Happy New Year 2008

I have had a very lazy holiday over Christmas and New Year. It's been great. But now I'm back at work, and trying to get into the swing of 2008.


I don't make new year resolutions. I really can't see the point in setting goals that I almost certainly will forget about. I've made resolutions in the past and pretty much given up on them within days. Or weeks at the most... So, no resolutions for this year. I'll just be concentrating on longer-term goals that I've already thought about.

Actually, I didn't stay awake long enough on New Years Eve to even see the new year in. How slack is that? I was in bed by 11 and fast asleep. I'll blame my friends for being too lazy to go out for the night - that's my excuse. I guess we're all a little bit over the whole party scene, dodging drunken teenagers on the waterfront or in the nightclubs. Anyway... (the new year is making me feel old, can you tell?)

The two weeks holiday itself was very good, though. I went to Tassie for 10 days, before spending a final few days at home in Brisbane before heading back to work this morning. As usual, the weather in Hobart was pretty average. A lot of it was cold and overcast, with a couple of good days over the weekend. It even broke 30 degrees on new years eve, so I jumped in the water and went swimming. The Tasmanian water is always so refreshingly cold, isn't it? But then on New Years day, for our family bbq, the temperature didn't even make it to 20. We still had a good time though - fresh salmon and sausages on the bbq, with some of mums salads and raspberry ice cream cake. Yum! It's just a shame we couldn't include a swim at the beach as part of the fun.

I love going home to Hobart for a holiday. I don't feel like a tourist there, and so there's no pressure to go off sightseeing, there's no list of attractions to see or activities to do. I spent my time catching up with family and friends, and then doing nothing. Just a few days of lazing around the house doing nothing, walking on the beach, reading or watching the cricket made for a fantastic holiday, a holiday that felt twice as long as it actually was. After what had been a pretty hectic couple of months leading up to Christmas I needed that break.

It was particularly good to see my grandfather again. He's looking quite a bit older and frailer than he did even a few months ago, unfortunately. Old age really is unfair, isn't it? It's certainly not his mind that's slowing up, but his body just can't keep up anymore. Still, he's doing pretty well, and is a lot better than many people his age. I just hope I take after him!

I also caught up with a few friends while in Tassie. If I was making new year resolutions, one would be to make more of an effort to keep in touch with these people. I really don't see them or talk to them often enough. I'm hoping that at least a few of them will come and visit me sometime this year.

So that was my Christmas. It was fun, the best holiday I've had for a while now. I just wish, really wish, I wasn't back at work this morning!