Well, it's been a big year (again - I always seem to say that). This was the year though that took a physical toll I think, more so than years past. I recall thinking that around the middle of this year, after both Steph and I had suffered so many headcolds, I'd had a couple of bouts of gastro which left me vomiting (and I never vomit), I'd had sinusitis for the first time and my knees were killing me from going up and down the stairs in our rental house. And then Steph got pregnant (and if anything's going to mess with your body, that's a good one). So, we made it through OK, if not both of us putting on a bit too much weight and certainly feeling a bit old and battered at the end of it...

Overall though, it was definitely a year of moving forwards. We moved into a brand new house. We got pregnant. I quit my job of 4 years and started a new job. I went to Japan for a week. I ticked "Dream Theater" off the list of bands I need to see before I die. It was a good year, but not without it's challenges.

How did I fare with my goals for 2008? Really well I think. Here's a recap;

• Goal: Move into our NEW HOUSE. Associated with this, make sure the construction of the new house goes as smooth as possible, sell the investment property for a stack of cash (here's hoping), make the new house as welcoming and inviting as possible :)


• Check. Well, the house build went surprisingly smoothly except for the last little bit (handover). But even then, in the grand scheme of things, it was a hiccup rather than a heart attack. We sold the investment property, certainly not for a stack of cash though... :( And the new house, I think, is pretty fucking awesome (and welcoming and inviting as well). Still a bit of work to do though :)


• Goal: Grow the family. Maybe not a birth, but at least a conception :)


• Check. With a new baby boy(!) due in March, Steph has spent about half of this year pregnant (and probably a quarter of it feeling nauseous)


• Goal: Ride the DWS wave at SDM. It's hard to say how it'll all go at this early stage, but I'm sure it'll be a fun ride


• Check. Well, I had a very educational, very challenging, sometimes rewarding and overall extremely enlightening experience with SDM and DWS this year. Obviously, I moved on from SDM to OBS, so you might read into that a number of things. Upon reflection, although it is with much sadness I feel that SDM underwent the acquisition and eventual destruction by DWS, I did learn a great deal from Danny and the DWS business model. And I've said a number of times that I think DWS does well what it sets out to - it just doesn't happen to align with what I want to do. It took me a while to ride that wave and work that out, but when I did it was much easier to move on (emotionally I mean, logistically it was easy) and I was much happier.
  
• Goal: Have 2 incredible nights with Dream Theater... this I really can't wait for


• Check. Definitely a highlight of the year for me.


• Goal: Continue to grow with Aurora. As she gets older, help Steph mould her into a stellar, respectful, amazing young woman (and make it through what they call "the terrible twos")


• Check. I've done a lot of growing with Aurora this year and I think I can genuinely say that we're best friends now :) We love to talk and play together and there is a wonderful excitement each time we see each other, be it when I get home from work each night, or when Aurora comes and wakes me up in the morning. The past 2 to 3 months have been particularly challenging for me in my role as Dad, as Aurora asserts herself more, has started to ignore requests and instructions and has really learnt the definition of stubborn. But, with that, comes a great opportunity for me to learn and develop myself. Or at least that's what I keep telling myself :)


• Goal: Go overseas again, hopefully for work. I'm hoping to go to the MS Partner Conference again in the middle of the year in the States. If so, take another week for some Andy solo time


• Check. I managed to get to the MS Partner Conference in July, barely... Right up until I got on the plane, there was a good chance it was going to get shut down by my CEO, labelled purely as "a junket". The conference itself was fantastic (and we, as a company, should have got a lot out of it) and Houston was a nice enough place. My travelling highlight of the year though was the week I spent in Japan by myself. Tokyo and Kyoto were just an incredible experience, and again, some time that I really needed to "get my head together".
  
• Goal: Surprise Steph with fun and exciting adventures, and little things to remind her that I love her


• Fail! Well, I did start the year well by surprising Steph for her birthday and taking the day off, but I was a bit lacklustre across the year in this department. I'm sure there were little things throughout the year, but I definitely should've got off my bum a lot more on this front...


• Goal: Continue learning the drums, but not at the expense of keeping the guitar skills up


• Check (kinda). I'm not sure I progressed too much further with the drumming - I certainly have kept playing, sometimes more frequently than other times. One of the unexpected joys though of the new house has been putting my guitars out on display. This has prompted me to play guitar a LOT more - I'm probably playing once every 3 to 4 days, which is keeping me very happy and relaxed (and keeping my skills up)
  
• Goal: Keep blogging. Target wise, again, I'd like to get at least 10, preferably 15, blog entries a month


• Check. This year I did the best I've ever done in terms of quantity, I think. And in quality I hope as well :) All up, 128 posts for the year, which means just over 10 posts a month. The start of this year was certainly harder for me to blog (as I was feeling things I didn't want to necessarily publish), the last part of the year has been very easy to get the thoughts out there. I'm looking forward to keeping it up (I hope)


• Goal: Inspire some people. I got some feedback from various folk this year that I managed this, so this time I'll set it as a focus!


