Why I love January

January always makes me want to go out and buy stationery, wrap textbooks in plastic and notebooks in wrapping paper.  But my favourite part of January is starting a new diary - filling it with important dates to remember and peoples birthdays, writing inspirational quotes in the margins.  I always use January 1st to write my New Years resolutions.

It's a week into January and I got nothing so far except "Be Happy", which is not so much a New Years resolution as it is a validation statement.


I don't actually like the idea of making a New Years resolution, but I do it every year. I don't like the fact that there is this one time of year where we feel obligated to make some decision about what we want our life to be like, so we make all these crazy promises to ourselves without thinking them through.

So this year I will not be making the following New Years resolutions:
1. Spend less time on my cellphone - yeah, that's just not going to happen. I use my phone for everything from google to searching for recipes. I occasionally even use it to make phone calls.
2. I will exercise 2 - 3 times per week - erm, no. Unless watching a marathon of movies starts counting as exercise, you can pretty much guarantee this is not going to happen
3. Stop eating so much take-aways - the fact that Fridays in my home have now become known as "take-away Fridays" is pretty much an indication of how eating less junk food is not going to happen

Don't get me wrong, I would love to work on all 3 of the above things. But something about turning it into a New Years resolution seems to pretty much guarantee that it is not going to happen.

Case in point: last year I did not make a New Years resolution to find a new job. I did, however, make a mid-year resolution that if my the end of 2013 I was not happy in my job that I would find a new one. My mid-year resolution worked out better than any New Years resolution I have ever made.

Perhaps this year I won't make any New Years resolutions. I mean, it is already the 7th and shouldn't I already have decided on some goals already.

Maybe I will leave my resolutions until 1 July.  After all, the best part of resolutions seems to be putting them off until a more convenient time.

Being a New Years Eve Baby

There are certain dates to have your birthday which just plain suck. Christmas Day, Valentines Day, New Years Day ...

Mine is on New Years Eve which sucks pretty badly.

When people hear that my birthday is on New Years Eve, I pretty much hear one of 3 things:
1. "Thats such an awesome day to have your birthday, the whole world is having a party"
2. "Your poor mom had to spend New Years Eve in hospital"
3. "If you had waited one more day then you could have been a New Years baby"

It's really annoying.

Firstly, its not awesome having the whole world throw a party on the same day that you want to celebrate your birthday.  Even if I was to throw a party on my birthday, you can be sure that at the stroke of midnight everyone will want to count down to New Years.  I can't really hold it against them, I mean ... I like to do that to. But I will never know the joy of having a birthday party on my birthday where noone mentions anything about New Years Eve.

Secondly, yes my poor mom had to spend New Years Eve in a hospital. Once. And now I have to hear about it for the rest of my life. That parental guilt thing can really follow you around.

Thirdly ... what would have been the point in waiting another day to be born (like I had a choice). Why do people even say this? I don't even know and I don't even get the point.

I guess having to share my birthday with New Years Eve has made me slightly competitive.  You can be sure that as the date approaches, I will mention my birthday at just about any given opportunity.  There is literally no way that you can forget my birthday.  But it also makes me sentimental. I really do appreciate every birthday wish and gift.  It does make me feel special that people think of me, especially on a day where everyone is focusing on another huge event.

So, in case you have already forgotten: My birthday is on 31 December.  But don't worry, as the big day approaches (and this year I will be turning 30), I will remind you.

Happy New Year :)