Let's Rummage Into My 2009

2009 has been an average for me really and when I look reflect upon the year which has past, I am quite content; it's not been a fantastic year which I'm going to remember for the rest of my life, and it's also not been a crap year in which nothing positive has happened. It's been quite a straight forward year. Last year’s blog which reflected on 2008 was quite a negative and depressing one because I focused on the negative - making it sound much worse than it was. This year’s blog will be an unbiased blog in which the positive and negatives are discussed.

Positive One - Jade Goody died. Not much else to say really; I always feel guilty when I say bad stuff about her now, but when I remember how much she irritated me when she was alive, I feel better and not as guilty upon realising she won't bother me again.

Negative One - Bad A-level results. In August the White Envelope didn't contain good results, including me getting an E in English. This has in turn affected my confidence ever since and my motivation to do anything has been affected also. I now have to work hard to make sure I do well in retakes as well as making sure I get good, well deserved results next year. Those bad results probably were the worst thing to happen to me this year.

Positive Two - Twitter. May seem stupid to most people, but to me it's a good thing. I started Tweeting in February and since then (apart from the two months where I stopped Tweeting) have Tweeted numerous times a day, with it becoming an addiction for me. My popularity has increased throughout the year and I've broken the 1000th Tweet barrier. I have become rather hooked on Tweeting the dullness of my life. I quite like the mission of putting your point across in 140 characters; it's a good skill to build up.

Negative Two - Love Life. I say 'Love Life' - it probably should be 'Lack of a Love Life'. I have now gone over 18 months of singleness. That doesn't bother me too much; I'm quite content only having to worry about myself and not having the hassle, but it kind of gets to you when you have friends which are happy and giddy about being in love with 'The One' as they often refer to them as and declaring how hard it would be to survive without them. I'm quite the cynic in the realms of love which probably is a good explanation as to why I'm single in the first place.

Positive Three - Driving. Again, quite a silly thing to put as a positive of my year, but then I am sad like that. I've waited years to be able to drive, and now I've reached the age in which I can. I've enjoyed my lessons - all 32 of them with my instructor making them more enjoyable. The hope that early next year I will be able to drive on my own is a positive of this year. People should be on the lookout for a boy driving an orange Nissan Micra soon in the future (Hopefully).

Negative Three - Depression. Something I've suffered with badly and quietly this year. One obvious observation I've had of depression is that it's not very nice and can be quite lonely. This again has caused a loss of confidence, but it's something I'm aiming to change in 2010; let’s just hope it works out so I can spend next year being happy and smiling.

Positive Four - Maturity. Despite still being relatively immature a majority of the time (something which adds to my 'charm'), I have become much more mature this year - maybe as a result of all the negative happenings in the past year, but who knows. I've certainly given 'my' life more direction with me setting goals to achieve and deciding that I'd like to get into Journalism - whether I end up working in a supermarket remains to be seen however.

Negative Four - Doctors. I've spent a lot of this year being in and out of the Doctors Surgery and they are not the happiest moments of my life. Literary on the 1st January I went deaf and was for two months before I finally had my ears syringed. Been to the doctors for problems with my feet, continuous headaches and then recently - deaf again and having ears syringed, so a nice full circle. Hopefully I'll be better next year though.

Positive Five - Scrubs. Another silly little thing which in some way has improved my year. This time last year I'd never watched one episode, and now I've watched them all at least twice - that's commitment. Every evening before I go to bed I watch and episode or two which I've recorded. Those digital recorders are very good you know!

Negative Five - Money. My God, I've gotten through some money this year - and I don't even have a job. A few thousand on car-related stuff, the odd hundred here and there buying stuff for myself (latest one a new Hi-Fi for my room), buying stuff for school (Photography isn't a cheap subject) and now Christmas - I'm refusing to work out how much I've spent for Christmas because I don't fancy a heart attack really. I'm praying I pass my driving test because petrol is cheaper than lessons and another test...

Positive Six - Comedy. Can't beat a bit of comedy to cheer yourself up can you? Seeing Milton Jones, Sean Lock and Lee Mack in a space of just over a month certainly is a big highlight for me. I'm not going to go through it again, because I've already written a blog about it, but it's a good experience and something you have to make sure you do! Who'll I see next year I wonder?

Negative Six - Media. I don't mean the subject which I dropped in May, I mean the newspapers and television and everything else. Being constantly informed of Katie Price's life, Kerry Katona being drugged up, Tiger Woods playing away, Jedward annoying the nation, Susan Boyle having a mental breakdown or Lady Gaga being a hermaphrodite - they're all things I don't care about and have made this year hell for me and every other sane person in Britain.

Positive Seven - Advertisement. It was good to have Mr Karnavas mention my blog at the end of his speech at the Presentation Evening. Mind you, I don't know what he said about it because I wasn't listening - I perked up when he said 'Stuart' and missed the beginning of it. I'm not sure advertising to a room of 300 bored people was the best form of advertisement, but as they say ‘Any publicity is good publicity’. Something for you to try if you get bored though: If you go on Google and search 'Phil Karnavas Murder' my blog comes up first. It's the small things in life...

Negative Seven - Time. I have no time to myself really, which everyone needs a bit of. If I'm not at school I'm usually doing school work. Occasionally you'll see me with friends, but even that's not time to myself. I like time to myself just listening to some tunes and writing a blog like this. I'm writing this blog instead of attempting my mountain of English and Photography work for example...

Positive Eight - Friends. The best positive of the lot. It may have been a relatively rubbish year for me and I'm not exactly expecting 2010 to be a better year, but I know my friends will always cheer me up, like they have this year; unless they get fed up of trying, but I doubt they will. Anywho, I thank them.
Well, sorry for the long blog; went on longer than I anticipated. That's my year in 1,215 words anyway - hope your 2009 has been good and hope 2010 is another great year for you!

Remember to continue to read The Blog Of Stuart: It's the only blog mentioned by Mr Karnavas at this year’s CHS Presentation Evening.

Apology 01/01/10:

My comments about Mr Karnavas's speech being boring (in Positive Seven) is actually false. I and my fellow classmates in no way found it boring. It was an enlightening speech about our schools achievements. I apologise now to Mr Karnavas and anyone else offended by my comments and for any upset caused. This was an unfair representation of a man who is full of life, witty and a generally good guy.