7 Successes & 5 Secrets Pt 1

I'd not heard of a meme until a few days ago when Troubled Diva tagged me with one! Maybe it's a practice that's died out a little as I've not been aware of it at all in my first virtual year (I mean that in both senses of the word virtual; 1st anniversary pending!)

So anyway, it's high time I got on with a response. It's been tough chewing over the subject, 7 Successes and 5 Things You Don't Know About Me. So much of my blog is personal that I've written about most of these things as they've happened, and if I haven't it's probably because I don't want you to know!

Anyway, let's get going. Successes first... Please note: these are not in order!!

1) My Friends

Maintaining friendships, and discovering which ones are worth emotional investment is probably one of the hardest parts of adult life in a world as busy as ours. I've always held the theory that people you meet are either for a lifetime, a reason or a season.

Distinguishing and recognising who fits in where is crucial, and we've all made mistakes. This year, I've made some mistakes; Jay for instance was there for a reason; I needed to learn to love myself and accept my worth as a human being. I thought he was a lifetime though, hence the huge disappointment. Others have run the risk of being for a season, but through effort and love we've kept them going. I'm not just proud of this, but thankful also.

2) My home!

I've got myself out of the shithole that I was sharing with 3 other gay guys, a lesbian, and 3 cats (I used to call it 'Four Poofs & Four Pussies', I'm kind of sorry about that now, so un-PC!) It really was a dive though, so much so that some of my friends refused to eat there! We had 1 tiny kitchen and 1 bathroom between the five of us. Kim & Aggie would have had a field day!

I've swapped it for my lovely apartment and am now on the London property ladder, a notoriously hard place to get to!

I love my little pad, and have a lodger now too which helps out with the finances alot! I've picked well there too, he's a great guy, so that's another success but I guess putting it seperately is a bit of a cheat!

Most importantly; I can see myself staying for here a while. It's about time I put down some roots, and Hackney is way better than Phil & Kirsty would have you think!

3) My Job!
I've got my own little restaurant at last, via a few months in Head Office. I love being in Hampstead village, and I've weeded out the two bad apples in the crew. This means the others have now started working exactly as they should, and not out of fear but out of respect; for me and for the restaurant as they always knew it could be.

I've been there just 6 weeks, but it's already a cleaner, happier place with a really positive 'vibe' about it. I'm very proud of this!

4) My Hobby!
As I mentioned earlier, I've virtually completed my first year of blogging. By doing this, I've kep contact with some great friends, and made quite a few new ones (see the blog roll in the sidebar). I have regular readers from Portland to Thailand, and South Africa to Hong Kong. All of you make logging on an exciting experience for me daily!

I've also had an outlet for my thoughts and ideas, a chance to write, and an opportunity to make sense of myself. Self realisation has been in abundance and it's been a massively worthwhile experience.

5) Family birthdays!
I've helped organise some great days! The Sis's 40th was particularly notable, as the occassion prescribes, but Mum's was also good, and Nans 90th was a lovely day too! Mini J's was the trip to Blue Man Group which was superb. We've had some really lovely family days, and thats the most important thing really.

6) Small Achievements...
This seems like a really silly one, but the sense of achievement here was massive! I've completed the hardest SuDoku I've ever attempted! The Friday Deadly Killer; target time 55 minutes, no numbers to start with... AND I CAN DO THEM EVERY WEEK NOW!!

And lastly...
I've survived! Ok, so only just! But two years after the heart attack and 10 years on from the HIV diagnosis, I'M STILL HERE!!

This has taken me a lot longer than expected, so I'll carry on with the

'5 things you don't know...' tomorrow. See you then!