why hello, 2009.

happy new year! and merry christmas / happy hanukah / happy holidays! so much has gone on since my last entry…

the silly season here in sydney is finally coming to an end. that's right, the silly season. that's what the term the time leading to christmas and way past new years! it's the silly season because all they do here is go on holiday and get "silly" with drink. haha. the holidays here really are quite silly. they aren't as family oriented! but that's alright. we still enjoyed the holidays.

christmas eve, we left work early, went to a happy hour for a bit, then to the grocery store to buy everything we needed for our nice christmas eve dinner! i must say it was a very nice evening. we had so much leftover pasta that we tried to go out into kings cross and give it away to the bums on the street - they weren't very grateful though. kings cross has the crazy kind of bums, not they kind that go to soup kitchens and such. we tried to be kind and a bit generous... if it was helpful to even one person and they enjoyed it, that's all i can ask for. when we went back to the apartment, we exchanged gifts! nothing big, but just enough to make it feel a little more like christmas time!

then on chrissy (what the call christmas here...), we went to bondi beach. i loved being in the warm climate for the holiday! if i could spend every christmas on the beach, i'd be happy to! it was more like party central for the backpackers at bondi. there was an "orphan" party going on at the pavilion. people were all dressed up in their holiday gear, santa hats were everywhere, and the beach was packed! some tourists were in the water screaming at every wave as if they had never been in the ocean before! overall, a great day.

and new years eve was fantastic as well! left work early, had a feast at home, took a nice long nap, prepared for the evening, went to the marina, hopped on a privately owned boat with about 10 people, went on the harbour and watched the famous sydney fireworks on the water. it was perfect! a little bubbly, fun music, good friends, and fireworks. what more could a girl ask for on nye?? loved it.

with the silly season over, it's back to the normal routine for a bit. my time here sure is getting exciting! my traveling starts february with the south island of new zealand from the 11th to the 23rd! can't wait! should be crazy fun.

by the way, on jan 1 2009, the word of the day was: wan⋅der⋅lust [won-der-luhst] –noun a strong, innate desire to rove or travel about.

perfect word of the year, huh? livin life, lovin life.