• Check. I think I did OK on this front. I had good feedback from those I managed to work with within DWS, and within my new team, I hope I'm laying the foundations of trust at the moment so that I can springboard into inspiration/motivation/leadership next year :)


• Goal: Continue to give support to those who need it most, including those people I do and do not know personally


• Check (kinda). I gave a lot financially to charities and causes this year, more than any year past, but I didn't "go the extra mile" or contribute personally beyond financial means. Something I need to work on.


• Goal: See that Huckle leaves this world in the most comfortable way possible, and at the "right time". Deal with it a best as possible - I'm going to miss him incredibly


• Check. We did manage to do this earlier in the year, and whilst it was a very sad occasion, he still lives in our hearts and memories. Aurora still speaks of Huckle "in the sky".


• Goal: Hire some kickass people (to join the already legendary team) for SDM


• Check. Well, I did manage to do this across the year, across two different companies! At SDM we managed to bring on a couple of stars; Nikki, Brownie, Liam and Paul (through DWS) and Alain to mention a few. At OBS, Elaine has come across from SDM as well as Darren Deason, someone I've been wanting to work with for a long time - so I'm quite excited about the additions to the already great team at OBS.


• Goal: Speak to my sister, clear the air.


• Check. I had dinner with my sister during the year and we cleared the air. Have we spoken since? Nup. Do I feel that we need to? Nup. We're on civil terms, and I think that suits both of us just fine.


• Goal: Learn more "management stuff" for work. Maybe take a course?


• Check (mostly). Well, I certainly learnt a lot through osmosis in work this year, and particularly management. Being involved with the DWS management team was a good experience. I joined the AICD this year and went to a few talks and networking events, but didn't do a course. I could've done more on this front, but I'm not beating myself up over it... it was pretty full on nonetheless :)


• Goal: Quit smoking


• Check. I stopped smoking on my return from Japan (mid July) and have had a handful of cigarettes since. I'm happy that I managed to break through the 3 month barrier and continue to not smoke.


• Goal: Have a bucketload of fun and make sure everyone else around me does as well


• Check. I'm not sure that I would classify 2008 as a "fun" year; with the exception of thinking of Aurora and our play together. I've certainly had a lot of fun though in our new house, and a LOT of fun at my new job. And I've tried to keep it as fun as I can with my family and friends where I can.


• Goal: Make some deeper connections with friends. See friends on a more regular basis (or any basis, compared to what I've been seeing them!)


• Undecided. I reckon other than my work friends (Elaine, Chris O'C, Darren), I probably saw Gav more than any of my other friends - and that was great. I spent a bit of time with Sean (again, not enough) and a lot of "virtual" time with Marc, Laith and Alex Angas. After a few years of putting this on the goals list, I think I'm realising that there just isn't enough time for everyone... and that's a bit of a sad fact of life. I love all of my friends dearly and I think I'd like to see ALL of them more... but between work, family and solo Andy time, there's not a great deal left.

What else happened this year? Aurora had her first hospital operation. The memory of her passing out in front of me with the anaesthetic is still fresh in my mind - my poor little baby.

I went to the Big Day Out, Dream Theater (twice), Iron Maiden, Ween, Coheed and Cambria and Opeth in concert this year (not all on the same bill). It was one of the quieter years in terms of concerts for me. I saw Daniel Kitson and Kristen Schaal at the comedy festival as well (and laughed very hard)

I played another Monstar Music acoustic concert. I had a ball (and again forgot how much preparation is required for a 14 song concert). I really did enjoy it though, and thought it went well. Even my singing didn't drive the crowd away, so it couldn't have been that bad.

We went to Adelaide for my (and Danyse's) birthday. That was an amazing trip, and it was lovely to be able to truly surprise Danyse with our arrival; I think it took her at least 2 days to get over the shock of seeing us :)

We got a Wii, and I fell in love with playing Guitar Hero. We went to the Zoo while I was on "gardening leave" (between jobs)

I started to Twitter

And finally, Chinese Democracy was released - something I've been waiting on for at least 15 years... And for me it was worth the wait. It hasn't sold as well as it needed to, it's had some pretty mixed reviews, but I love it.

So all in all, another big year. Farewell 2008, you'll be known as a year of change, most certainly (and not just because of a senator named Obama in the US).

A big thanks to all involved in my life for being there in 2008. It wouldn't have been the same without you :)