Its 09... already?

You always know it is coming, but it is really one of those events that just creeps up on you.
Although it is a great excuse not to go to work, it is also that time when you start to look back and think what have I really done with my year??
I know living as an exchange student in a different country is quite as achievement.
But that just means I have to do some even better this year.
All though I must say the year did start out better than last year, when I celebrated New Years at an ATM with two friends and the freezing snow.
This years New Years really started at Christmas.
After finishing work at 5pm on Christmas Eve I went home a spent the evening with Mum, Dad and my brother. We watched a movie and then went to bed around 9.
I woke up at 1am and decided it was 8am and time to open presents - my brother was not at all happy in my attempts to wake him up, and eventually my mum came down and sternly told me to go back to bed.. Whoops!
Christmas morning was Pancakes, Bacon and Eggs and a glass of top shelf bubbles, following our presents opening.
We all got pretty lucky - My parents brought me a necklace and my brother got me a car stereo, however, I was more interested in the chocolate from my sack, who doesn't love Belgium chocolate??
We left for our family late lunch/early dinner at my cousins house around 2pm, after having spent the morning on the couch watching another movie and slowly getting ready for the day.
Lunch at my cousins was were New Years started as my plans went from solid to liquid and it was time to arrange new ones.
I was originally going to go up North for a few nights and then go to Waiheke Island. However, the up North Plans got all jumbled and I got annoyed so they got cancelled and I went to Waiheke for 5 days not 2. (that's the quick easy version - the long one would be a never ending story)

The five days in Waiheke were so much fun. Spent with some great friends, doing some great activities - lazing around in the sun, going to the beach, playing singstar.

New Years Eve was not a repeat - This time I was on a balcony with close friends, listening to the count down, singing Auld Lang Syne and Toasting to the New Years, planning to make it the best that it can be.

Goals for the coming year? I have thought of a few, but at the moment I will think of them as wishes, and I can not tell my wishes otherwise they will not come true - or in this case be achieved!

Happy New Year all - may it be better than the rest and every thing you wish it to be!