Winding the Year Up

I love this time of year, the week just before New Year's Eve is the most chilled-out time. Loads of things and places are shut, one is recovering from the gutting and glutting that can happen at Christmas, and the start of a new year looms. Regrets and troubles from the year can fade most easily now, hope and plans naturally blossom. There's long afternoons and good watermelons or lychees or all those other fruit with the nearly triple digit GI. But there's time enough to worry about not eating yummy foods *next* week, when the diet is meant to start.  Right now is planning for NYE, even if it's a DVD and an early night, you always know where you want to be for the NY.

We're having a BBQ with BYO everything. We provide the fire and the stars. It's not even at the house - but up the back at the pickers' shed that is nicknamed "The Lodge". We may run the genny to power a stereo, but probably it will be a completely acoustic, candle/moonlit affair. That's pretty casual. Our first guests arrived today, and more will come tomorrow. Most will sleep over on the floor of the lodge or in tents. Maybe 2 dozen people are coming, we're not sure.

 

The worst of the transition sickness has passed. I am missing the proximity of friends very badly, and the easy evening options of walking somewhere else just to look at something different. Some nights it can feel like house arrest. Technically, I could drive somewhere. There is a pub on the Highway about 20 minutes away. HHhmmm. Last time mum and Dad went, they had to use the back entrance to the bistro as there was a fistfight happening in the front bar. I might skip it until I have either a Jane or a Zoe on my crew.

 

In other news, I have a new McJob which I start next tuesday (2nd January 2007) in an office being an admin assistant. It's a 6 week contract - the client is known to extend, so possibly it may go for a bit longer. More importantly, I found the local nerd hangout (when I saw local - I really mean just the nearest one. It's a 45min drive) - it's called "Elven Hollow" and they sell Warhammer minatures and Magic cards. It was truely pathetic how glad I was to see them! They're next to the craft store (knitting! beading! quilting!) It was nerdvana.

Anyway Shaun was very helpful and they had nothing for me (warhammer?? I'm not *that* desperate) until I said - "Do you have any other gaming nights?"

He went through Magic, D&D, used to run Vampire, I was really switching off, and then I heard that magic word..."oh yeah, and Serenity."

"WHAT?"

"Serenity, you know, the movie? Well really it was a series called Firef..."

I cut him off (something cruel) "WHEN?"

Thursday nights, 7.30 to 10.30, you know, late night shopping hours."

(right, i thought, while mum picks up the groceries)

but I kept my cynicism to myself and focused on his assurance that it was a good crowd who came along, and newbies are very welcome, and yes they have the game book in stock.

Such Glee!

 

Perhaps things are going to work out afterall.