2017 WRAP UP

Obvious it may seem, many of us have regarded what have transpired over the previous year. We all had ups and downs. Some had more ups and some had more downs but I guess that will be subject to one's outlook.

Opera in the Garden for me is the start of establishing my highlight of the year. Rehearsals kick started in January in preparation on the big event in March. Those were the days were I had pages of music sheets to study. I prefer that I home study in addition to what had been thought during rehearsals since it was potential that I might not catch all up. Most of the time I study before a music was thought. This Year, on the big day itself, the weather was mean that we were not given the chance to sing in the garden and so it was decided that we held them in ASB stadium. One good thing about it was that the acoustic was great.

Adele concert. My wife won the Adele Concert tickets when More FM chose her submitted recorded voice singing an Adele song that I accompanied with my guitar. She was put up in the video online by More FM receiving her award which made her famous to whoever watch the video online. Before this happened we really were about to buy tickets even the cheapest ones but in a matter of minutes the tickets were immediately sold out in each show. Both of us love Adele and watching her perform in a concert was one of the biggest treat that we had. The surrounding stage was massive inside the stadium. And Adele has shown that her presence and talent were bigger than the stage. Claire sang along with Adele the whole time for she knows most of the songs by heart.

Being part of the Mamma Mia as one of the stage characters and ensemble was one joyride that I treasure for the rest of my life. It was a delightful and fun experience working with some of the most talented people in Northland. We have developed friendship with one another and have regarded our closeness as a family. It was a huge success. The best show that I have ever been with in Northland.

I decided this year that I will make time for salsa dancing. I reckon that dancing is an effective way of keeping my body and soul balance. It is rejuvenating, invigorating and soul feeding. My soul is always satisfied. My whole being was lifted.

My wife and I have a couple of weddings that we sang with but the one that was most memorable was when we sang in the Te Whai Bay Wines Vineyard which is a privately owned boutique vineyard with views to the Brynderwyn Range in a valley described as Northland's Tuscany. BEAUTIFUL!!!!. It was a long and winding and nauseating ride going to the event but the travel paid off. The weather was perfect. The crowd was delightful to watch. The beautiful bride and her entourage. The handsome groom and his groomsmen. It was flooded with photographers bringing most upgraded SLR cameras and drones. We sang all the songs relatively good. There were touching moments when we sang the first songs and the bride marching shed tears listening us singing her requested songs.

Our house caught on fire. My wife left the stove open which she forgot she opened while she joined JC and I cuddling in the masters' bedroom. The smoke alarm was the hero of that day. It was good thing that we had replaced them after many months of having a dysfunctional ones. Our content insurance covered our batch/motel accommodation expenses and damaged items while the owner's house insurance covered the repair of the kitchen. The repair took so long that we spent time hopping from one place to another for over a month. It was not that easy to get a batch/motel for a good number of days especially weekends when people booked ahead of us. That was the reason why we hopped from one place to another. The hopping was excruciating when talking about bringing our clothes and our kitchen from one place to the next. Not to mention tidying up the place before we leave. While we were homeless we were also house hunting not because we were being kicked out. Claire and I already have plans for buying a house even before the fire. House hunting was a bit challenging when we were also thinking of what batch to move in next.

And then we found the perfect place for us. A three bedroom house with beautiful garden which was the one that attracted us. In the past Claire and I had discussed a number of times our dream house should be a beautiful fully fenced garden where JC would spend time playing. And we found the one. It was a dream come true. Claire has never never stopped until now how to beautify the place. Mitre 10 and Bunnings are the shopping places we frequently go nowadays. Carpets, Lights, Fences, Portable swimming pool, sprinkler. Christmas Tree was put up beside the television which we are planning to wall mount soon. It was first Christmas and New Year to our new house.

So many lessons learned from good and bad experiences particularly bad experiences. We gained new friends. We lost friends. There were friends who stayed close to us and made a point to catch up. There were false friends. There were people who uplifted us. There were people who pulled us down. I consider 2017 as a stepping stone to what's comes in 2018. From the good and bad moments, from the happy and sad moments, from the joy and challenging moments, I will bring them all to 2018 as a foundation to what I can do better.