Why Is This Phase Of The Circling Of The Sun Special?

It ain't. Not really. Just another day. And apart from the New Year sales, nothing really special on a capitalist front either. No special gifts required.

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But Happy Western New Year anyway.

Why don't we say it that way? Happy Western New Year.

Why do we (Westerners) not differentiate between the Chinese New Year, and dozens of other New Years, as celebrated by other countries, cultures, and religions (the Christian - i.e. Liturgical - year commences at Advent, late November to early December) and not specifically remind these other countries, cultures, etc, that it is new year only for us, i.e. those predominantly Western civilisations which use the Gregorian calendar or the revised Julian Calendar?

White European arrogance and fantasies of some farcical form of assumed supremacy facilitated merely by the historical predominance of guns, germs and steel in this culture?

Funny, what?

No.

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Was there anything big and/or firsts for E@L in 2014 worth commenting on?

Glad you asked.

1: got pinged for speeding in Geelong (certainly not a first, but just thought it worth mentioning in consideration of No:2)

2: got pinged for driving an unregistered car in Gippsland, Eastern Victoria! (Long story - he didn't know it wasn't registered)

3: Christmas dinner was for the first time not at E@L's mum or sister's place but at his cousin's place way over in Gippsland, near Wilson's Promontory National Park (beautiful place), which is a long drive away. (see No:2)

4: watched his Singapore expat circle continue to diminish significantly as several friends moved away to one or other extensions of the SEA expat rubber-band. They will return, it is a rule of physics, but until then E@L might have to go out and meet, shudder, other people. Hell is...

5: visited new countries/cities: Malta, Vienna, Kyoto (gorgeous, need to visit again!), Queenstown in New Zealand (gorgeous, need to visit again, with skis)

6: thought seriously about a retirement plan. No conclusion reached, his misty visions of his future years remain inchoate and nebulous. But so does this afternoon. Health-care primary concern. And good cafes.

7: bought another house (went thirds with No1 son, etc,...) to add to the property portfolio of the still inchoate retirement plan - he had purchased his sister's house late in 2013.

8: E@L's mother sold the family home, the one he grew up in, tough, and for a lot less than she wanted. Not that it is E@L's money, but ya gotta keep that retirement plan in mind, inchoate or otherwise.

9: spent a lot more time in Australia than usual - thanks to our affiliated distributor's growing workload. Mostly work and waiting in corridors for vast tracts of time, very little play.

10: did not fall in love (certainly not a first, but just to keep you up to date)


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Word Of The Day:

ultradian: rhythmical cycles which occur for longer than an hour and shorter than a day. Like E@L in the office, falling asleep at his desk.

E@L