Almost the end of the year

While I often look back at the highlights of the chess year, I don't often look back at my own. This is because my usual highlights are a tournament I directed, or a chess meeting I attended, which is hardly riveting stuff. There is also the issue of my results, which are normally a few good games, followed by ones decided by silly blunders.
However this year turned out to be  little more exciting for me, especially as a player. It started with a trip to Guam to play in the 2019 Oceania Zonal. My main reason for attending was for an Oceania Chess Confederation meeting, but once the smoke cleared, I also collected 2nd place in the Zonal.
Following up this result, I seemed to score some good results in local Canberra events, and had a nice undefeated streak up until June.
Then in August I received the news that GM Max Illingworth was unable to attend the World Cup and I was the next player on the list. While the experience was both memorable and exciting, it was also quite scary as a player, but overall it was overwhelmingly positive.
The second half of the year also saw me do a lot of other travel, presenting an Arbiters course in the Solomon Islands, being the Chief Arbiter at the New Caledonia Open, and finishing the year arbiting the Lidums Australian Young Masters.
Looking back I'm pretty sure I've never had a year in chess like this one, and at my age, I'd be surprised if anything in the future comes close. For 2020 there is still a lot to look forward to, with the 2020 O2C Doeberl Cup running at Easter (I'm the new Chief Organiser), and a trip to the 2020 Olympiad (as a member of the Technical Administration Panel). As for playing, hopefully I can squeeze a few games in, and the form I had this year does no desert me!