Lesson 33 - Steam Boat, Pictionary and Memories

New Years Eve, it's finally come around once again. It always makes me question my life and how I have lived it so far. Have I made the most of it? I don't know. Will this be my last year on Earth? Things like that, I always feel this way around this time of year.
Was invited to a friends place for a low key gathering of sorts. It was five people basically, myself, my friend, his girlfriend and two of her girlfriends. Steam Boat dinner, which is steaming of dumplings and other assorted goodies and then eating (kinda like Asian fondue). I am not used to having it, Burmese people don't really do this sort of thing, so it was all news to me. I had only done it once beforehand at a friend's place.

Lesson - If you are invited for a steamboat meal, don't eat anything beforehand.

I woke up late that day and didn't have any lunch, so yeah, I made that mistake. Nonetheless it was really nice and filling. I also popped out to visit my Aunty, who was hosting a New Years Celebration at her place. The family was there and they had a nice spread of food. I ended up having to dinners at my Aunt's insistence.
Returned to my friend's place and we played Pictionary. I was partnered with a girl my friend tried to set me up with. She's nice, bit too quiet for my taste, but I still talk to her and such. Just so you know I am undefeated in Pictionary. Even in this one which did things like make the person draw with their eyes shut whilst their partner guesses, having make the partner draw the object whilst you draw it on their back (and my partner was ticklish). The other was a body sculpting category where you must shape the person to do actions and then they have to guess, my partner is so tiny I had to get on my knees for her. It was good fun.

Lesson = Don't mess with me when we play Pictionary, I will destroy you.

We then watched the countdown live in Sydney on the TV. It made me miss the place. I haven't been there for a while, I miss the friends I have up there. It was a good retreat from my life. I had fun last time. I look forward to going immensely this time around.
After the fireworks, my friend got out some old photo albums. Apparently this is a tradition of his, he looks back at the old albums and remembers times in his life. It was cool, we looked at times with old friends. Nowadays the group of friends I used to hang out with has fragmented and they don't see each other as a whole anymore. Some were intentional rifts caused by 'friends' who chose to exclude the rest of the group from their social activities, it changed some of them. It is very sad how that happened. Others moved away, one studies a PhD in Vienna, two others moved to Sydney, another to Singapore and one moving to the United States with his wife (yes, he got married at 21!). Others have made stronger commitments to their significant others and seldom do anything without them, others have moved into other areas of research and some simply just stopped caring. It was a shame, but that's how life is.

Lesson - Life is a journey, people come and people go, the memories you make and the true friendships that last are eternal and would hopefully grow stronger in time.

Well that's it from me, it's been a hell of a ride in 2006, now let's end Uni in 2007 and start a bold new chapter in life!

Take care of yourselves and Happy New Year!

James