I promise...

I LOVE "new year's". A chance to start over (again!), get inspired about great things to come, and look back at awesomeness found, achieved or simply stumbled upon. The December-January New Year that was recently celebrated with fireworks, party hats and bubbles is probably my favorite.  Especially now that there is no need to worry about blistering cold weather and the phobia of eternal darkness. I just stepped into a cocktail dress and started gathering wishes for the new year to come.

In return for making 2013 Absolutely Awesome, I made some promises that includes actually writing this blog (so watch out, weekly updates to come!), find a new job, try something new and a bunch of other bigger and smaller goals. Naturally they shall all be posted and bragged about, as they are ticked off my list.

Honestly speaking I actually have a list. I have one for every year. Usually it's 12 promises/goals, big and small, one for each month, to be reached at whatever time suitable. And most of the years I managed to make around 80% of the list. Thinking back, this is a clear indicator of how great my life is and how much I enjoy living in this world. Wonderful feeling. In English the word Grateful is totally applicable, thankful to myself and grateful for the opportunities found given and taken. Grateful is also my January theme. More of that later.

Christmas is definitely over, and so the fake snow and Santa's are being packed away to make room for New Year number two. Chinese New Year. This New Year is really big here and it is not my favorite at all. Though I will rant about it later in February, when it actually happens.
Second best New Year is the Persian one, coming up in March. Goldfishes, fire jumping and oh glory to the food. Already looking forward to that! For an extremely organised planner-freak like myself, the coolest thing about the Persian New Year is that there is no result tracking or goal setting whatsoever to be done. Well, naturally you CAN do it, but I don't feel the need to. I just enjoy the festivities and that is more perfectly enough.

I saw a You Tube clip the other day about a girl that made her new year's resolution (Dec-Jan new year that is) very public in a beautiful video clip where she simply tells her story holding up handwritten notes. As the horrible gang rape in India is being frequently discussed among my friends, I found this video timely, and it struck my heart. The clip is in Swedish, so I'll just translate the actual promise, which I think was fantastic: I will not ever again, for all years to come, be ashamed of what someone else has done to me.   
Sara Stille: Den delen avmig ni inte viste fanns.


So lastly, and to end on a more happy note. I promise to write here every week, about my life and whatever is happening here in Asia. I most certainly hope you will enjoy it, and this is just a great way to stay in touch. So my wish (that's how it works, you promise something and then you get to wish for something) is that You, my wonderful friends and family (and possibly strangers), want to comment, "like" or just stay in touch with me. I don't need super analytic insights and answers. Come on, if I can spend a couple of hours or so writing every week, a few seconds or minutes to appreciate, bark or just holla' at me will go along way... Okay, can?

Wishing you much love, blessing and best wishes for the new year. And don't forget, this year will be awesome, I just know it.