Reflecting on 2009, Part 1

I love the fact that the end of the year happens during summer, for us. It's a great time to look back, because the season puts us in a generally optimistic mood, so we tend to look back in a positive spirit. I have had one of the most amazing years of my life! And the year's not over yet!!!!

One of the highlights was travelling to Brazil in March-April, on a 2-week marketing trip. Hadn't done much travelling abroad - previous time (my first overseas trip) was in 1998! This time round, I wasn't on holiday, but it was still a fantastic experience! We do destination marketing, telling people all about Cape Town and South Africa, which is a fun thing to do. Yes, there was some hard work involved, and there were some trying moments, but in the end it all worked out. I experienced Sao Paulo, one of the biggest cities in the world, and realised how relatively small Cape Town was! I spent time with South Africans outside of our country and felt the strong sense of pride we all carry inside of us. I loved meeting the people from the South African Consulate and hearing them speak equally fluently in English and Portuguese, as well as at least one indigenous South African language. Nice that they were so welcoming and so glad to host us. We all went out for supper one night, and there were about 20 of us around the table at this fantastic buffet restaurant, all proudly South African!

After 6 days in Sao Paulo, I travelled to the north-east of Brazil on my own, spending one day in each of Fortaleza, Recife and Salvador! Worked really hard, visiting agents, promoting CT and our school. Managed to catch some lovely live music on three ocassions in the 33 hrs I spent in Salvador, thanks to an ex-student, Adelmario, who proudly showed me his city. (In May, wrote a bossa nova song called "Salvador".) I got back to CT on the 2nd day of the Jazz Festival at the CTICC, but I was so jetlagged, I couldn't get myself to do anything other than take a hot shower, unpack a few things and flop into bed. Missing the festival because I'd been to Brazil was definitely not a problem!

I've just heard that I'm not going to the Sao Paulo expo next year, which means I WILL be going to the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in 2010. Yes! Yes! Yes!

Another major thing for me in 2009 was embarking on a new phase of my musical journey; on 1 February, I did a trio gig with my guitar teacher, Wayne Bosch, and double bassist, Shaun Johannes, in the first Jazz at the Nassau concert for the year. During the rehearsal period, the idea of working in duo format with Wayne was born, and we achieved our first regular gig in July, working every Saturday evening at The Food Lover's Market in Claremont. This gig was renewed on a monthly basis, and last night we did our last one there for the year, having played there every Saturday for 24 weeks, except last Saturday. (They'll be closed on Sat. 26/12 and Sat. 02/01.)

The growth I've experienced musically, since the beginning of 2009, is hard to explain without sounding arrogant, so suffice it to say that I've learnt a lot and I've changed a lot. The changes in my music life are part of a much bigger wave - starting to swell into a tsunami - of change I've been inviting into my life for a while now. I am so excited about what's happened this year, and the momentum's just building all the time. 2010 is looking better by the minute!

I'll be setting myself some tough challenges for the year ahead, but I have to push my boundaries even more than I did this year. And I have every confidence that the results will exceed all expectations.

I've learnt to trust my judgement without closing my mind to other possibilities.

I've learnt that dysfunctionalism can come in many guises.

I've learnt that having something to say doesn't mean I necessarily have to say it - sometimes it's ok to know something and not articulate it, for whatever reason.

I've learnt that what money can buy can be worked towards, but the most important thing, which no amount of money can buy, is to live your truth every single day.

I've learnt that looking at one's mistakes or bad choices can leave one feeling miserable, but that transformation begins with forgiving oneself.

I've re-discovered that books find us.

I've re-discovered that there's a strong link between physical fitness and spiritual well-being.

I've re-discovered that music is happily attached to every atom that makes me who I am.

I've gained a deeper appreciation of my link with my children and of how important my life choices are in their journey towards adulthood. I know that nothing could ever be more important than raising them as integrated, well-rounded adults who are capable of making healthy choices, because of me, not in spite of me.

This has been a fabulous year, and I am incredibly happy to be alive!