Another year is over. The speed with which 2013 moved was astonishing. When I was young, my mother used to warn me about how fast time would fly when I got older. I didn’t believe her then, but I do now.
2013 was a big year in my life, one in which I made many fond memories (personal and professional). Here are my top memorable moments of this year (in no particular order other than how the popped into my head).
- Editor Status In January, I started my first full-time editing job as my practicum (the final requirement) to complete my Bachelor of Applied Communications in Professional Writing degree from MacEwan University in Edmonton. It was scary to work in the real world of words instead of playing with them as a hobby—but also awesome. I still get a little thrill when people ask, “What do you do?” and I can say, “I’m an editor.”
- The Finish Line Speaking of my degree, I finally finished it at the end of August. When I hit the send button on my final assignment to my practicum supervisor, I was elated. I did it! I finished the thing that I had been too afraid to try for many years. And I was successful at it instead of falling on my face like I’d long feared. What a great feeling.
- Newspapers The daily newspaper is important to me, so it was one of my joys of this year to be published (3 times!) in the Edmonton Journal (the first newspaper I ever read and one I followed even when I lived overseas). A big thanks to my editor, Helen Metella, for giving me the opportunity.
- Magazines I have been a magazine reader for most of my life, but I was over the moon this year to become a magazine writer. My first published magazine piece was published this September in Edmonton Woman magazine. The best part is that the article, Czeching Out Prague’s Communist Era, was also about travel, which is one of my favourite things to do. A big thanks to my editor, Danielle Higdon, for giving me that opportunity. I have had more articles published in EW and had pitches accepted at other local magazines for articles to be published in 2014.
- Other New Writing Tasks Although I am an editor by day, I write at night and on weekends, and I love it too. This year I also got to work on a number of new types of writing as a freelance writer. I wrote a brochure, a tour script, a white paper and web content for Shaw Conference Centre. I enjoyed stretching my writing skills in new directions, and I especially enjoyed writing these pieces because they focus on sustainability, which is a topic I am interested in on a personal level.
- Hungry for Hungary Although work was a big area of memories for me this year, so was play. One of my favourite forms of play is travel. This year, my husband Roland and I visited Budapest, Hungary, which was on my wish list for a long time. What a delight! Both sides of the river have amazing things to offer, and the main thermal spa was a lovely way to spend the day. Our hotel room overlooked the famous Chain Bridge, which was beautiful all lit up at night. I definitely see a return to Hungary in my future.
- Rollin’ on the River Budapest is on the Danube River and served as the starting point for the Avalon River Cruise we took from Budapest to Nuremburg. Although we’d already been to some stops on the cruise, such as my favourite European city (Vienna), we got to see many new places and also to just watch the scenic countryside go by while sipping wine on the upper deck.
- Czech Mates The final stops on our summer travel adventure were in the Czech Republic to visit friends we hadn’t seen in so many years that we lost count. It was lovely to catch up with them and to see some favourite old places while we were there. Two of the tops were Cesky Krumlov, a UNESCO World Heritage site where some of our friends live and where we took a lovely afternoon rafting trip through the medieval town and into the countryside, and Plzen, where we took a tour of the Pilsner Urquell brewery (which was delightfully chilly on a 40-degree Celsius day).
Overall 2013 was a good year. I hope it was for you too. I also wish you and your loved ones health & happiness, love & laughter in 2014!
Budapest Chain Bridge
View from the Danube River
Cesky Krumlov
Anderson in Edmonton 