2008 was the year in which...

While normally I don't like to put labels on things, I like to put labels on years - in terms of 'year such and such was the year in which xyz happened'. So. Looking back on 2008, it does not appear to have been a very remarkable year. For me, 2008 was the year in which I changed my job.

Some of you might know that in 2006, I suffered from stress-related depression, a.k.a burn-out. What followed was a one-month sick leave and two years of (more or less intense) psychotherapy. What caused this was mainly my extremely over-ambitious attitude. And some other things and circumstances that I'm not going into detail about here. While I was working on my attitude, it became very clear to me that I could not just walk away. I had to prove to myself that I can master these circumstances without them affecting me personally. I reached this point sometime in early 2008, when I realised that it was time for me to move on to new challenges. And while I miss Hotwire - especially the people, because each and everyone of them is special - and it was, as Emily puts it, 'the end of an era', it was the right move.

2008 was also the year I finished therapy. I'm officially sane again. That freaked me out a little bit at first, because therapy has always been my safety net and my neutral reality-check. It wasn't exactly the best time of my life, but I have learned a great deal, and I'm damn proud.

So...this is a good starting point for 2009.