Antarctic Week 7: So this is the new year

four days into the new year and already i'm already fucking over it. wait a minute, no i'm not - I'M JUST KIDDING! i had the best time ever ushering 2011 in with the antarctic folks, although it was still hard missing yet another new year's eve celebration with family, loved ones and friends, but i couldn't have celebrated it with a better crowd. everyone was lovely and i had a grand time tripping, popping and giggling away right up to the 5-4-3-2-1...albeit with some help from the lovely Omni Non-Vintage and Jacob's Creek Sparkling Moscato! did it matter that i was still recovering from a gastrointestinal virus that, for the 3 days prior to NYE, had rendered me to the ground with a fever, aches and pains in my joints, headaches, nausea AND stomach cramps?

the answer is NO. wherever drinking is to be had, drinking WILL be had.

looking back upon 2010, i have to admit that it was a far-cry from the absolutely dismal 2009 and 2008 years that i had to endure. 2010 was a year of discoveries for me. in no particular order, i discovered that:

1. i was in antarctica, one of the most remotest places this world has to offer (aiyo, i know la, i'm still in antarctica wtf - i never left).

2. not getting paid for 5 months' worth of work PLUS having to pay for rent in a place that you weren't living in can severely cripple your bank account.

3. old friends -like habits - die hard and can always be counted upon regardless of anything and that true friendships stand the test of time differences and geographical boundaries.

4. i make a pretty good plumber.

5. i also make a pretty good seawater technician.

6. there really is no other place like E112 Lorong Jati Perak 1 and Malaysia.

7. i will never be truly happy unless i'm travelling be it to new or old places, with new friends/acquaintances or old buddies.

8. japanese cuisine, especially sushi and sashimi, is unODable, no matter how hard i try.

9. the best way to spend Sundays is to curl up in bed with the blankets pulled right up high (and with a book or a loved one - your choice) and rest peacefully in the knowledge that you can stay in bed as long as you want and no one can make you leave it!

10. it is not that hard to make friends even if you're the only one in a group who doesn't know anybody.

11. memory is a very powerful thing indeed and that there are some things in life that i just cannot forget or look beyond no matter how hard i try.

12. my body's circadian rhythm automatically does an 180 degree turn every time i'm back in Malaysia because i will manage to stay up till 5 a.m. every day.

13. i am never too old for Zouk.

14. penguins are, BY FAR, the most retarded and hilarious birds to ever walk this planet - i can spend hours just staring and laughing at them, wondering why they've not somehow managed to wipe their own species out of extinction (i guess they must be doing something right).

15. i am the master of my own fate and procurer of my own happiness and no one can tell me otherwise.

16. i am also very VERY prone to losing things le sigh.

17. the lengths at which one goes about feeling sorry for one's self when one is feeling sick and has no one around to even ask to fetch a cup of water to parch a thirsty tongue BECAUSE NO ONE KNOWS ONE IS SICK is very very great indeed. boohoo i hope never to have to experience that again.

18. the simple things in life - like walking to your favourite cafe with a book in hand, or feeling the spring sunlight on your face, or browsing through a saturday flea market and melting into crowd as a nameless, faceless being - has kept me going when the going got tough.

19. earning money (and actually seeing your bank account balance grow each fortnight) is better than any endorphin booster, sex or alcohol.

20. a white christmas is infinitely 10 thousand bajigazillion times better than a..err, normal christmas.

i made no resolutions for 2011. all i have is a song that i'm hoping will best sum up what i want from it. 4 days in and still it feels like any other year - however, i'm pretty certain that this year will be mine.