- Lowlight: the flight back from Ottawa in early January. The plane took off late, landed to refuel in Calgary (or Edmonton, I forget) for a bit without letting us out, crying children, constant turbulence especially over the Rockies… I was hot, vaguely claustrophobic and definitely nauseous (if I hadn’t loaded up on Gravol™, I’m sure I would have puked) and it was the longest 35 hours of my life. Oh, sure, my watch says it was only 7 hours, but I know better.
- Highlight: repainting my condo over the summer. I got a colour consultant from Benjamin Moore to put a palette together, but I bought all the materials and did all the work myself. It was a huge project even though my place isn’t that big, but it gave me such a sense of accomplishment.
- Lowlight: Being laid off in September, and spending the next 3+ months looking for work and feeling sorry for myself. But that turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because it gave me the kick in the pants I needed to start figuring out where I wanted my career to go. My previous job, interesting and challenging and enjoyable as it was, didn’t have many opportunities for advancement, and didn’t give me experience in technologies that boost my resume. I liked the work, the work environment and the coworkers, and I guess I was… comfortable there. Given the choice, I probably wouldn’t have left on my own. Yet in hindsight, I’m glad it happened.
- Highlight: Getting a new job, which will start January 8th. It’s quite an interesting one (software development for a high-profile consulting/outsourcing corporation) with lots of cool technologies to play with and more opportunities for advancement than my old job. The salary’s a bit lower since I’m starting over in a junior position, but that’s okay. This is much better for my career, both short- and long-term than my old job.
- Highlight: For various reasons I didn’t go back East this year (my first holidays away from home), but I had some fabu parties with local friends, on Xmas Eve, Xmas Day and New Year’s Eve. There was Monopoly and gifts and caviar and inappropriate touching and Dance Dance Revolution and Harry Potter Scene It™ (I’m not actually a fan, but most of the people at the New Year’s party were). Good times.
So there you go. Overall, 2006 was a pretty good year. Certainly a lot better than 2005. Now looking forward to 2007! Happy New Year, bonne et heureuse année to all.