I've never been a "New Years Eve" person. My grandparents always had a New Years celebration and when they lived at McKee Ave, we'd stand on the deck and watch the fireworks set down at the Rotorua lake front. After moving to Taranaki to live on The Farm I mostly stayed home on New Year's Eve because all my relatives'd like to go out (we all lived together and they hardly ever went out at night) so, being the oldest and *cough* most responsible *laughs* okay, oldest I'd be left behind to babysit my younger siblings and cousins.
When I grew up and moved away, most of my New Years were spent camping. This was usually the guys drinking beer and playing drinking games and eating fruit salad straight from the can (in defiance of their mothers - hello Michelle, big-fat-clue?) around the fire, and we girls running out of mixers at about 9pm and sobering up/shivering our way to midnight where a) our boyfriends/husbands were too intoxicated to find our mouths let alone kiss them and b) being stuck with that guy who always came camping with us, who had his own "one man tent", army surplus cooking gear and bicycle clips but no bicycle. He always had a prickly beard and he *always* used his tongue and he *always* found his target *shuddering after all these years* Then of course there was the 3am awakening when someone or more passers by'd pee on the tent. Oh yeh.. go the Kiwi Camping Ground.
Now as a single woman on New Years Eve, the party is usually lots of fun, and too much alcohol is consumed and it's all fun and games until the end of the midnight countdown when you realise you're standing alone in a room full of loving couples all kissing and whispering to each other. Talk about being the 3rd wheel.
But I was going out last night.. I wasn't then I was.. dithering-around typical of me at the moment (indecisive? not sure.) I made the mistake of checking the television before I left.. more footage of the tsunami. More countries exchanging celebrations of a New Year into National Days of Mourning. God it's so sad. So incredibly, mind numbingly helplessly horrifically sad. And there I sat, watching that film footage and not going anywhere.
I could tell it was midnight by the fireworks outside and the deep booming of what I assume was the display at the Sky Tower.
I didn't sleep much last night which, again, is typical of me at the moment. But thank you Suzi, wherever you are, for the txt message about 20 minutes *after* I fell asleep. 3:40am's pushing it, dontchathink?
Happy New Year, people. Thanks for keeping me company and I hope 2005 is good to you all. Well those of you who deserve it - Suuz? I'm gonna wake you up at 4am! Then we'll do coffee :)