapped through all the football, squash, and cycling. PASS.

5. Sell my house and buy a place in Budapest.
- Unrealistic aim what with the MSc not finishing until Sept, and now I'm not sure where the future lies anyway. FAIL.

Overall, three out of five. With the two fails not being too horrendous I can live with myself . . . biggest disappointment has to be only selling one story this year, and not continuing the momentum I built up in 2007. I can make excuses about focusing on the Masters, but the truth is I didn't apply myself enough.

Steve surveys the road ahead
Looking ahead:

1. Keep up the excercise. Nothing makes for better long-term health than regular activity, so must get back into the three-times-a-week sporting routine.

2. Cook properly at least once a week. My home eating habits have been sliding towards a few signature dishes such as bangers and mash, and chilli con carne, and, dare I say it, ready meals (Tesco's Finest, mind, or is that an oxymoron?) and it's time to buck that trend. So, Delia, Hugh, and Gordon get ready for a tiny bit more money in the coffers . . .

3. Cut-down on the XBox. Specifically, no more Call of Duty 4. Put down the controller. Step away from the flatscreen. No. Nada! Pure masturbation for the mind. But I will play other games like Fallout 3 and Dead Space -- for research purposes, natch.

4. 300 words a day. If at first you don't succeed . . .

5. Write a novel? Not sure that's an effective resolution. Maybe better would be: do shit that you need to do when you write a novel. Ideas, Characters. Setting. That sort of stuff. And the words too, I guess.