Back Again in 2006

“A long December, and there’s reason to believe: maybe this year’ll be better than the last.”

This year I'm listing to a different version of the song. I always listen to the "Recovering the Satellites" version, but last year I had the brilliance to give the "Live Across a Wire" album a try - and I was blown away. I wouldn't say it completely reminds me of being at the concert, but it still leaves me with an energy - a revitalizing zap of melancholy, the same effect that caught me all those years back.

I just got back from bringing in the New Year with some friends and acquaintances. We went to Long Street in Cape Town, a street well known for its bars, clubs and other places of social gathering. It was the first time I was there and it was nice - up until my cellphone was stole shortly before midnight. It was lifted from my shoulder bag on my way out. Luckily they didn't get my wallet or anything else. I don't mind losing the cellphone, but I'm furious for losing my SIM card, my whole address book and a ton of SMS's from Nikki...

Just last night I was talking with a friend on IM. She revealed that she doesn't like birthdays. Well, not her own, at least, and the reason is she basically gets scared of how quickly time went by. She also takes stock of the year and finds regrets of things missed out on. I opt to look at the good things when it's my birthday, but now, tonight, is when I face the music. It's my personal sojourn through 365.25 days of experiences, emotions, faces and places. Tonight is the time that I get frightened. And excited. And go emotionally hay-wire. Why? Because we're passing through an absolutely random point in the earth's orbit on our free trip around the sun.

This year was my second one at the University of Stellenbosch. As my regular readers will know, I've bitched and moaned a lot about stress and work and stuff, so all I'm going to say is this: I stressed and bitched and moaned a hell of a lot about work and stuff. I had prepared myself that the second year would be the hardest pre-grad year, but it might not be so. We'll see. Not much to say about the academics: no shining spot, slipping comfortably into the middle and had a few very close calls. But I'm through it and when a first year looks at me and makes the "third year" connotation, they will stand in awe because they think I know a lot. I don't know a lot, I've just been through more than they have. Eh.

I crawled a bit out of my shell this year. Not much, but enough to meet some very nice people, realize some are nicer than I initially made them out to be and snag a few friends. It was partly due to my brief stay on Stellenbosch mid-year. I was hardly a social butterfly, even then, but I think the euphoria of being "out on my own" shined through a bit to other areas of my life. I'll be living on Stellenbosch again this year, but more about that some other time. Another factor was an elaborate scheme to get closer to a girl I fancied. Didn't get the girl, but I don't regret the friendships I picked up along the way.

Heh, the best laid plans, right? I've said it once and I'll say (and think) it again a thousand times over: I over think everything. I got a girl. A great, awesome person, a chance meeting in an old gaol in a strange town. Thank you, Nikki, for everything; the time and patience and affection! When I see you again, I don't want to let go of your hand again...

I changed a lot last year. I regressed some more, I progressed some more. And intricate rational ride of emotions and experiences. Where I go and end up next, I don't know. I should, because one shouldn't sit passively on the side and just go with the current, but on the other hand, even the best plans and preparations are naught when a strong enough wave comes in.

Resolutions? None, same as last year. Plans for 2006: don't know. Friends, family, more "getting out and doing stuff". Priorities have to change and I've fallen out of the rat race, so why keep on running? Well, I'll keep at a jog (something I literally failed with last year and should up again this year).

And so comes to an end my message for 2006. My new year's wish for you is that, if you find yourself realizing that time if flying by and you're in a bar or club watching the clock tick down to 2007, that the time would have passed with good memories and experiences.