Happy New Year

Making plans for New Year's Eve a couple of weeks ago I decided that what I really wanted to do this year was absolutely nothing at all.

New Year's Eve has never been my favourite night to go out - there's always so much expectation and pressure to have an "amazing" time - but in the past I've always allowed myself to be swept up in someone else's idea of what constitutes a perfect New Year's Eve. Some have been better and/or memorable than others - seeing out the old millenium with three generations of my family at a close friend's apartment overlooking Sydney harbour; dragon dancers, bad pop music and Vietnamese beers in a pavement bar in Ho Chi Minh City; a picnic for two under the stars at Martindale Hall in South Australia's Clare Valley - but most have been just ho hum.

This year I'm doing what I want to do: staying home with a bottle of Vintage Chandon, a lovely piece of Barramundi and a good book. I have a small sliver of city skyline view from my balcony so I'm fairly sure I'll see a firework or two, and if I can't, well, I'm sure they'll be on TV. Other pluses include no jostling crowds, queues to use the bathroom or tiresome hunt for a taxi at the end of the night.

Boring? Obviously I don't think so but the reactions I've received from people I've shared my plan with have been interesting, ranging from "that's just wierd" to "I'm so jealous, I wish I could stay home".  I guess, in the end, it's just a personal thing.

However you decide to spend your New Year's Eve, I hope you have a happy and safe night and a wonderful 2010. I shall look forward to catching up with you again next year!