Back with a…err…bang!

I have always wondered why a new year is such a big deal. And today I found soulmates on-line. Nope, not a chat room or a cyber-club of sorts, but a group of protestors in Nantes, in western France, who have decided that time does not have to go by, that a new year is a waste of effort and progress in the direction that the world has been taking all these years should be stopped. And a year before it is time, they have been yelling, “No to 2008!”

I like time going by, mostly for the reason that when it does, the nightmares of the past can fade a little. For me, the end of the year used to be the start of a new one, a beginning that heralded new experiences, new books, new restaurants and, in a few months, the new tax year. Then it became a time that needed to be forgotten but never could, when my mother died at the end of a year that was, to put it mildly, painful. Now, just over a year after that nasty period in our lives, nothing has faded, nothing has been forgotten, nothing has settled into a calmer and more bearable place. But things have found some closure and the mind has reconciled to the fact that it all happened, sadly, unfortunately, unforgettably.

For this new year, I am looking forward to a great deal. A new job, perhaps. New friends, certainly. New experiences, of course. And a whole new attitude, hopefully. If I have a resolution, it is to be more positive, more proactive, more accomplishing. I need to get things done and, much to the dismay and trepidation of the two friends who know me well, I have said I will do, react, respond and revise. Everything from my life to my wardrobe, my address book to my fashion statement. Perhaps it is only my snob values that will remain constant.

PS: Happy New Year. The French in Nantes would not approve. I am not sure I do.