It's been no secret that 2010 has been an incredibly difficult and trying year for me, probably the most trying of all my 28 years. Two hospital emergency admissions, three other sets of procedures done in hospital, and almost countless continuing scans, MRIs, and blood tests means that this year will largely be remembered as one in which my health took a decided turn for the worse.

The issues with my health have brought a lot of things into focus, and i know it's cliché, but have made me appreciate the things that really matter and make me happy, whilst also de-prioritising those that don't.

Also a result of all the shenanigans with my health, this year has probably been the leanest blog-wise since I started this blog almost seven years ago. (And as an aside this year has seen me be the leanest physically i've been since finishing school: i'm now about 15kg less man than I was at the start of the year).

Anyway, here's the traditional highlights (and lowlights) of the year in blog entries:

January

- New Laptop, Goodbye Old Servant: The first new computer for the year. In hindsight, it's been a bit disappointing.
- Building The Cannon: The second new computer, this one a full desktop system build. I have been very happy with this one, it's been a beast :D.
- Lucas The Road Warrior: The travelling for work was a significant change, plus i think i underestimated people's sheep mentality with Apple products...

February

- Birthday 2010: Not a great birthday this year!

March

- Heavy Rain Was Intense: One of the gaming highlights of the year for me.
- Final Let-Down, Mini Operas and Tunnels: The last indoor final.
- BF:BC2 > COD:MW2: A highlight mainly because of how much time i've spent playing the game this year.

April

- Drive Failures, Easter 2010, Dragon Training: Always a highlight.

May

The whole month of May on this blog is noteworthy because it's the first month since I started this blog in 2004 in which I failed to post a single entry. The reasons for which are in the next highlighted entry:

June

- The Game Changer: Serious Illness: Probably the defining entry of the year, although a lot has changed since then (especially in terms of the diagnosis).
- Hospital Again & Transformers:WfC: The second hospital stay.

July

- Spain Win World Cup & Internode Transfer Woes: I predicted both the finalists and the winner, so it was a good World Cup for me.
- iPod Nano & Flights: More flights, and the shame that I got an Apple product (although that is now somewhat superseded by my new phone).

August

- Broadband Becomes a Battleground: A good mid-election rant on the main geek issue.
- Election 2010: Outcome Limbo: Interesting political times.

September

- Illness Update: Misdiagnosis(?): Better than before, but at the moment i'm still not certain as to accuracy of this entry!

October

- The Great HD Betrayal: A great rant.

November

- Tough Few Weeks: A slight turn for the worse, and housing contracts.
- Settled Part II: Housing Begins: Buying a house, kicking off the transition!
- New Mobile: SE X10 Mini Pro: Moving into the smartphone world.

December

- Storms, Summer & Biopsies, Baubles: More hospital procedures, and other exciting things.
- Christmas 2010 Coding: Friendly URLs and Page Titles: My coding itch scratched for this year (this year in review entry is now 100% friendly URLs btw ;)).
- The Best and Worst of 2010: Always a highlight, this critic's review of the year.

It's not a surprise that i'm happy to see the end of 2010, but i'm hopeful that 2011 will be a much better year, especially health-wise. Though there are exciting times ahead next year, with us hopefully transitioning from unit-living to house-living one way or another. Here's to 2011.