Happy New Year

The sun rises for the first time in 2006 over the East Sea in South Korea...
though I wasn't there this year, I'm guessing it looked pretty much the same.

In my younger days, I was often forced, against every willful bone in my body- to attend Church on Sundays. It combined three elements that made it absolutely painful for me to sit through- getting out of bed, a boring lecture and a dress. Every Sunday morning, I would find myself in a dreadfully uncomfortable wooden pew in a deep trance that would make me magically aware of the number of candles, flowers and crosses on the altar. Stand up, sit down, kneel. Stand up, sit down, kneel. Prayers mechanically recited. Tyler would poke me and stir me from my trance- I'd realize I was also praying mechanically. Travis asleep on the pew. I was jealous- no one ever let me sleep in Church. Every Sunday was the same. Sometime in the spring, we would leave Church and Dad would ask me what I was giving up for Lent. I would pause. Lent? Hmm... I didn't realize that was coming up so soon. Crap. "Fighting with Tyler," I'd say. "No go? Then I don't know..." By the time I finally came up with an answer to the question of Lent time sacrifices, Lent was nearly over and my sacrifice really didn't cut it anymore. New Year's resolutions were always the same for me. Not that I couldn't keep them- more that I never felt any particular relationship with the new year and I never felt terribly driven to make any resolutions. I think I'm pretty good at doing what I set out to do and making changes as I see fit. I might procrastinate alot on doing the dishes or going Christmas shopping, but I've always been good about changing my situation if I find myself unhappy.

That said, what challenges did I confront in 2006? I moved to Korea, spending a year away from my friends, family and Fred. For the first time in my life, I lived alone- and loved it. I visited Taiwan, Thailand and Laos- thus knocking four countries off the list of places to see. I made some big decisions about my direction with my career and my relationship. I gained some perspective on my finances and stopped thinking about money as though it were impossible to hold onto. I learned the Korean alphabet and started out on the road to having a third language. I tackled my fear of big purchases and finally rewarded myself with a nice laptop, camera and mp3 player.

What awaits me in 2007? Soon enough, my days as a house-girlfriend will run out and I will find myself a job. Presumably a real one. I'm hoping to get some things rolling with acting and writing. At some point this year, I will deal with the huge challenge of seeing Fred toss aside his old pancreas and kidney in favour of newer ones. I'll stand beside Thelma as her maid of honour at her wedding, on my 27th birthday. I hope to take a few small trips in Quebec- maybe even get some canoeing in. And I'll occupy myself with getting my bank account in shape for a trip to India in early 2008.

I'm curious to hear about your plans/resolutions/hopes. Where does 2007 find you? Have you made resolutions? On another note- is anybody else getting too old for New Year's Eve?