NYE 2007

It's NYE here in Sydney. I'll be one of the first to welcome in the new year. How very exciting. OK, there was a distinct lack of enthusiasm in that last sentence. It turns out I'm not a huge New Year's Eve reveller. I don't really know why as I generally like any excuse for a party and some hoopla, but I think it's all about the build-up, it's just too much hype to live up to. So I enter with no expectations.

It's about 6 0'clock in the evening and I really should be getting decked out in my party dress but I'm just not ready to go there yet. I 'kind of' had a big one last night .well, technically it started around 2 in the afternoon which may have been a big part of the problem. In any case, because this will be my last weekend of drinking for the next four months, I kind of made the best of it last night, which means there's really not much left in me for another night of boozing and partying. Sigh. I am getting old. According to one of the guys we met last night I really couldn't be any younger than 28. He based this on my footwear. I had been planning to wear flat sandals. but wore some nice heels instead..I reckon if I had worn the sandals, I'd have been labelled a senior citizen.

Normally I don't make resolutions at New Years . It just makes sense that if you want to change something in your life, you do it when you are ready to do it.Well, it seems that I want to make some changes in my life and it just happens to be New Year's so I am giving in to tradition. Just this once. My resolutions are as follows (laugh if you must, but I can stick to anything I set my mind to).

Resolution #1 : No drinking of alcohol for the next four months

Resolution #2 : No eating any sorts of sweets or chocolate - including cakes, cookies, pastries, etc.


S yah. That's the plan Stan. Resoltuion #1 will be mujch easier than Resolution #2. Wish me luck.


Here is a picture from my Christmas potluck. I will post more in the near future.

A List of Books . Just That Simple.

Note to all that have lots of spare time on their hands - I've actually written THREE posts tonight, so if you want to read about Christmas on the Farm or my future life as a Farmer, scroll down to read the other two posts that follow this one!

So, living in Sydney has not been conducive to my education or mental well-being. Amongst other things that I have neglected (my body..ahem), I have not been able to finish a book since I arrived. Oh, I've started a few, but just have NOT been able to get through one. Or maybe I have. Oh wait, I did read 'Don't Eat This Book' from front to back, but that was an easy read. Good, but easy. Ok, so here are a list of books I am currently reading or planning to get through in the upcoming months. If anyone has additional suggestions for good 'on the road' books, please, by all means SHARE them!

Currently Reading

• The Story of B - Daniel Quinn
• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert Pilsrig (thanks for the recommendation Michigan)
• The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle (whoa, this one's a bit out there, but worth it I think)

Planning to Read

• Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
• The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho (thanks Shannon!)
• The End of Food - Thomas F. Pawlick (a huge thank you to Tash and her flatmate's Sugar Daddy for sending this all the way from France in record time!)
• Memoirs of a Geisha -Arthur Golden
• The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
• The Hero With A Thousand Faces - Joseph Campbell (thanks for the recommendation Rob)

So, yah. Hmmmm. Seems I am on a bit of a non-fiction kick. Only two in that list are completely fictional. I haven't been able to read much fiction in the last couple of years - it's like I have this insatiable appetite to learn more about, well, everything - the world, other people, myself. Yum!

Farmer Shan

Well, the countdown is on - only 12 more days at that absolutely wonderful place of work, Citibank. Oh, how I will miss sitting in front of a computer for 8 hours a day. Oh how I will miss having to do Run Rate reports, take minutes and be the unofficial PA of the team. Mostly I will miss being underpaid and doing work that does not utilise any of my natural abilities or developed skills. It's always great being an unappreciated resource - really character building!

Now, on a more sincere note, I must admit I will miss a few things about my place of work. First and foremost, the people. I've made some fabulous friends in the Cards department, most notably Mary, Sara and Shaz. And then, of course, there's Doug, the Tasmanian! I will also very much miss the gym. For the next four months I am going to have to be creative with my workoujts - no gym and no homebase, where I could build a makeshift gym. So yah..that's about all I will miss.

Farming will commence soon after I arrive in Melbourne. I've sussed out a few places to do farmstays in the area surrounding Melbourne, so just need to cement something now.

Ooooohhh - did I mention I saw my first KANGAROOS while at Mary's farm??? They were bouncing along by a fence, trying to get to the other side, then finally they went Boing Boing BOING and jumped clear over the fence! It was so neat to see!

I am debating whether to bring my laptop on my trip around Australia. It would be great to have it while I am on the farms, because I've been dying to write more and more these days and I reckon farm life would make good fodder for some travel writing pieces. On the other hand, I will probably be hostelling it at some points during the trip and don't really want to have to worry about my laptop while I am holed up in Byron Bay. Any opinions on this one?

K -well, I will keep you posted on Life as Farmhand! If anything, should provide some laughs at my expense!