Happy new year...

[toprob]

I've kept a very low profile this Christmas, but the new year is another matter. There's no getting around it -- 2009 was not a good year for me, and I'm glad it's over. Not that I expect anything magical to happen in the new year, but the 1st January is exactly six months since my operation, and milestones like this are an important part of my recovery.

Having a permanent heart condition is a bit like being a vampire -- there need to be some major lifestyle changes, but as long as you stick to the rules, and don't get forgetful, you can live a reasonable life. Different, but reasonable.

It's no good forgetting that you are a vampire, and going out to check the letterbox on a sunny morning, and even if you loved garlic beforehand, you need to let all your friends know that it's off the menu now.

Actually, both sunlight and garlic are off my menu, because of the medication I'm on... and the real difference is that vampires become immortal, whereas I'm no longer immortal:) Thanks to my daughter for the True Blood DVDs for Christmas, by the way, which has rekindled my interest in vampires!

Since I'm not a vampire (I swear...) I have my own list of things I cannot do any longer. But not all of this is bad -- like being a vampire, you get some special powers in return. I've learnt to chill out, deflect stress, and most importantly Say No.

Saying no has been the most difficult thing to learn. It can be quite liberating to find that you can say no to acquaintances or people you hardly know, but to say no to those you are closest to is tricky. A lifetime of training needs to be overcome, and it is tempting to give in, but if you do give in, your time is eroded to the extent that rehabilitation takes second place, and little bits of other people's stress rub off on you.

However, that's not to say that I'm saying no to everything. At the moment I feel that I can accomplish anything -- provided I can do it at my own pace. Sometimes that's normal speed, sometimes it just takes a lot longer.

Take the Tauranga Airshow, for instance. I've been talking about visiting an airshow to promote my scenery for a couple of years now, but I just haven't had the energy or motivation. I am getting my energy back (thanks to a new heart valve), but I know that I can't just jump in and do it all myself. I need to keep thinking in little steps. Getting to Tauranga is easy -- I've done it before lots of times:) Promoting my work is fun, and therefore good for me. All the other things which go into organising something like this can be handled by younger, healthier folk.

Another side-effect of re-evaluating my priorities is that I no longer worry about my work output. For a long time now I've found it harder and harder to keep to deadlines, and now I know why. But from now on I'll give up deadlines, they serve no purpose apart from motivating through stress.

I'll need to get my motivation elsewhere. When I went into hospital my income dropped to nil, and since I had no real reserves I was broke for a while. It occurred to me that I should go back to normal employment, and I even went for a couple of job interviews. But I've realised that flightsim scenery is still what I want to do, even if I don't make much money from it. It also suits my new lifestyle -- it would be tricky to get to rehab four times a week if I was working full-time. So although things have changed -- I am no longer immortal:) -- I can still keep on with my plan to improve the simulator's depiction of New Zealand.

And scenery design is simply fun. FSX just gets better all the time, and although it was a slow starter, it will mature a lot in 2010. We'll see some great addons for NZ -- Tim's Vector Landclass, and perhaps a local treatment from Orbx, will lay the groundwork. Adding airports to this becomes a lot more fun, as I don't need to worry as much about making them look like they belong within the sim. I've practically given up on a NZ-wide photo scenery, so my previous sceneries had to include a local photo scenery to blend in. This will become less and less important as the landclass and textures are replaced with something more like Godzone.

So although my main goal is to relax, I still get very excited about simming in the coming year.

[spongebob206]

Happy New year Rob.

And thanks for all the support and effort you have put into NZFF and ofcourse godzone.

Without yours and others skill and effort simming would be a lost cause.

Take Care and best wishes for 2010

[Ian Warren]

And following that ... A happy new year to all as well .. a Vampire , that maybe me , but hang on that,s in the strange hours off the night , Whoops thats me ... Vampires hahaha ... Robin will be back next year with another scary tale , so scary we will quit flight sim ... gasp , 'run' they are every where , Mars on my lap (just bout ripped me hand off 20 min-back) a Vampire ! ..............................................Phew! got away .