So, as of today, I have officially lived in Switzerland for one year. I have no real clear way to express how I feel about this… You may interpret that however you wish.

Now, my original plan was to do a huge photo review of my adventures and exploits in this fair country. Unfortunately, however, my laptop is currently broken (read: I was watching horrible films the other night with my housemate and everything was normal. I left it in the lounge where we were watching from. I went to bed. The next morning I woke up early to do some work before work [read: I’m a nerd] and the computer was frozen. I attempted to restart it and instead of starting, I got a blank screen with a folder and flashing question mark on it [this is much better than the angry face I got when I accidentally somehow blew up my family’s first Mac when I was small…]. I am told this means my hard drive is somehow missing. You think hard drive thieves snuck into my house last night and made off with it? I’m not so sure that this didn’t happen, but I’m not convinced. I’ve also been postulating that the film we watched was so horrible [never see The Box. Seriously don’t. Just trust me on this one] that my hard drive couldn’t take it anymore and decided to take his own life. So anyway, the moral of this sad story is that I have all my photos/work/writings/entertainment on that computer [yes, yes, I know it has been proven to me over and over again that with my luck I am meant to back up all work/files in multiple locations, which of course I didn’t do… Sigh… So yes, it was a fun-filled happy birthday to me…) and Apple has taken the laptop away in order to attempt to restore it to it’s former glory (please cross your fingers and hope that they don’t erase my entire life off that thing!).

Anyway, suffice the long-winded explanation to say that I am no longer at liberty to do a fascinating photo exposé on my time in this oh so interesting country. Instead, I will provide you with links to some of the highlights and anecdotes of the last year.

Shortly after arriving I wrote this little gem. Pretty much describes the current weather conditions out my window today: Into the Land of Chocolate and Cowbells

This is from my first freak-out regarding adult/professional attire: On the Subject of Grown-up Clothes. I don’t think I ever did learn how to dress appropriately here, but I did stop caring.

Probably the best part  about living in the foyer at St. Justin: Lightening Storms in Geneva.

My first photo post about a month after my arrival: My Adventures in Switzerland- A short Swiss photo blog. Don’t worry, I too am confused as to why I called it ‘short.’

A post in which I expound upon my love of gluhwein and rant about other such things : UBS is amazing and other holiday things

A random night of crazy Christmas elves at Bain des Paquis that I’m still confused about: Substance Free Hallucinations

Inexplicably, the most popular post I’ve written to date: Crazy Things that Happen to me in Geneva- 70 year-old strip tease

A typical day in my office. I’d be jealous: ‘Work’

This is probably one of the posts that I love best: Upstream

In which I make up gossip about my fish at the office. I live an exciting life: Breaking News

My terrifying encounter with the yeti: Abominable Snowmen at Chamonix

Wherein I went on a fox hunt:  Sunday- on running, foxes, baths, and the superbowl

Some pretty photos from an: Adventure to the Top of Europe!

When I was still being healthy and running everyday: On Being an Addict and Early Mornings. Oh how I long for those days of self-discipline again.

Some photos from a fabulous snowboarding retreat: Snowboarding in the French Alps

My work adventure in Budapest: Budapest in Photos. For those who are interested,  more on the actual ins and outs of my trip can be found here

What happens when one goes running in Geneva in the rain: Rain and sharp, pointed spears

What happened when I moved into a new place and suddenly had to make my brain function in many languages every day: Life as a polyglot

When I got to replace my boss at a conference last minute: Rome Cannot be Seen in a Day. I love that city!

What I looked out on all summer long. It was horrible. 🙂 The view from my flat

A short demonstration of the fabulousness of my Eaux-vives flatmates: Rockstar weekend and ants in the bedroom

At one point my office had a litter of baby foxes living underneath it. This basically stopped all office productivity and we spent most days ‘checking on them’ and cooing every five minutes: Foxes, Zorros, Renards, Raposas, oh my!!! I think I took too many photos….

Plans for an upcoming New Orleans trip may have gotten slightly out of hand: Procrastination and preparing for NOLA

What happens when I don’t get enough sleep and they start shooting off fireworks: Fuelled by caffeine, sleep deprivation, and Haribo frogs.

Travelling to Germany with the cast of Shakers and enjoying thunderstorms in NOLA: Recent adventures in multiple countries

The amazingness that was my whirlwind tour of New Orleans/Louisiana/Pensacola: The Journey

My cats made it back to Switzerland with me, and the ‘photo frenzy of obsessiveness’ immediately commenced. Take for example: Why I shouldn’t model my work ethic after my cats. Some more cute office kitten photos can be found here

So this summer marked a long-awaited reunion with my parents, and an absolutely AMAZING adventure in Portugal. Loads of photos and fun can be found here, here, and here.

Some other photos I love most from this summer’s events are from this post: Paleo music festival (my friends are amazing) and other happenings

Fete de Geneve was definitely one of the highlights of my year here. Here’s some photos from the Fete, and a trip to Yvoire in France: Summer days and nights: updates and photos

More photos of the Fete, including the best fireworks show I’ve ever seen can be found here: Fireworks, birthdays, and carnival rides, oh my!

This is also around the time I moved into the time capsule of a house that I currently live in. Here’s the photos from the  first of a number of parties: A weekend of epic proportions.

This is one of my most major issues with living in this country: I love you gluten, but I hate you so much.

Unfortunately, even after months of job-hunting, this is where I’m still at: My panic attack. I like to think, though, after living in this state for so long that I have an outward veneer of control these days.

The end of summer in Geneva has brought many changes. People are always coming and going here (myself included). Here’s just some photos of a last warm-ish night and day out with friends before the chill set in.

This is perfectly gratuitous link to a post I wrote on how I wish the world worked, just to make my day a bit more happy: Life as a musical… My idea of a more perfect world

So that about sums up the highlights of posts from my year in Geneva. I’m missing posts/photos of our amazing Moustache, Monocles, and Mexican party the other weekend, as well as photos from my Halloween birthday night out. I’ll definitely be adding those in, however, when I get my laptop back. Cross your fingers for me on that and on sorting out a job! And happy year anniversary to me! ***