Well, it�s time for the inevitable year in review. 2003. Good year? Bad year? Wandering around the house this morning, doing the washing, a little cleaning up, I�ve been casting my mind back over the year and there�s nothing hugely significant that leaps out at me as being particularly bad or good or eventful.

I did some travelling, but nothing too dramatic. I went to interstate a few times for parties. I didn�t travel for work at all this year, which is strange. I went to Hawaii for two spectacular weeks of volcanos and shopping, but discovered that even though I�m generally a loner, two weeks is slightly too long to be somewhere entirely alone.

I didn�t fall in or out of love.

I continued to take on more responsibility at work, which continued to go good places. But I began to consider where I wanted it to take me rather than just letting it roll along. That hasn�t changed anything yet, but there are potential developments on several fronts in the next few months that will mean it�s decision time.

I started work on two new writing projects that I�m quite excited about, but haven�t made sufficient progress on to satisfy me.

I started this journal. That�s actually not insignificant. Even if I�m not satisfied with the progress on my longer pieces, the fact that I�m putting something, even just ramblings, out there on a semi-regular basis is a good thing. I haven�t done that since writing class at uni ten years ago.

I had to ask Boofhead to move out of the house before he and Betty killed each other and I imploded in the middle, and was surprised and frankly hugely relieved by Boofhead�s mature acceptance of it.

I paid off my student loan. I saved some decent money. I bought some great shoes. I got frustrated by living in a share house. I got significantly more depressed than I�ve been in a long time, and then revelled in being alone. I didn�t exercise enough and put on some weight. I was pleased and touched by occasional unexpected comments from some of my friends. I gave up my car.

I turned 31. Seems like an uneventful age, actually. Uneventful age to go with an uneventful year. Both 30 and 32 seem more substantive.

As I said, not a good year, not a bad year. Maybe a learning year.

Thinking about 2003 really just makes me contemplate what I�m going to do in 2004. And all of that seems positive. These are not really resolutions, so much as things that I feel I�m really to do or have happen.

I�m going to finish at least one of the long form writing pieces. I�m not sure what I�m going to do with it, but I�m going to finish it.

I�m going to buy property. A house or an apartment. Get my own place finally. And the debt that goes with it - but that�s ok. My own space. And that will cure the share house problem as well. But mainly its just to have something substantive that�s mine.

I�m going to see how work and restructuring and those things go over the next few months and I�m going to make a decision that I�m satisfied with. I think I�m getting the seven year itch with work, and so this seems like an opportune time to make a decision for a large number of reasons.

Of course I�m not sure that making potentially career-changing decisions and taking on a mortgage are really what I should be doing simultaneously, but what the fuck, I certainly won�t get that many opportunities to do either.

I will do some more travelling and buy some more shoes. And yes, neither of those go to well with a mortgage either, but a girl�s got to have her standards.

I will continue to look for love, but not too hard because that�s not my style. But if the potential of it shows up I�ll try not to get so scared and insular that I don�t even give him a chance.

I will do more exercise and eat better and loose some weight.

Ok, so the last two are definitely resolutions.

There is virtually no chance that I will drink less or watch less TV.

But you�ve got to have some constants during the ups, downs, goals, failures and resolutions, right?

Happy New Year.