happy new year

I normally put on a very sceptical face when it comes to New Year. This year, however, I decided to make some resolutions. For the first time in a long time, I do not know how I will be spending the year. I will finish my thesis sometime before the end of March, and suddenly there will be a big blank emptiness I will have to fill. So I've decided that I might need some actual goals, so that I can actually move forward.

1. I want to do the Routeburn Track (3 days long, one of NZ's Great Walks) before the end of next summer. I did the first couple hours of this at the start of 2009 (pictured below) and it's just beautiful. It will take a bit of preparation - gear, companions, travel, fees, fitness - but this is why I need to start thinking about it now!


2. In terms of general being-a-better-person stuff: I want to complain less. Especially in the flatting environment. It's very easy to start complaining about someone or something, and not so easy to stop.

3. Get a job that is not completely unrelated to the skills I have acquired over the last six years (sigh) of study.

4. Figure out some things. Do I want to do a PhD or not? Do I want to be anything in particular?

5. Get writing again. Creative writing.

6. Move forward in some way. I do not want 2011 to be a year of being stagnant.

four years later...

Four years ago, I was a 20-year-old girl lining up with my friend Katie, my sister, and two brothers-in-law, and with thousands of other concert-goers, overwhelmingly excited, in the throes of a U2 obsession. (You can tell I was obsessed by the photo art I attempted below, merging Katie's and my faces with a concert photo.) It was the first big concert I'd ever been to, and we queued for almost the whole day, finally finding a spot right at the front, almost close enough to reach out and touch a band member, in the rain. 'Catch me if I swoon,' I told my brother-in-law who was standing behind me.

I wrote possibly one of my longest blog posts ever afterwards, including every single detail I could remember, with the catchy little title: U2 U2 U2 U2 U2 U2 U2 U2 U2 U2 U2 U2 U2 U2 U2.

I'm not the same girl anymore and I'm not obsessed with U2 in the same way, but I am thrilled to hear that they will be returning to New Zealand this November. I just know that one of those tickets has my name written on it and it is incredibly nice to find out that some things are not once-in-a-lifetime opportunities but more-than-once-etc-opportunities.

My sister who came along last time is due to have a baby two weeks before the concert and she is investing in a pair of baby earmuffs. That's dedication.