Happy New Year 2555/2556

Well, it's almost 2013/2556 in Bangkok. In about 45 minutes the parties in many, many parts of the city - indeed, throughout the kingdom - will reach a crescendo as people begin to tick off the last seconds of 2012/2555, and fireworks will bloom in the sky to the staccato of concussive sounds from all directions. In fact, most of my un-Westernized friends there call it "countdown" and not New Year's Eve.

It's been a fine holiday season for me (I hope it has been for all of you, too), and I've really enjoyed not only the break from the routine of everyday life, but the opportunity to renew my thoughts and attitude for the year to come. That's the best part of the holidays for me, anyway; a time to reflect and take an inventory of the year ending, a chance to learn from mistakes and make mental note of things I'd like to improve on in the year to come. Not really New Year resolutions, per se - those often fall to the wayside by the end of the first week. I've learned that simply being willing to make an earnest attempt at improvement is enough for this old codger, and something I'm far more likely to follow through on.

Thank you all very kindly for the greetings you paused to send along while celebrating your own traditions for this time of year... I appreciated them all. 

Regular posts will resume tomorrow, I suppose. I've woken up the past quarter century or so on January 1st (as opposed to coming to) so I'm flat out of excuses for not returning to sharing on a more consistant basis. Nice some of you missed them, and I'll make that earnest attempt to be here on schedule in the coming year.

Here's wishing you all a healthy, happy and prosperous 2013 (or 2556) - and in that order.

[The clips today are not mine. The top one was taken in Bangkok, the bottom one was in Pattaya.]