here are the reasons I loved you, 2010!

I hope you all have been doing fine in 2010. or do you belong to the people who wished all the time that it would be over soon? i hope not. mine was finally a positive year. almost perfect. almost too good to be true. during 2010 i rubbed my eyes in disbelief of how well everything went, to test if I was dreaming. but no, it was real.
mainly that year was professionally good - I finally got more interesting projects, that made me become more self-confident and an appreciated consultant to customers, which on the other hand helped getting sequels and even better projects again, I'm sure. kind of like a vicious circle.
in 2010 I also found good old friends becoming even better friends - we got so much closer, that by the end of the year I believed that having appreciating friendships is not only very comforting but very precious. working on friendships and on oneself for being a good friend to others - nothing comes unmerited to you - became THE most valuable of my experiences.
Don't forget about your friends and always take care of them! It pays off, believe me!

Finally the disappointments and disillusionments I had the previous years got rewarded in 2010. Intriguers and “make-believers”, i.e. people who gained undeserved attention and hurt others intentionally, have finally gotten what they in fact genuinely deserve. Colleagues and even clients have had their eyes opened by their experiences with them, and consequences were taken. There was no trouble anymore in the office! What a relief! Above all, it's a relief knowing that justice still has its call when the time is right.

Feeling this thankful for everything in 2010 I intended to do a thanksgiving dinner. Because of logistic problems it didn't happen. But I invited good people to another dinner, inspired by my Brazilian trip: the feijoada dinner. Please read my post about “cooking makes friends” here http://neverending-stories.blogspot.com/2010/10/essen-macht-freunde.html

Of course my trip to brazil was a special holiday for me that year. I was on the quest of my there spent childhood, so to speak. I went to the place where we used to live, and met our old neighbours and friends - all of them primarily friends of my parents, of course, because I was too litlle back then. But those are people I would have liked to take back home with me because of their heartwarming characters - it just felt so good to be loved and feel like home! I really felt a bit like home there and enjoyed the brazilian way of speaking, eating and their way of having a good time - their strong passion of music and dancing!
Visiting the country's beautiful places was very impressive, too. I was constantly wondering "I really used to live here? Why did we move away??". The following pictures should do to understand what I mean:

In case you're unhappy about inactivity of friends, grasp the nettle and do what I did: organize something to make them gather around you such as the brazilian dinner or a trip to the London Notting Hill Carnival.
I learned something that is very important to me and would like to spread the lesson over to you: friendships have to be cultivated and cherished! Because friends might be the constant element in your life and the reason for happy moments!

See the result of it - a bunch of happy people that decided to repeat this experience in 2011! London baby!

Back at home in Munich I had some good times, too, of course! And they are always in relation to friends, but also to music, art, and movies.
Saving me from going depressed after my Brazil-trip I went to the Arrested Development concert with friends that night of my arrival. It was amazingly awesome and good music, but the magic was in the interaction with the band during the concert and after that. Those people are so joyful and such naturals that their good mood easily had its impact on the audience - unforgettable!

Now this is the moment in which I would like to present to you my hitlist of my 2010-favorites: 

Best Songs:
Juliette Lewis – Uh Huh
Florence and the Machine – Dog Days Are Over, Kiss With A Fist
Bonjay – Gimmee
M.I.A. - Caps Lock, What I Got
YT – My England Story
Neffa – Cambierà
Kylie Minogue – Get Outta My Way
Jan Delay - LARGE
We Have Band - Honeytrap

Best Concerts:
Peaches
Arrested Development

Best Movies:
Inception
The Invention Of Lying
Sherlock Holmes
Iron Man 2

Best Series:
Cybill
Dexter

Best Character:
Mary-Ann (Cybill)
Dexter

Best Projects:
Kunert Chinchillan with Model Miriam Wimmer
Reebok Easytone with Stunt-Model Miriam Höller
Ford S-Max “Maximize your Day” with Singer Giovanni Zarella
Microsoft Photo Fuse with Comedian Martin "Maddin" Schneider

Best Time with Friends:
Trip to London Notting Hill Carnival
Brazilian Dinner
Stammtisch

My wisdoms of 2010 are the following:

1. Money doesn't make you happy – mo' money, mo' problems! It's your family and friends that make you happy. And if work is of some importance to you, it's the projects that make you happy (studies show that an income increase motivates the employee only for 4 weeks).
   
2. Being happy is up to you! Do something to feel better, take care of yourself, family and friends, and be a good person.
   
3. Try to meet your friends on a regular basis.
   
4. Problems aren't there forever. You may eventually cope with them sooner when following the above mentioned advices ;-)
   
5. Be honest. As well to your friends as to yourself.
   

In this new year I am going to have some challenging months, but I don't intend to complain about it now. What would be life without challenges? I just hope to make the best out of it and enjoy them.

I also hope, that what's been last year hasn't been just a dream and if so, that it's not over yet.
So please, dear 2011, be kind to me and please try to be as good as 2010 unless you intend to become even better :)