So anyway, here's a few things I'm proud of over the past year:
Running
1. The 2 marathons I ran, London in April and the Lincolnshire Spires & Steeples Challenge in October. Doing a marathon is a special thing. These two couldn't have been more different, one of them a huge mass-participation city event and the other a low-key cross-country affair. But both very special in their own way, and also the 2 quickest marathons I've ever done.
Despite feeling like I've let myself go a bit towards the end of the year, I've run PBs at almost every distance this year, 10K, 10-mile, half-marathon and marathon. And enjoyed some superb wee races I didn't know before, like the Balerno Rigg race, the Eildon 2-Hills and the Peebles Beltane 10K. Plus... and perhaps most importantly, run a whole year as a member of a fantastic running club, Portobello RC, where I've made friends, enjoyed training, learned stuff and enjoyed running with fellow enthusiasts.
Charity/community
Through running and other fundraising I've personally raised several thousand pounds for charity, mostly for Venture Scotland.
I also ran in a relay team at the Edinburgh marathon with colleagues at work, and organised a 10K run for staff, family and friends. Between these two events we raised about £6000, which will be match-funded by the company - meaning about £12,000 for our charity partners, Marie Curie Cancer care and NSPCC Childline. And when we ran the Lincoln Spires and Steeples challenge, we raised several thousand pounds for Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital.
Through my day job, I've also looked after student and teacher placements which have hopefully been useful to the people who've come along!
And finally, and this is probably the one I'm most proud of here, as a member of the Board of Venture Scotland, we have successfully steered our charity through the economic shambles that was 2009. One of the saddest results of the recent recession has been the number of small charities that have gone under. Most charities rely on donations from charitable trusts. Charitable trusts, like any other organisation, rely on their investments. So the catastrophic falls in 2008 mean they can't support what they used to. We lost the funding from our single largest donor early in 2009, and it was pretty scary for a while. But we knuckled down, took some difficult, and some not so difficult decisions, and have finished 2009 in a stronger position than ever before. We have improved our funding, have a fantastic strategy and plan for the next few years, and we've not had to turn down any young people from our services along the way!
Work
I don't want to say too much about work. Not least because there's people from my work who might be reading this! It's been a tough year. Have worked far longer hours than I should have. Delivered quite a few things that I can be proud of, but there's quite a lot that hasn't been done that I'd prefer to have done. Hoping for better in 2010.
I remain very proud of my team and the people I work with, who've done great things under extremely challenging circumstances.
Reading/music/etc. etc.
Pleased to have kept up a good balance in terms of still managing to get out to gigs and shows. Not done enough reading and writing in 2009.
Here's a few of my highlights from the past year.
Favourite new albums:
1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz, 2. The xx - the xx, 3. The Rakes - Klang, 4. King Creosote - Flick the Vs, 5. Ian Brown - My Way
Best gigs:
1. Amadou and Mariam, 2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, 3. Pixies, 4. Lau, 5. Kris Drever
Favourite books I read:
1. Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban, 2. The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Walker, 3. The Year of the Hare - Arto Paasilinna, 4. The Runner's Literary Companion (various writers, edited by Garth Battista), 5. God's Own Country by Ross Raisin.
Favourite shows:
1. The Interminable Suicide of Gregory Church - Daniel Kitson, 2. The Slutcracker - Tim Key, 3. the comedian I went to with my brother and Jeevan that I can't remember the name of, 4. Eddie Izzard at Glasgow SECC, 5. Derren Brown at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Not enough plays this year....
Family and friends!
Ye cannae review your family and friends..!! Well, not critically anyway.
As it happens though, I am quite gob-smackingly proud of mine.
My friends almost all do amazing things whether it's their work, their family, their voluntary efforts, their hobbies, or indeed, all of the above. Many of them are at a time in their life when things are not easy - young families, a totally crap economic climate meaning some have lost their jobs or aren't getting on like they'd like to, or are having to work stupid hours. But the way they are, and the way they respond to these things - is fantastic. As Rudyard Kipling said, "If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same..." They all do, and they're all great fun too. Guess that's why they're my friends!!
In terms of my family, I'll start with the ones I grew up with. Very proud of the women, my Mum and my sister. They share a lot of the same character traits, they are supportive, caring, value the important things in life and are willing to work hard and go the extra mile to do the right things and to help out their families. My Dad has had a tough year. I can't pretend it's all been plain sailing, but I'm proud of the fact that he's done his best to keep some balance and not let it all go given some of the struggles he's had in the past. He's managing to keep a level outlook and is mostly keeping his sense of humour. I hope things start to look up for him in 2010.
My brother had an absolute shocker in 2008. So I'm extremely proud of the progress he's made and the way he's handled himself in 2009. Life isn't a bed of roses yet, but it's much closer to where it should be. He's still one of the most amusing and intelligent people I know and I think the journey will be ever more onwards and upwards for him in 2010.
Next, my immediate family...
My daughter started school, is doing well. She has a real love of life and an independent spirit and determination to learn and do things that make me proud all the time. My son has completed his potty training! And he's got a great sense of humour, is incredibly loving and entertaining and a joy to be with when he's not smashing the place up. (And quite often then he still manages to make you smile even when he's being a total monster)
My wife is just amazing. She has an incredible job as a paediatric nurse, and practice educator, is a fantastic mother to her children, and, frankly, keeps the MacDonald household functioning given how useless her husband is domestically. She puts in so much effort to do extra stuff for our family; making sure the kids get opportunities to do exciting things and get out and about, going to swimming lessons, gym nippers, soft play, or whatever. Plus all the household stuff I would never remember to stay on top of, like the laundry... (Before you all think I'm completely unhelpful at home, there's some stuff I am good at! I do most of the cooking, occasional DIY, etc...). She also puts in an effort to improve herself too, reading and trying to stay fit, and she's great to her friends in a way I very much admire.
Most importantly, she is the person who I trust to tell me when I'm being a twat, and to remind me when I'm neglecting the things that are important, which I've done too much of in the past year. And we have the same values and the same outlook on life. One day we will move to a Scottish island and live the kind of life we want to, but it won't be for some time yet.
In the mean time, I need to do my best to make 2010 count! Next post will be shorter and will cover a few aims for the year.
