New Year’s eve was celebrated at the not bad Mexican restaurant on the viaduct in downtown Auckland with my husband, sister, and brother-in-law and two more American expats, Rhonda and Stacey. We managed to finish the pathetic blended margaritas and moved on to something that tasted like tequila, tequila shots. We sat on the patio and had a good time people watching. The harbor- front was packed and there were a number of puking drunks to laugh at. Also, somehow New Zealand has fallen into a fashion time warp, it's like 1986 here! We moved to a better view to watch the fireworks get shot off the top of sky tower. It was pretty awesome. My resolution for 2007: no more crazy friends. They are a lot of fun, but you don’t realize until it’s too late that they are crazy. I would really like to make a Kiwi friend. I have several American expat friends, but would like a Kiwi friend. Ha ha, this reminds me of the search for a new black friend by Comedy Central's Steven Colbert, I sorely miss watching the Steven Colbert Report. He is the one who coined the word for 2006, "truthiness".I did enjoy some American comedy here in Auckland at the concert by Tenacious D on Thursday night. They were funny, very talented, and rocked. I had seen them once before, at ComicCon in San Diego, and loved it. The crowd was very appreciative, especially when they sang a sweet song about New Zealand, basically singing that we have great weed. Apparently Jack Black discovered this while in NZ filming King Kong.
But getting back to this new year business: I have only a few minor ideas of what to expect in 2007. I can predict that we'll have hens, we'll have a fireplace installed in the lounge and carpet in the rumpus room, and the wind will blow and it will rain. Surely I have some other goals for 2007, right? They are:
Go scuba diving in New Zealand (as much as possible!)
Go to Fiji in August, to make up for our pathetic wedding anniversary in 2006
Learn how to cook this vegetable called "silverbeet"
Stay in touch with all the great friends I have in America. I got Christmas cards from some of them, which was really amazing! FYI, it takes 80 cents US to mail a card. Less than a dollar! I love to get mail, hint hint.
One last thought before I stagger off to bed: Sometimes I get bogged down in the daily grind, annoyed by people (who can be such idiots), take offense at something, and get upset and depressed about it. But I have to keep in mind the big picture- last year I had a great year, despite being diagnosed with thyroid cancer. I have friends who are dealing with problems much bigger than mine: S, who separated from her alcoholic husband, he put a pistol in a police officer's face; L, who is expecting her first baby at 43-ish while on warfarin (doing great so far :),
and another S who has two little kids with autism spectrum disorder, who had an aneurysm diagnosed and surgery in Dec. This just goes to show you that bad things can happen when you least expect it, but you can recover and hopefully look on the bright side when you get through the tough times. I know the philosophy "it could be worse" is weak, so how about "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger"? Ok that's not always true either, so just make the best of it! You only get to live once, so do it well and with love in your heart. Here's hoping you have a healthy, interesting, and joyful 2007.
