Happy New Year!

Here’s a non-comprehensive list of things that made me happy in 2008:

Canada:

A (very) white Christmas and New Year in Canada and the discovery that I “kind of” like skiing (it’s part fun and freedom and part near-death experience).

Regaining full feeling in my big toe about a month after we got back to the UK made me happy.
Top Tip: Don’t go out skiing all morning with ski boots that are too small when it’s -20°C!

New York & Washington:

There were a lot of things from our trip to New York and Washington that made me happy. It was probably one of my favourite holidays ever. These are some:

• The opening sequence of the Lion King on Broadway – putting the “show” in “Broadway show”!
• Eating authentic (and historic) New York cheesecake in New York.
• Ridiculously over-filled deli sandwiches. Deli-cious!
• Brooklyn Bridge
• Watching the Mets (until the storm set in)
• Taking the Staten Island ferry at just the right time to watch the sun setting behind the Statue of Liberty as we passed by. We sat out on the terrace of the ferry terminal eating our sushi dinner watching the sky go dark and Manhattan light up and then took a ferry back to a sparkly night-time NYC. (Note: This was one of the cheapest and best things we did in New York. If you go there, do it!)
• Chilling in Central Park
• Seeing the city from a-top the Rock

A “Relaxing” Stay in the Peak District:
Not queueing at Alton Towers made me happy! Probably my least mature use of a day of holiday but it was worth it. It turns out though that maybe queueing is not so bad though – being accelerated from 0 to 60 in 2 seconds, getting off and then going round and getting straight on again was possibly a bit too intense!
I still can’t choose a favourite between the sensory overload of riding in the front seats of Nemesis and that moment of panic just after Oblivion starts to drop when your body tells you you’re in free fall but there’s nothing to grab on to and no way to stop it.

One Bumper Weekend of Fun:
Seeing my favourite stand-up and my favourite piano-playing song-writer live (on separate stages) in one extended weekend, then topping it all off with some Christmassy ice-skating at Somerset House with my favourite girl! Discovering the sneaky side seats in the Shepherd’s Bush Empire which gave us an excellent view for Ben Folds made it a double win!

Christmas at home with the family
Having missed out on the family Christmas last year by being in Canada, I enjoyed this one all the more. The traditional jigsaw was missing 2 pieces though! I’m sure we returned one from the same manufacturer 2 years ago because it was missing a piece. I’ve never had a jigsaw with extra pieces – where do the missing pieces go?

Weddings: 4

• Steve and Laura
• Dave and Liz
• Matt and Becs
• Nick and Rhiannon

Celebrities spotted: 2 (not including Eddie and Ben)

• Lily Cole – coming out of a bookshop in “trendy” Greenwich Village, NYC, wearing a controversial kaftan! The paparazzi caught her the same day.
• Justin Lee Collins – In Caffe Nero, Sevendials, Covent Garden making some plans with a film crew. He high-fives when he’s not on TV too.

Films I’ve Liked:

• There Will Be Blood
• Be Kind Rewind
• The Dark Knight (Points deducted for Christian Bale’s ridiculously low voice when Batman and the fact that the film seemed to almost end about 3 times before it actually did but Heath Ledger really was excellent.) Special treat: an article on game theory as applied to the (excellent) opening sequence!