2010 in Review

Well, it's another year gone, and another person starting a year review with the phrase "Well, it's another year gone, and...".

I'm Chris Morris, and I was never confused by a single episode of Lost.

I'm trying to find the words to sum up 2010, which would be a great thing since that's the idea of this blog, but I really can't think. Let's start with how many books I read this year:

Dracula - Bram Stoker
We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families - Philip Gourevitch.

And that's it. Yep, just two books. Unless I can count a quarter of Under the Dome by Stephen King? It took me nearly a whole year to read Dracula for a number of reasons. When I first started reading it, I was half way through the most terrible academic year of my life. Yep, the dreaded Perth College Joke, oops sorry I mean Honors Degree. I was still writing my dissertation, and I got sort of sidetracked making a video of myself making a Banoffee Pie:

*Insert Video Here*

Yeah, I was intending to show that particular video but it seems that I don't actually have it on my laptop now... It only exists on Facebook! Check out my videos on my Facebook page if you haven't seen it and you're wondering what I'm going on about.

Of course, I was inspired to make some Banoffee Pie (Which, by the way I can ACTUALLY make now) because of the amazing Banoffee Pie at the first China team residential at Gartmore House. Which brings me to Pure Media. If 2010 is to be remembered for anything for me, it's the amazing time I've had with some of the most awesome people I've ever met. Not only China (I was never really convinced I was actually going), but things like this:

For those who don't know, Eh Qualitee was the creation of five people (Although my Eh Qualitee alter ego would say one person) who thought "Wouldn't it be quite funny if we entered one of Scotland's biggest dance competitions and performed in front of hundreds of people?" which turned into reality. And although this has spawned hilarious jokes, and even more funny situations (My favourite probably being the dance-off in a Beijing subway train), the whole process of creating Eh Qualitee with those people is something I'll never forget.

Of course, it didn't end there, there was making a film in the snowy highlands, trying to find Nathan in amongst thousands of runners at the Edinburgh Marathon, staying up mega late to try and edit films, a short lived but hilarious podcast, realising that despite Perth College's doubt in me, I can actually do things as a musician, making a music video with kids who have more energy than an eighteen pack of Coca-Cola, finding that I have made some excellent friends, and of course, racing up the Great Wall of China. And I've missed out loads from that whole paragraph.

2010 was also a year of sort of growing up. Heather has become an actual proper primary school teacher, and I'm sorting out a proper job for myself, too. In 2011, both Heather and I will very much be stepping into the unknown, but it's not just scary, it's exciting.

I'll also never forget the day I decided I would run a marathon. I went out the door, drove up to Clatto, went for a run one lap around the reservoir, and actually thought I would need to go to hospital. Running is a sport for people like me; people who don't think things through. Oh yeah, I'll run a marathon I thought. And then I realised that running is hard. Pretty much, very extremely, mega, pure hard likes. But I WILL run the Edinburgh Marathon, and I... MIGHT do it in under four hours.

So, 2010, here's to you. And what sort of year review would this be if I didn't do a top ten list of stuff. Here goes:

TOP TEN DANCE PERFORMANCES OF THE YEAR:

1. Eh Qualitee at the Urban Chillax
2. Eh Qualitee in Beijing
3. Nuff Said
4. Nuff Said
5. Nuff Said
6. Nuff Said
7. Nuff Said
8. Nuff Said
9. Nuff Said
10. Nuff Said

TOP TEN BOOKS OF THE YEAR

1. Page 38 of Dracula
2. Page 246 of Dracula
3. Page 114 of We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families
4. Page 338 of Under The Dome
5. Page 71 of We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families
6. Page 23 of Dracula
7. Page 99 of Dracula
8. The blurb of Under The Dome
9. Note on the Text from Dracula
10. Page 10 of Under The Dome

TOP TEN STUPID IDEAS OF THE YEAR

1. Staying at Perth College
2. Playing Resident Evil alone in the dark
3. Getting up early to watch the final episode of Lost
4. Parking on a single yellow line before six o' clock (Twice)
5. Deciding to run up the Great Wall of China
6. Trying a "strawberry flavoured" powder shake
7. Putting a penny into the self service machine while Heather was trying to pay by card because I thought it would be funny
8. Thinking I could keep up with a "Joke a day" calender
9. Telling my Gran "OK" when she asks if I could play some snare drum along with her accordion at a pub on Hogmany tonight...
10. Eating a chicken's feet and head in China/Eating as many chillies as I could in one minute