Firstly, let me just say that I was promised this:

(though Marvel seems to be having a stab at trying to make Iron Man 2020 happen, perhaps without the part where he’s responsible for the destruction of Los Angeles)

Rounding out the decade, then. A partial list:

• Got married in a Pac-Man costume
• Moved to the US
• Worked at Activison Blizzard HQ
• Moved house more often than in the preceding 30 years
• Bought two houses (but I sold one!)
• Having moved 4000 miles, went 800 extra miles north
• Became a US citizen
• Heard another song that’ll mean something
• Watched many, many TV shows from before I was born
• Got divorced, though not in a Pac-Man costume (we missed a trick there)
• Went to Alinea. And Next. And The Aviary
• Saw many brutalist buildings
• Went back to Manchester to see how things have changed
• Wrote a book!
• Made new friends that will hopefully be around for many years to come
• Got increasingly insane planning desserts
• Continued overcompensating for a small bedroom to the point where it now seems to be a complex
• Obtained a black cat and outfitted her with batwings for Hallowe’en
• [REDACTED]
• Voted many times in two different countries. Can’t say I had much success, but maybe next year, eh?
• Spoke at multiple conferences
• Built up a bourbon bar that probably rivals most outside of Kentucky (and even some there). It’s…an issue
• CHAMBER VACCUUM SEALER
• Gave Allo Darlin’ and the SHUX team chocolates
• Participated in two DIY projects that didn’t involve me being sent away to make tea
• Went to Singapore. Still not actually sure why I was sent to Singapore, but I went!
• Reached the age where it is acceptable to be excited about ordering a chest freezer…and ordered one
• Became a fan of board games…and it got out of hand…
• Lost more hair
• Gained more psoriasis (though the light therapy is helping!)
• Went to San Francisco for the first time, and the second, and more
• Saw Los Campesinos! enough times that I’ve actually lost count
• Accidentally ordered 111 copies of an LC! album that saw me being rescued by Gareth
• Obtained a complete collection of B.S. Johnson books
• Watched so much Law & Order
• Made chocolate from cocoa beans
• Got to the point where I only curse the French once or twice whilst making macarons
• Recycled so much cardboard
• …and probably a lot more besides…

A rather interesting decade. Also, I’ve almost been writing on this blog for 20 years now. So, so old…but hopefully still much more to write.