"Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right."
Oprah Winfrey
"An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves."
Bill Vaughan
"Making resolutions is a cleansing ritual of self assessment and repentance that demands personal honesty and, ultimately, reinforces humility. Breaking them is part of the cycle."
Eric Zorn
Welcome 2010.
The previous 12 months have certainly been eventful. It's hard to see how the next lot will be able to equal them- attending interviews in Sydney, followed by months of planning, organisation, packing, and sorting in preparation for departure. Tears and sleepless nights, mixed emotions of excitement, worry, frustration, anger and sheer joy. Exploring the unknown in settling in the UAE and travelling to India. Exploring the familiar once again in Singapore, New York and England. The mind boggles at the possibilities that this year brings.
First thing's first then. My resolutions. Im not sure that's the right word, however. Resolution refers to a solution to a problem. I like to think of mine as aims and goals instead. They aren't necessarily answers to problems, but ideas and things that I think will enhance quality of life.
Another Christmas of excess and merriment brings with it an expanded waist line, so that's the first thing to go. 2010 brings an improved, toned body. Lots of hard work, I know (actually I probably don't know) but I'm going on the record here and now in saying that, by mid year, I will be contributing 10kg less to the overall weight of our planet. That's less than 500g per week to brush aside. Watch this space for regular updates. I'm sure you'll be glued with anticipation.
Another aim of mine is to continue learning about the world. I'm finding with increasing regularity, the joy of experiencing the small and perhaps less significant aspects of travel, such as exploring backstreets and finding where the locals hang out. Just walking, watching and listening to the world around me is such a wonderful learning experience. I hope to have many more of these moments in 2010.
It's in doing this that I hope to become more tolerant. More patient. From road rage to trolley rage, check-out queue rage, call centre rage, video game rage, television remote rage and "people who don't cover their mouths when they cough and sneeze" rage, sometimes I can be described as having a short fuse. So in 2010, I will aim to be more calm, positive and tolerant.
Happy New Year!!
