NYE 2007

The allure of spending New Year's Eve abroad has always appealed to me. Last year I came quite close to doing that in Brazil but chickened out because I was travelling alone. This year I got to do the New Year's countdown 18-hours ahead of loved ones in the U.S.

When I got to Sydney I knew I had to celebrate NYE in some fashion besides sitting and watching it on TV. I had to be out there by the fireworks. I contemplated spending a few hundred bucks to secure a spot in one of the bars and restaurants that offered views of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House, but I didn't think I could find a partner in crime willing to be that extravagant. What ended up happening was much better and economical.

Paula and JJ were awesome and secured me a ticket to Garden Island, a naval base. We brought a picnic with plenty of champagne and food to entertain ourselves before the fireworks started. In Sydney, they are quite child friendly. They did two firework shows, one at 9pm and another at the stroke of midnight. The earlier one, as you guessed, was for the kiddies. The difference between the two was vast, not only did the first one not launch as high (because kids are short j/k), but the former had half the amount of pyrotechnics.

The firework was quite spectacular and the crowd was not too bad. I really enjoyed NYE in the southern hemisphere because the weather was perfect- not too chilly not too warm. After the fireworks people poured out into the streets like a cattle run. I wouldn't mind repeating the experience again; it was well worth it and amazingly hassle free.

Link to pyrotechnic finale:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7xoBnFLNNs

With that said, here come the New Year Resolutions (in no particular order):

-Try rock climbing

-Be more healthful

-3 L's (Live Love Laugh) more and stress less

-Make an difference in my own way

-Sailing (carry over from previous years)

-Drums (carry over from previous years)