2012: A Year in Retrospect

What an amazing year 2012 has been for me...

January
My family kicked off the year with a trip to Kuala Lumpur, just before I returned to the UK for the 2012 Spring Term. Then it's revision, Entered the trial phase with Pat. And to end the month, I started the Breakfast Show on 31 January 2012. Boom!

Song of the Month: M83 - Midnight City

February
February was probably the most insane month for me - a highlight, I dare say. Guild Election Week was a manic week for me as I helped out with the Outdoor Broadcasts and Debate Shows. And to top it all off, I had a surprise Birthday Party thrown at me. Good times!

Song of the Month: Avicii - Levels

March
March was when I got elected as Head of Production - one committee position that will shape the rest of 2012 for me. Speaking of Xpression, we had our Charity Football Match, in aid of Sport Relief. Raised £700+. Good times...

April
So April was the Easter break. Kicked the month off with the Student Radio Conference in Bradford, went to the Exeter Food Festival with Pat for some good food and music (Remember The Voice?), saw Charlie Simpson live. Oh, and revision.

Song of the Month: Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe

May
Did I say revision? Well that's a lie. Because it's the opening of the Forum! Xpression kept me a bit busy, as usual, but it was worth it (see November). After that, things got pretty dull - Exams, things were on ice between Pat and myself. On the plus side, the Olympic Flame arrive in Exeter! Oh, and CIMA GBC Filming started, and we got through to the UK Finals!.

Song of the Month: Gotye ft. Kimbra - Somebody That I Used To Know

June
Halt! Xmedia Awards! Not a great night in terms of awards I hoped to clinch, but great night nonetheless. Then there's the Annual Celebration of Volunteering - Event of the Year? Apparently, that's what the Guild thought of the Xpression Guild Election Coverage! Student Radio Chart Show from Xpression FM. Also, CIMA GBC UK Finals came and went. Held at the Milkround HQ (News International), rubbed shoulders with some interesting people, and our team won the award. #Winning

Song of the Month: Madeon - Finale

July
So, UK Finals sorted, now we set our sights on the CIMA GBC Global Finals. Tough, considering I was back in Indonesia, and I had to juggle the prep with editing entries for the Student Radio Awards (See November). Not the best of times, until Sri Lanka came and went. #WINNING #TRAVELLING #SriLankaIsAwesome Had a great time, met some great people, and to see a country that I wouldn't normally have the opportunity to explore. Fantastic...

Also, watched loads of Olympics on YouTube. #TeamGB #TeamIndonesia #TeamSingapore

Song of the Month: Muse - Survival

August
So, Post-Sri Lanka, I returned to Indonesia to enjoy my holidays. Oh, and editing station sound (See September). Family Vacation to the US East Coast was brilliant - from New York (Times Square, 5th Avenue, all the touristy stuff) to Toronto, then Pennsylvania and DC (saw the Magna Carta, US House of Representatives, all the touristy stuff), and then it's Singapore (Founder's Day, met up with a few of my best mates), then finally Jakarta. Oh, and then, back nice and early to Exeter.

Song of the Month: Coldplay - Paradise

September
New Station Sound at Xpression finally launched. Phew! In non-Xpression Radio news, I listened in to Chris Moyles' Last Show on Radio 1 - and actually wept, because it's one of those things that I sort-of got used to doing - waking up with Moyles, even back from my A Level days in Brighton, when Carrie Prideaux was Sports Bulletin Reader. T'was the end of an era. But start of a new one, too! Did I mention the start of the Mix & Mash Show? Also, I finally got my new laptop. Yep. Retina ftw. New Resolution? Mine's 2880x1800. Hunting for a Dissertation Supervisor - which eventually led me to Dr Petros Vourvachis.

Song of the Month: Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child

October
Football Varsity Coverage - gave up tickets to see Benjamin Francis Leftwich for this, but worth it? I guess so. We had issues at the start, when the stream from the OB PC sounded stuttery on the Studio PCs and on air. Had to run on to campus with an iPad and minijack-to-coax cable to save the show. And thank heavens that worked out alright.

Song of the Month: Of Monsters And Men - Little Talks

November
Roll on the Student Radio Awards. 2 nominations, which were converted to 2 awards on the night. #Boom. And the 24 Hour Broadcast. And SSB lineup announcement. And even though I had little to do with the Lad Culture Show (props should go to Hazel, Amelia, and the rest of the News Team), The Lad Culture Show was such a bangin' show.

Song of the Month: Anything involving Calvin Harris and Florence Welch together.

December
As the final month of the year rolled on, things slowed down. There was that horrible BEA3001 Financial Management Coursework test. There was the fantastic trip to Reading. Christmas meant another Christmas song from the Sports Team, Christmas Dinners aplenty, and me putting on a load of weight. No snow, though - only rain and floods. And in a totally insignificant kerfball, I celebrated my 2nd year with my iPhone 4 - the longest I've held on to the same phone. Bearing in mind this phone got dunked in sea water in Sri Lanka, and now the camera broke. So, to celebrate this fact, I ordered a new phone. Apart from that, the Christmas Break meant doing some overdue tasks - Masters Applications (Personal Statements, Forms, Reference hunting, GMAT), Dissertation Literature Review and data collection (a bit), editing to add onto the Station Sound, the new Xpression Website (Wordpress), revision.

Song of the Month: Anything Christmasy.

So, loads happened in 2012. What will 2013 be like?

Bring it on!