New Year's Resolutions

Kia ora and happy new year!
I hope everyone had an amazing time celebrating the last few minutes of 2013 and started well into 2014! I certainly did.

While my parents went off to a party with work-colleagues, me and my brother drove up to Auckland to spend the last hours of the year with my best friend and a group of friends close to the beach. And let me tell you - it was great!

Not only did I get to see my friends again (seen above in the photo. I am the one with the long dress) after two years of only sporadic Skype-calls but I was back in the city I lived in during my year abroad, which was pretty incredible as well since I was driving in my own car. Yes I am rather bursting with glee because of that. You see in New Zealand the whole driving-system is different.

Not only do they drive on the wrong side of the road (honestly? why on the left? I know, in the middle ages the knights wanted their sword hand to be free to protect themselves and their companions thus they walked/rode on the left side. But since Napoleon everyone (except for the UK and it's now former colonial countries) changed to the right side, which apparently is due to him being a left-handed at least that's what I read recently) but also getting your driver's license is just so much more complicated. First you apply for a "learner license" which, after you pass a theoretical test, you then have for half a year. During that time you are only allowed to drive with a supervisor, which in most cases means your parents. After that you have a practical test and only if you pass that you get your "restricted license" which you will have for 18 months before you can apply for your "full license". So all in all it takes you roughly 2 years to get your driver's license if you have the money and the time to do it this fast that is. And there I was complaining that it took me ages to get my license because there were no free lessons with the driving instructor available - I had my license within 2 months...
So yes I am really happy to have done mine in Austria and pity my little brother for having to go through the whole 2-year-procedure of getting his. At least it is way cheaper here. That is the most positive thing about getting your license in Aotearoa (which is maori for "the land of the long white cloud").

I am drifting off now. Sorry about that. Where was I? Oh yes! New year's eve.
So we spent a lovely evening at a friend's house eating good food (sausages, meat, salads and loads of sweet stuff mhhh), drinking cider (at least I was) and having good conversations.

(excuse the bad phone-photo quality)

And then at midnight, after the countdown I did something I don't think anyone expected. To be honest I had not planned this. Just in the moment of complete absence of realization that it actually was a new year (which means I am going to be 19 soon-ish and starting another year of Uni even sooner. Ok who am I kidding. My birthday is still ages away. But you get my point. Put simply the earth is still relentlessly revolving day after day, leaving us older and supposedly more mature every day) I put on something very very Viennese. I played the classic waltz I have danced to my entire life. Every single new year has begun with dancing the waltz thus there was no way I would not do this.
And everyone loved it! At least that is what I thought I saw when they were dancing and smiling - could have been the simple joy of having begun a new year but that is not important now is it.

For everyone who does not know what I am talking about here is the classic midnight waltz, which is played on the radio every new year at 00:00 and on the following day at the "Neujahrskonzert":



Since this is a new year and as usual I have my list of new year's resolutions I thought I might share them with you. You know, for motivational reasons...

1. keep on doing more sports and eating healthier (I want to get down to 57kg this year)
2. go hard out at Uni and get good grades
3. keep calm and stay relaxed more often than going all bonkers and aggressive if something does not work out straight away
4. try savor life and all the beautiful moments ahead of me a little bit more

What are your resolutions for this year? :)

To close this, again, rather long post I am going to share some of my philosophical thinking I did when talking to a friend today. We were talking about new years and how the time difference between Austria and New Zealand meant that I was living in the future and he in the past, which is hard to grasp and understand to some extent. Or at least it is for me. Thus I started thinking and the result was this:
I think that for the time being we are living beyond any measures of time and space. We are breathing at the same time, talking to each other at the same time and doing all sorts of activities simultaneously. Yet the clock tells us we are not living at the same time. In the end it still feels as if we are living at the same time, which conclusively has to mean that we live in the past, present and future all at once.

Do you agree with me or do you have a different approach of looking at it?
I am looking forward to some comments!

Until then,
Haere rā, goodbye and see you soon! 
xoxo
Em