Party like it's 1429

You bought a pack of cigarettes on January 2, took one look at the treadmill queue on January 3 and haven't returned to gym since, you thought negative thoughts, you coveted your neighbour's wife, you ate carbs after 7pm for the last four days, you blogcrastinated on company time, you still haven't smsed/emailed your best friend from high school, you're still on facebook and just added your 256th food fight application, you're not reading more or eating less, you still fall asleep in front of the TV and wake up after four snooze cycles, you're not any more self-actualised than you were on December 31st last year.

But hey, yesterday (or today, so much for ummah unity) marks (-ed) the first day of the Islamic new year 1429. Resolution re-run.

And if you still stuff up, there's Chinese new year on February 7, Hola Mohalla on March 14, Nowruz around March 20, Bahá'í new year on March 21, Balinese new year on March 30, Assyrian new year on April 1, Punjabi new year on April 13, Thai, Nepali, Bengali, Tamil and Cambodian new year around mid-April, Rosh Hashanah after sunset on October 29 and Gujarati new year on October 29.

Here's to personal progress.

The Mandatory New Years Post

Anti-Resolutions 2007

• Drink lots of carbonated, sugary soft drinks made by multi-national corps with Zionist leanings.
• Chat on Mxit while attending social events.
• Maintain a 50km radius between myself and the gym at any given time.
• Sleep more.
• There is nothing wrong with writing “research” on your time-sheet for three hours spent online reading personal blogs.
• Ignore people in general. Especially those who smile too much. They know something you don't.
• All is fair in love and parking.
• Smoking at least 8 cigarettes a day means more jobs for little kids picking tobacco leaves in South America.
• Empower beggars by giving them a Rand for every Elton John song they know. It's a hand-up not a hand-out
  
• Litter.
• Remember that reading celebrity gossip contributes to your knowledge of Current Affairs.
• Use “lol” and “kewl” more often in daily offline conversations.
• Forward those delightful power-point kitsch presentations to everyone in my contact list, because nothing says I think you're special quite like Spam.
• Break a few hearts.

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Acid aside, may the defining essence of 2007 be that of meaningful sacrifice; that of giving up all which lessens you by taking on those things that demand of you.

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Clouds transgress the sun at Hartebeespoort Dam on Christmas Day 2006.

Anti-resolutions 2006

1. Start smoking seriously.
2. Gain 10 kilograms.
3. Snarl at strangers.
4. Exercise infrequently.
5. Be less motivated at work.
6. Watch more Tv.
7. Commit random acts of unkindness.