So 2010 is now behind us and we're now in the first few days of a new decade.
But what does this new decade have in store? Who knows.
What I do know is that by 2020, I'll be 45 and I'll hopefully be in a much better place where I am today.
The last ten years have certainly been one hell of a roller-coaster ride. One of such that I almost didn't see the end of.
I started the decade living with my old mucker - Chris, which was one of hell of a year (thanks mate!).
I've travelled to places I'd never thought I visit, such as Cyprus, New York and Denmark.
I bought my first house, which five years later I sold as life became too expensive.
I began to get my shit together and pursue a career I've longed for - working as an actor and in 2004, I got a part playing a 'camp' hairdresser in the indie film 'Is That It?', which finally got a limited release at cinemas in 2008.
I started my short lived production company 'Preview Television Ltd', which produced several videos onto the general market and helped launch a local business into success, before I decided to close it in 2007
(not the successful local business, just in case that caused a little confusion there).
Life threw some vast obstacles my way over that last ten years and friendship is definitely one of them.
To this day, I wish I had spent more time with the friends, who, if I knew I'd lose contact with them or indeed lose them forever, I would have made more of an effort to spend more time with them because once they've gone - there gone.
Its these friends who are irreplaceable, the ones who without them, I wouldn't have the great memories of the good times I had with them over the years.
Sadly, some of these friendships were hit with problems for which I'm still sorry to this day for. I know one or two friends have been understanding, but the problem with me is that I've got too much of a conscious and hate it when I've offended the one's who didn't deserve what my ignorance has put them through.
To the one's who are still in my life, I hope we have many a great time together and I hope we can all continue to collect more fantastic memories.
To the one's who are no longer in my life, I thank you for the good times we once had. Especially to those who are no longer with us in the physical world. Even though I knew you for a short while, it was pleasure to have known you - Joe and Andy.
Six years into the decade was going to be the first turning point and one of the most challenging years of my life.
Within six weeks, I'm diagnosed with asthma after suffering from an asthma attack
(how ironic?).
A week later I lose my remaining grandmother to Alzheimer's after suffering for nine long years.
A week later I lose a friend to a sudden heart attack at the age of 27 - Andy, then four weeks later, on a blazing hot morning in June, I receive a phone call that my fiancé was in labour - three months early.
Those three months were going to be the most testing months of my life as I watched my daughter fight for her life.
There were the most stressful three months of my life and my eyes filled up when I finally got to cuddle my daughter for the first time in weeks after she was born. But, that wasn't going to be the last time as she grew to be a healthy baby and in August, we were finally allowed to bring her home.
Unfortunately, those weeks began to put a strain on my relationship with my fiancé and six months later we went our separate ways. Not too separate as she stayed local so I could have regular time with my daughter who has grown up to be a beautiful, funny and charming little girl.
During this time, as part of my plan to break into the entertainment world. I decided to go back to writing.
Something I've enjoyed doing as a hobby and been quite secretive about.
In 2007, I got together with my friend and local film-maker Joseph Tan, and we bounced several ideas off each other.
One of which was a vampire film based on the return of Dracula to Whitby, which I began writing in 2005, but I ran out of steam on the project.
I spoke to Joe about the script and he immediately submitted new ideas and we continued writing the script.
In 2008, came the second hurdle in my life. I became seriously ill with blood poisoning and organ failure, something which I almost died from if I hadn't taken myself off to hospital when I did or I wouldn't have seen the night through, which one doctor kindly told me the next morning at my bedside.
So, my life was brought to an abrupt halt as I spent the next few months recovering.
Now for those who know me, you know full well I can't sit around doing nothing. I have to be doing something.
During my recovery time, Joe paid several visits to my home. We talked about more ideas for the vampire script, but Joe was also making sure I wasn't going anywhere, as we had already lost one friend two years previous and he was worried that he might be losing a second friend.
I gave him my word and I sat down with Joe's ideas and finished the script now known as 'Christian'.
But five months later, Joe's life took a turn for the worst and in May 2009, he died after major heart surgery to repair a problem he'd been suffering from since birth. He never got to see the final script he was itching to see.
A week later, I was offered an acting job in London, playing a police officer in a reconstruction for the Police Bravery Awards 2009. Although it was a small job, I spent an entire day on set dressed in full winter police clothing, frying my arse off in the summer sun that shone down on the set, having to check my eyebrows after having several bursts of fire was blasted at us to reconstruct a small explosion. Overall, it was fantastic to be in front of the camera again and it took my mind off the past few months.
