New Year 2006

I’ve been thinking about what I’ll do for New Years this year. I’ve never been a big New Years party person. I’ve been to quite a few but, somehow, it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense. Not much different from any other party during the year. One of my favourite New Years was in Japan for 2001. We ate long noodles for longevity on New Years Eve, watched the TV special, and got up at some ridiculous hour of the morning (remembering that it’s Winter) to go to the temple to pray, make New Year wishes, and enjoy the carnival. Coming home on the train we watched the sun rise. It felt a lot more “special” and somehow more meaningful – like it was different from how we celebrated other things during the year. The idea of the end of one year and the beginning of another being a time primarily for reflection is really appealing to me. So much has happened this year, and next year is so uncertain, yet holding so much potential for excitement and challenges.

So I think I’ll spend this New Year’s in a way that I don’t spend any other day of the year. I’ll prepare a picnic breakfast for the next morning, and go to bed early. Then get up super super early, before sunrise. I'll go someplace beautiful, maybe the beach or the hills, and watch the sun rise up over the hills on the first day of the new year. Eat my picnic, get out my colourful textas (markers) and paper, and reflect on the year that has passed and the year to come. I want to start the New Year having thought again about who I am, knowing what I’ve left behind, and excited about what I want to achieve and experience in the coming year.

Christmas!

The previous 8 years I've spent only 4 Christmas in Adelaide, the other 4 being in Japan, Turkey and China - not really countries that celebrate Christmas much or at all! So it's always special to be "home" for Christmas. We had dinner and presents at home on Christmas Eve, went to church Christmas morning, had lunch with Dad's side of the family, and dinner with Mum's side of the family. As usual, I got excited about all of the Christmas food and ate way too much, but it's all a part of the tradition really, you can't have it any other way. And I love buying, wrapping and giving presents, and receiving them too! It was great to have Chris (my MCP/housemate in China) here for Christmas too, to share with her how my family celebrates Christmas, and educate her about things like tree decorating, Christmas food, and Father Christmas and his Elves!

But Chris was here for a week and we didn't just do Christmas stuff! We did lots of the things we used to do together in Beijing - cook, eat, shop, and talk heaps! My parents took us to the Barossa Valley for heaps of wine tasting, a winery tour, and a gorgeous lunch. Tom (who is now one of Chris' team mates!) was back for Christmas, so we met him for Yum Cha (Chinese food with Aussie quality ingredients - yum!), and also went down the coast with him to his parent's place, to Urumbilla to feed the kangaroos and pat the koalas, to Victor Harbour for fish & chips, to Granite Island to take pics of the views, to Sellicks to swim, and everywhere in between to see the gorgeous scenery. Thanks Tom! We went to Warrawong for a dusk walk to see all those Australian native animals that nobody has ever heard of, but are oh so cute! And being the week before Christmas, we had drinks with some of the old AIESEC girls in town, dinner with Julia and Rhiannon from school, and dinner with a bunch of older AIESEC alumni - I felt so young, I was the only one from my AIESEC generation there, and some of them had finished before I joined! That's one of the nice things about Christmas, so many people come back from interstate or overseas to be with their families, so it's a great time to catch up with old friends.

All in all a great week, I'm already looking forward to the next time I see Chris and the next time I spend Christmas in Adelaide! I hope that for all of you who celebrate Christmas, that it was indeed Merry and very special wherever you celebrated it :)

Impact Leader

We got some business education promo stuff in the mail yesterday. One diploma they offer is Business/Impact Leader. There's a diploma to become an Impact Leader? I'd love to have "Impact Leader" on my business card (I once applied for a job with this title!), but I have the distinct feeling that diplomas aren't the way for me (or anyone) to get there!!!

Time to chill

Yeah, they've run out of work at the jewellery distribution centre, so I'm back to being random again :) Sad because the money was nice, happy because now I can do all those little things that I just haven't found time for the last month or so. There's more to life than money. Although it does help ;) Hopefully they'll offer me work next year while I'm at uni, my boss said she'd call next month to let me know. Fingers crossed!

I had SUCH a relaxing day today. Tomorrow is Cassie's birthday, so she, Mel and I went for lunch at Glenelg, walked along the beach, had frozen yoghurt, and hit the hockey ball around at the park. It's a gorgeous day, 28C and sunny, and just perfect for lazing around with friends. This is what Summer is all about.

Tomorrow? Read a little, go to a BBQ in the park with some AIESECers and alum, sit around and watch TV. Perfect :)

Tonight it finally happened. I saw someone on the street wearing one of those Akubra hats with corks on it. I thought only the occassional tourist and some Aussies at Global Villages wore them. But this dude was wearing business clothes, reading a novel, and walking down North Terrace.

Then again, the fly population this year is really high for some reason, and he did seem pretty comfortable just flicking his head every now and again to keep them away. Maybe he'll start a trend...?

Christmas in Adelaide

The sun is shining, there's trees, decorations and lights everywhere, carol music is playing, and the shops are full of christmas crackers, mince pies, turkeys and hams, and christmas puddings. My weekends include buying presents and writing christmas cards. Ahhh it's good to be in Adelaide for Christmas again :)

Christmas is coming, and I'm 110% excited :D

The Truth...

I've been hit hard by a terrifying truth this week. Lil posted on her blog about the joys of walking and how hard it is to understand why some people chose to jog - and I agree whole-heartedly. But alas, I have gained a disturbing insight into the truth of the matter. Being nearly dark, I decided the other night I'd go for a quick jog, as I wouldn't make it in time if I walked. I must admit I ran pretty fast... it felt good... and then after about 4 blocks my lungs were burning, my legs were threatening to give way, and I really, really, really wanted some water. I had to stop. It seems that long daily walks, at a quick pace mind you, turn out to have done little for my fitness. The peace and serenity that they bring is great, but fitness? I felt exhausted all evening, and decided to ride my old exercise bike the next night to see what was going on there. The same, I could only do 10 minutes, and it took me ages to recover! Walking has truly let me down. I feel so ripped off. I thought I would be getting so fit! It seems that exercise is not as enjoyable as it had seemed. From now on, I will ride or jog. Walking will be an extra, exercise for the mind and soul rather than the body. How sad...

The Future of Exercise...