Goodbye 2012

2012 has certainly been an important year under many fronts.

On the personal side the engagement under the full moon in Santorini in August was definitely the key highlight, so looking forward to the big day in 2013! Bridezilla in the making, and I LOVE it!

Buying our first flat (a flat of dreams I must add) was a big step as well (so grown up!) and we have been very happy living the village life in Darlinghurst.

On the fun front we have had a lot of partying and travels, kicking off early in the year with Mardi Gras during Luciano's visit, a fantastic trip to Tasmania in February, a reality TV show stint in Mykonos in August with Jaimee, Gavin and Mishail's wedding (plus hen night with me coming out of a box) in June and August, Hunter Valley a couple of times,  and the build up to Christmas and New Year with visitors and friends. There has certainly be a lot of exploration of Sydney foodie scene - with some new gems being discovered and reviewed.


New friends were made in the year - Darlo coming to mind - and 'old' ones were cemented even further, both here in Oz and obviously back home in the UK. I love the fact that even though I might not see the people I care about the most very often, whenever I do the love and affection are always invariably there.

When we moved to Oz part of me was freaking out that the sporadic phone calls were going to be the things which would keep the friendships alive and I always felt 'performance fear' every time I spoke to someone - I let go of this and happily discovered that people connect on a level that goes beyond how good a phone call is. And that connection is not something you turn on or off. It's there, and distance and time only affect frequency of interaction, rather than the underlying feelings people have for each other.

I was lucky enough to go back to London a few times, and had a great time catching up with a lot of my friends (unfortunately not all!). A dinner in Bermondsey with Marta, a few flat dates, a Sbari searching meal etc etc were a few of the highlights. Love you all!


On the business front I have enjoyed a promotion to the APAC senior leadership team in May and a number of trips around the globe, including Hong Kong, New York, London and Singapore. Work has been good and despite I don't wake up wanting to skip into the office, I feel that I have grown professionally and I am excited about where I am taking things next year. I have certainly learnt a lot about Asia. But perhaps the most exciting thing under this front is the possibilities that both Patata and I have been building for ourselves and our life, especially following the Landmark stuff we did and Patz saying 'basta!' the the bout of crap work experience he had.

As usual my family has been there for me, always being the rocks I can always count on in my life. Grazie mille! Interesting to see that a few years after dad passed away we are all still going through the process of processing it all, a step at the time.

The fitness front has been good - I think I have managed to average 3-4 training session a week, and I managed to bench 80kgs which for me is great. The love for party and booze being the 'only' obstacle to my beach babe look (ah ah).  Planning to look delicious for the wedding!

So, all in all 2012 has been a year to remember, with both its pleasures and challenges! Bring on 2013 - the year of possibilities!