Two months later, I decided to begin work on 'Christian'. Something I knew couldn't be left to rot in the corner of a room, especially after all the shit we went through to get it written. I didn't think it would have been fair on Joe if I did nothing with it.
Late October 2009, I got a small team together and we shot two promo trailers for 'Christian' to help with the publicity of the production and to help get us funding.
At last, things were beginning to look up for me and it was about bloody time!
Especially after what I had gone through over the past nine years, along with a stress related breakdown.
We had spent months planning the shoot, held auditions and found the perfect cast to play the parts.
Then in June, just before we began to shoot, I got bitch slapped in the face. Every director's nightmare happened to me.
The support we had gathered and most of the locations we had booked decided to pull out last minute - bastards!
Okay, so we had just filmed two days, got two scenes shot. Should I bring the production to a sudden halt or should I continue on and see what we can come with in the meantime.
To be honest, one side of me thought, I should have pulled the plug and restarted the shoot when I regained more support and funds. But the other side thought - plod on. I've worked too hard to just give up that easily.
I still at the time had the support of everyone involved and a few local businesses who we used for locations, so I decided to continue on and do my best.
As the days went by, we were still struggling to find new locations at the last minute. The production began to crumble as did I.
The cast and crew were getting pissed off at the quality of the production and I couldn't honestly blame them.
Just as things were looking up, in a blink of an eye they came crashing down again as I tried my best to keep the production together along with my sanity.
Problems kept arising between cast and crew, the script was rewritten several times to coincide with the location problems after people came forward and then let us down again last minute.
I had to recast one of the main characters two weeks into the shoot. I was going into bloody meltdown and people's faith in me was fading fast.
It also didn't help that my producer never showed for most of the shoot as they were finding it hard to work with some of the crew who I wouldn't let go as they were doing a good job.
Other crew members got tired of the shit that was happening behind the scenes and left the production, what the fuck was going on?
My love for the industry was in tatters as the production put a strain on friendships and I was at boiling point with others which leading me to point where I was ready to throw in the towel.
But I didn't and why the bloody hell should I?
Most of the problems came from others, not me, so why the hell should I give it all up because people were letting me down or being an arse to others?
It was this turning point, that changed my life. I was no longer going to be that person who let people walk all over him because he didn't like to upset people or get involved with confrontations.
I was becoming a person who saw a different perspective on life and this type of work.
Out of all this, the ones who I felt sorry for the most were the cast. I brought them onto this production and give them an insight into what I had planned, but I didn't manage to deliver those promises thanks to those who let me down, but hell they stuck with it and really helped me out along with the crew.
Yeah, I had disagreements with some, but I totally respected them for it. I didn't hold a grudge or get pissed off with any of them because they were honest from the start when the problems began.
After several changes, in both my life and on-set, we continued on with the production longer than I had planned and in September, production was put on hold as cast members had other work lined up and I needed to see what we had shot, as there was something still knocking in the back of my head that this project had gone astray somewhat.
Over the past few months, I've spent time getting my life sorted, editing the scenes we've got wrapped so far which is taking me forever
(10 hours to edit, 2 minutes of footage). Told a few people some home truths and pushed them aside as I know longer have the time for there pettiness.
Life is too short to worry about the small things. I'm working my ass off every hour of the day to make a success of things and its slowly paying off as I'm writing again, this time a prequel series to 'Christian'.
Finishing up the editing of 'Christian' to keep my promise to people I owe a lot too and see how its all looking as a rough edit. Making sure I'm happy with everything so far and nothing needs re-shooting, so we can finally finish this project.
Getting my career on track so I jack in my shitty nine to five job, which I've managed to stick with the for the past fifteen years, but I've always felt like its kept me back from doing what I want to do most.
These next ten years aren't going to be easy. I just hope its going to be a decade of success and less stressful than the past ten years.
I'm going to move on in life, do things I've longed to do, but have been kept back by people who have been standing in my way.
I'm going to do what makes me happy and relax more. Hopefully find peace with myself, something I've not been able to do in a very long time. Like find new hobbies and take back up photography. Something I've never found the time for and miss doing.
As I bring this rant to an end. I want thank those who have stuck by me throughout these past ten years, whether you're old friends or new, relatives or that special someone in my life.
I thank you for being there. For picking me, when I was down.
For those who I've upset, but have found it in their hearts to forgive me. Knowing that there was no pure intention to the offence I may have caused them. I thank you with all my heart.
Here's to a new year and a new decade of our lives.
