Starting afresh ancora

Christmas came and went away in a blink. It was a low key affair - quiet dinner at J's - compared to how we used to celebrate it in the good ole days. As I was spring-cleaning my wardrobe today, I pulled out our old photo albums and was grinning like a monkey at snapshots of the wild party days in our carefree 20s. The best parties were at Mohamed Sultan; B and I were always up to mischief making others drunk and twirling each other in madness. My favourite scene was that of the pub filled with fake foamy snow bits and we'd bump into the big twinkling xmas tree in our drunken state of dance. It was a bourbon-long-island-tequila-kinda blur which led naughty me to kissing a few guys that night!

Si, blame it on the alcohol. It does foolish things to you, like daring one another to down 11 tequila shots in a row or puke your dinner remains into a party hat at the bar counter. Or having your face in the gutters, waiting for the next wave of nausea. Or sticking your head out of a moving cab in case there's more vomit left while the taxi uncle searched desperately for another plastic bag. Ahh, how I missed those days, but surely not the hangovers. I could safely say I now know my limits. I stopped at kissing strangers too. In fact I haven't kissed anyone in the past 2 years (my cats don't count). I wondered if I'd still know how to pucker my lips.

With the new year looming ahead, it's time again to reflect on my previous resolutions and draw up new ones. Let's see, in 2007 I had set out to:
- To quit smoking (quasi accomplished - I smoked only a pack this year, haha)
- To improve my italiano (checked - ho completato progressivo livello!)
- To hold an exhibition (checked - Gattidelmondo was a success!)
- To be kinder to parents & relatives (checked - domestic relations have improved)
- To travel to new exotic places (si, went to Philippines, Hoi An, Arezzo, Assisi, Cortona, Perugia)
- To get a bike licence (not after what happened to R who's now paralysed)
- To achieve a lean, mean body thro' healthy living (err, it's in the progress)
- To start praying for il mio grande amore (ok I've started praying quite hard)

I guessed the highlights of 2007 were winning the Italian scholarship, the one-month long return trip to Italia and also the sense of accomplishment of organising a fun cat photo exhibition which hopefully will be an annual affair. Capping the year was finally whipping our arses into gear and finalising the launch of our 2nd business DMAF! It's been extra hard on top of our busy agenda but I'm proud to say we did it!

For 2008, my priorities are:
- To find il mio grande amore (si, I'm naive this way but I know The Secret now!)
- To perfect my italiano in italia (Yay, can't wait for my scholarship trip!)
- To hold 2nd Gattidelmondo photo exhibition (in talks with new bigger venue!)
- To achieve sane, healthy living through regular exercise (bought new Nikes! And not to take health for granted esp after Lipoma's surgery on 28 Jan)
- To roll out business expansion plans and launch 2nd venture DMAF (fingers crossed! Plus have to look for new office, rent went up 4times, porca putana)
- To be thankful, positive, have courage and faith - Felice nuovo anno, tutti!