January
All quiet for the first month of the year. Pete went to Melbourne to visit friends for a few days but other than that it was business as usual.
February
Two colleagues at work got married...to each other. It was a simple wedding in some ways but unusual in others. They had very fancy wedding pics taken back home in China, before they were actually married, in all different wedding outfits. Highly orchestrated poses in OTT clothes and make-up meant you wouldn't have recognised the bride as the same person. Don't get me wrong, they were beautiful pictures but seemed a little false as none of them showed her real wedding dress! Anyway, they are happy together and are now pregnant with their first child due in early April.
March
We saw Henry Rollins again. Always a great show.
The earthquake and subsequent tsunami happened in Japan. Such devastation. We had everything booked to visit Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo. Friends and family urged us to change our minds and cancel but Pete is the most thorough man I know when it comes to travel. I knew he wouldn't do anything to risk my safety. He'd be too scared of my mother's wrath if any harm came to me if nothing else! So, we went. I'm glad we did.
The Japanese people were grateful for any tourists and our European faces stood out very easily as everyone else had made a hasty exit. Shops in Tokyo were rationing certain items and some of the rail lines were only operating on restricted timetables and for set times of the day in order to conserve power. Rolling blackouts were also happening for that same reason. Despite all that, the quiet strength of Japanese was quite evident.
We also met up with a friend of a friend whilst in Osaka called Michiyo. She works as an interpreter so her English is fantastic and certainly a million times better than my half dozen words of Japanese. The day we spent with Michiyo was lovely although we had both snow and Sakura (cherry blossom). She said it was quite unusual to have snow at that time of year. I was so glad I'd packed for colder weather! 
March also saw me meet a Sleep Specialist to investigate my constant tiredness. More on that later.
April
Sir Terry Pratchett. Sydney Opera House. An interview.
Amazing. Such an interesting man. Shame it was only an hour. Could have listened to him talk for a few more quite easily.
I was informed I would become an Auntie in December. Els and James were pregnant! Such wonderful news.
This was the month my wee Mazda 121 was sent to the big car yard in the sky thanks to a much larger Mazda with a towbar reversing into me. The accident caused more damage than it was worth to repair so the insurance company wrote the car off. I was then forced into going car shopping which I'd been putting off for a while out of sheer laziness!
May
Pete and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary by going to see an old rocker, Jon English and some very talented young musicians performing rock classics. It really was a great show.
The specialist I'd seen in March thought that sleep apnea was the reason for my constant tiredness and suggested I have a sleep study to confirm it. So, I spent the night in hospital hooked up to wires and monitors recording my brain and breathing and oxygen levels etc.
June
The sleep study confirmed sleep apnea and so I began using a CPAP machine. No more snoring for poor Pete to put up with and hopefully a more refreshed Jana.
July
We were scheduled to fly to Melbourne to catch up with friends for a few days. Well, that was until the budget airline we were booked with got themselves grounded. Apparently there were safety concerns. More likely, a major Australian airline had their nose out of joint cos they were losing business but I digress. A few days off at home is what we got instead of a visit to Melbourne. Still it was better than working!
August
I spent most of this month doing higher duties at work in clinic. I find it stressful. I just try to appreciate that it's a short term thing and I can go back to 'normal' when it's done.
September
Birthday month. Spoiled rotten!
We were informed that we were having to pay
October
A couple of gigs this month...
Heart supporting Def Leppard. Wow Ann Wilson can sing. I've always loved her voice. Def Leppard were pretty good too.
Chris Cornell. O.M.G. He's a hottie. He could sing the shipping forecast to me and I'd melt. That voice just gives me goosebumps. It helps that he's not a bad looking man too right enough hehe!
I went with some of the girls from work for High Tea one Saturday morning. It was quite fancy but a pleasant way to catch up with the girls outside of the job.
November
We had visitors. Mum and Jim came to stay. We met them in Melbourne as they'd not been to Victoria. We caught up with those we were meant to see in July, did some touristy stuff and had fun. Then, when we got back to Sydney, we took in some shows. Mary Poppins was really well done and well worth seeing. Eddie Izzard was his usual hilarious self (and was in Canberra, not Sydney). Then, my favourite of them all....the RocKwiz Christmas Show. I loved it. It was amazing.
I *heart* Julia Zemiro. She's my girl crush.
Mum and Jim got to meet people and put faces to names. We visited places they'd never been to before and all in all had a jolly good time. As usual their visit was over too fast but that's how it goes when you're having fun.
My cousin announced her engagement and plans to get married July 2013. A trip home for me beckons! Probably the last big family wedding so will be well worth attending.
December
I guess the biggest news (other than Christmas etc) was that I became an Auntie!
I won't get to meet him til December 2012 and by that time he'll be One but FB will keep me up to date in the meantime. Isn't he a cutie?!
I had a lovely Christmas Day with Pete and our furry boys. Boxing Day was spent with Pete's family. Barb put on a great spread and fed 16 of us. Don't know how she does it.
NYE was a quiet affair. A friend who was meant to come over was sick and had to cancel. She sounded awful and spent the day in bed. I ended up doing some much needed housework instead and hoped Pete would get home from work before the bells....He made it with two minutes to spare!
(What is it with feeling that the house needs to be clean before New Year? Is it just me and a guilty conscience or is there some kind of old wives' tale behind it? Who knows?)
So, here's to a new year. I was going to write something profound and wise but I think I'll leave you the link to someone who says it all much better than I ever could... Neil Gaiman
TTFN til next January 1st.
