It occurs to me that I probably could have made something of this blog if i'd written about something interesting. For example, my year as a trainee teacher. My year as a first-year teacher. It could have been called The Staff Room. Or Confessions of an NQT. It isn't.
This blog is called Barefoot in the Dark because, for reasons best left to the pages of history, I have learned that it takes me a while to settle into anything. I flounder and grope about, my brain chews over and over, my heart sinks and rises. Finally, when it fits, I'm content. I have also learned that very little about this life is permanent. In fact, very little about this life lasts for more than a year. Situations change, people come and go, feelings alter. All very philosophical i'm sure. What I'm getting at here is that it's not easy to maintain anything other than a regular rate of respiration.
Here I am again, getting all thoughtful on the verge of a new year. Those little proverbial digits will tick over 00.00.01 and we will all be expected to shout "Hoorah! Happy New Year!" and I forget why we ever celebrate this thing. I should be nothing but grateful, humbled and hopeful as the new millenium becomes a decade old and '09 becomes '10. Why, then, do I still feel distinctly flat? New Year's Eve - the greatest anti-climax in the calendar year.
Tonight I won't be thinking about the new year (365 days is a long old time!). Rather, I'll be considering the spring term. I've a lot to do. I wonder what'll happen.
Showing posts with label a new year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label a new year. Show all posts
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Friday, January 02, 2009
When it's time to party...
How did you see the new year in?
I gave in to the impulse to throw a party for the sake of the stroke of midnight. And what a party it was. To set the scene, I have been battling a horrendous thick cold ever since Christmas day and it was no better by New Year's Eve. I was, therefore, resigned to a night spent at home with whatever family members remained after those with friends and a social life swanned off into the icy evening. Simon left about 6.30, Liz was at work. In short, it was pretty much a full house.
In the Willis house, we don't go down without a fight, and fight we did. We decided to throw our very own makeshift 'DiscoParty.' The single best decision we have made all December! What better party is there than one where you can decide what you want to drink, what music to play, how to dance, and how long to carry on past midnight?! A few of my brothers had friends over who were slightly sceptical at first. What kind of freakish family throws their own exclusive disco party on New Years Eve and enjoys each other's company?! Anyway, after a few drinks, they were joining in the dancing. Excellent. It was disco, it was drum and base, it was dance, it was motown, it was pop, it was electro. In short, it was exactly everything that you could imagine.
We welcomed in the new year in the only way that a new year should be welcomed - with a huge glass of champagne in hand and a bloody good mosh to the melodious tones of Andrew WK's anthem, Party Hard. It was classic. We played it three times. Kizzy got a neck injury from misinformed headbanging technique.
Happy New Year (whatever that means). Have a great January and I'll see you for some partying hard on January 31st!
I gave in to the impulse to throw a party for the sake of the stroke of midnight. And what a party it was. To set the scene, I have been battling a horrendous thick cold ever since Christmas day and it was no better by New Year's Eve. I was, therefore, resigned to a night spent at home with whatever family members remained after those with friends and a social life swanned off into the icy evening. Simon left about 6.30, Liz was at work. In short, it was pretty much a full house.
In the Willis house, we don't go down without a fight, and fight we did. We decided to throw our very own makeshift 'DiscoParty.' The single best decision we have made all December! What better party is there than one where you can decide what you want to drink, what music to play, how to dance, and how long to carry on past midnight?! A few of my brothers had friends over who were slightly sceptical at first. What kind of freakish family throws their own exclusive disco party on New Years Eve and enjoys each other's company?! Anyway, after a few drinks, they were joining in the dancing. Excellent. It was disco, it was drum and base, it was dance, it was motown, it was pop, it was electro. In short, it was exactly everything that you could imagine.
We welcomed in the new year in the only way that a new year should be welcomed - with a huge glass of champagne in hand and a bloody good mosh to the melodious tones of Andrew WK's anthem, Party Hard. It was classic. We played it three times. Kizzy got a neck injury from misinformed headbanging technique.
Happy New Year (whatever that means). Have a great January and I'll see you for some partying hard on January 31st!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
So this is the new year...
This will not be the first New Year post I've submitted to this blog. I'm sure it will not be the last. Because as much as you try to fight against it, the 31st December makes you a little bit more pensive than usual. All that happens, of course, is that the time ticks over from 00:00 hours to 00:01 and we are in a new year. The 31st becomes the 1st and we're off again. This same series of events happens at the end of every month (except where the final day is the 30th, 29th or 28th) and yet it is only this one occasion when we all have parties, drink alcohol, dance, play games, kiss and make resolutions.
The school year starts in September, not January. The tax year starts in April. So why do we not celebrate then? What resolution is there that is so bound by time, the calendar and seasons that means we can only make in on January 1st and not...today, or yesterday? Nonsense. Make resolutions every day. Resolve to be a better friend, laugh more, drink a little less, use less petrol, visit people, smile at work, work hard, grant yourself a little free time, speak about yourself less, give away more, moan less, allow yourself to fail, move slower, think faster, spend less on clothes and more on stamps, talk to God, forgive and move on. A diet can start on March 13th. A chocolate detox will not be set up to fail just because you start in mid-June.
So tomorrow is January 1st 2009. Think of it as one digit changing at the end of the date as we write it. No big deal. If you can't think of a big life changing resolution, chill out - there's plenty of other things to be getting on with. If you are reading this on some random date in the middle of the year, there's no better time to stop yourself and start over. Get better. Be changed. Be liberated. Do not be confined.
Sermon over. Happy New Year.
The school year starts in September, not January. The tax year starts in April. So why do we not celebrate then? What resolution is there that is so bound by time, the calendar and seasons that means we can only make in on January 1st and not...today, or yesterday? Nonsense. Make resolutions every day. Resolve to be a better friend, laugh more, drink a little less, use less petrol, visit people, smile at work, work hard, grant yourself a little free time, speak about yourself less, give away more, moan less, allow yourself to fail, move slower, think faster, spend less on clothes and more on stamps, talk to God, forgive and move on. A diet can start on March 13th. A chocolate detox will not be set up to fail just because you start in mid-June.
So tomorrow is January 1st 2009. Think of it as one digit changing at the end of the date as we write it. No big deal. If you can't think of a big life changing resolution, chill out - there's plenty of other things to be getting on with. If you are reading this on some random date in the middle of the year, there's no better time to stop yourself and start over. Get better. Be changed. Be liberated. Do not be confined.
Sermon over. Happy New Year.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Welcome to the New Year
2008.
What? It's 6.30 on January 1st 2008 and I don't feel any different. I didn't make any resoultions. I saw the new year in with friends. I slept in 'til 10. I watched a great movie. I thought a bit too much. I started planning a lesson. Now i'm going out for dinner.
If the year started on January 2nd, this would be new years eve. It's really nothing special, a new year. So how about just being grateful for a new 24hours. A new 5 minutes?
What? It's 6.30 on January 1st 2008 and I don't feel any different. I didn't make any resoultions. I saw the new year in with friends. I slept in 'til 10. I watched a great movie. I thought a bit too much. I started planning a lesson. Now i'm going out for dinner.
If the year started on January 2nd, this would be new years eve. It's really nothing special, a new year. So how about just being grateful for a new 24hours. A new 5 minutes?
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