Holiday bliss
We have been living in bliss since Christmas Day, mainly because I could stay up till whenever I want, do whatever I want, and don't have to worry about anything. That's why I am so looking forward to retirement.
Because everything we have been doing is pretty much leisure-based, the days kind of blend together with a few notable activities as follow:
New computer
My new Macbook Pro arrived earlier than the original delivery date. I like the new machine a lot, especially because of the Touch Bar, but I must admit it is noticeably bulkier than my 12' Macbook. Buying this computer does feel like taking a step back in some ways but we will see what Apple is going to do next. Chances are they would eventually make an ultra-portable laptop like the 12' Macbook but with the Touch Bar in the future.
Usually, moving apps, data, and settings between two machines is quite easy with Migration Assistant but there was something wrong with the Macbook, which meant that the whole process lasted a few days because it kept stopping halfway). As it turned out, there was something fundamentally wrong with the logic board in the Macbook. I was lucky that it held up for this long and have transferred everything through (I eventually transferred the different types of data separately) before the Macbook really kicked it.
Given that the Macbook is less than 2 years old and I want to sell it, I took it to the Apple Store and was pleasantly surprised that they would fix it at no cost, even though I thought the warranty was only for a year. Based on the paperwork I got, that was about $900 worth of value, so I have nothing to complain.
Making myself scarce
Despite us being on holidays, the cleaners came on Wednesday as usual to clean the place. I didn't really want to be in the way, so I went to the shops. It was kind of nice to sit at the back of a coffee shop, watching the world go by. Inevitably, I found myself buying bits and pieces as I browsed the shops and dragged home a whole bunch of stuff.
Psychic reading
I went to see a new psychic for my normal 12-month review at the beginning of the year. Tim had quite a different style from that of Michael. He was quite accurate in characterising my personality and my situation and because he was a clairvoyant, he made a whole bunch of predictions, which were interesting to say the least.
In fact, he brought up a few things that had only been swirling inside my head; I had never shared them with anyone else. What he said about my life in general was also very consistent with the life director reading I had with Nicole Cody a while back.
I guess the main theme for me, putting aside the miniscule, was that I should worry less and learn to go with the flow because I am already well looked after in spite of myself. I have always known and felt that but it's easier said than done to stop worrying and taking things so seriously.
Movie night
We still had movie night on Friday night but I didn't really want to go into the city. Instead, we had dinner at Grill'd at Brunswick Central. We had almost 2 hours to spare between dinner and when the movie started at New Farm Cinemas, so the boys had dessert at La Marcelleria Gelateria behind our apartment block. The boys then came to our apartment for a short while (I bought some alcohol for NYE and wanted to drop them off) before we headed to the cinemas.
We saw Office Christmas Party, which was totally inane but funny. It was so mindless that you would simply suspend all sense of reality and go with the flow. Also, because I work in an office, I could totally relate to some of the comedic characters. While this was certainly no Oscar material, it was a great holiday movie if all you want is to sit back and have a giggle or two.
NYE
I wanted to drink, so I didn't drive to Jake and Ryan's this year. Instead, Sam and I took an Uber to Andy's and the boys joined us and went to Capalaba together.
As with previous years, there was a lot of silliness. It was a tad awkward because we had a few strangers in our midst (Phil had his family there and Cammy brought two of his friends).
Despite all the bad food, I stuck to my guns and avoided most of them. I did drink a fair bit though, which made it a bit more fun. :P
As with previous years, we all brought sparklers and Ryno made a huge sparkler bomb out of them.
However, unlike the previous years when it took a while for the bomb to go off, it just went off as soon as Ryno had lit the fuse. Thankfully, one of us managed to record it going off:
The midnight count-down was a bit of an anti-climax. None of the TV channels was showing the fireworks in Brisbane and we couldn't find any livestream of it online, so nothing actually happened after the count-down. People progressively left while we helped the guys clean up a bit as we waited for our Uber to come and pick us up (the driver who took us there said he would come back at 1 am to get us but he never did).
I wasn't feeling my best when I got home, courtesy of all the grog I consumed but thanks to these awesome Hydrodol capsules, I only had a very mild hangover when I got up this morning and it went away very quickly as well. With the amount I drank, I would normally have gotten a cracker of a headache for most of the day after.
2016 was not an easy run for the world. Let's hope 2017 would provide some relief but I am not holding my breath.
Because everything we have been doing is pretty much leisure-based, the days kind of blend together with a few notable activities as follow:
New computer
My new Macbook Pro arrived earlier than the original delivery date. I like the new machine a lot, especially because of the Touch Bar, but I must admit it is noticeably bulkier than my 12' Macbook. Buying this computer does feel like taking a step back in some ways but we will see what Apple is going to do next. Chances are they would eventually make an ultra-portable laptop like the 12' Macbook but with the Touch Bar in the future.Usually, moving apps, data, and settings between two machines is quite easy with Migration Assistant but there was something wrong with the Macbook, which meant that the whole process lasted a few days because it kept stopping halfway). As it turned out, there was something fundamentally wrong with the logic board in the Macbook. I was lucky that it held up for this long and have transferred everything through (I eventually transferred the different types of data separately) before the Macbook really kicked it.
Given that the Macbook is less than 2 years old and I want to sell it, I took it to the Apple Store and was pleasantly surprised that they would fix it at no cost, even though I thought the warranty was only for a year. Based on the paperwork I got, that was about $900 worth of value, so I have nothing to complain.
Making myself scarce
Despite us being on holidays, the cleaners came on Wednesday as usual to clean the place. I didn't really want to be in the way, so I went to the shops. It was kind of nice to sit at the back of a coffee shop, watching the world go by. Inevitably, I found myself buying bits and pieces as I browsed the shops and dragged home a whole bunch of stuff.
Psychic reading
I went to see a new psychic for my normal 12-month review at the beginning of the year. Tim had quite a different style from that of Michael. He was quite accurate in characterising my personality and my situation and because he was a clairvoyant, he made a whole bunch of predictions, which were interesting to say the least.
In fact, he brought up a few things that had only been swirling inside my head; I had never shared them with anyone else. What he said about my life in general was also very consistent with the life director reading I had with Nicole Cody a while back.
I guess the main theme for me, putting aside the miniscule, was that I should worry less and learn to go with the flow because I am already well looked after in spite of myself. I have always known and felt that but it's easier said than done to stop worrying and taking things so seriously.
Movie night
We still had movie night on Friday night but I didn't really want to go into the city. Instead, we had dinner at Grill'd at Brunswick Central. We had almost 2 hours to spare between dinner and when the movie started at New Farm Cinemas, so the boys had dessert at La Marcelleria Gelateria behind our apartment block. The boys then came to our apartment for a short while (I bought some alcohol for NYE and wanted to drop them off) before we headed to the cinemas.
We saw Office Christmas Party, which was totally inane but funny. It was so mindless that you would simply suspend all sense of reality and go with the flow. Also, because I work in an office, I could totally relate to some of the comedic characters. While this was certainly no Oscar material, it was a great holiday movie if all you want is to sit back and have a giggle or two.
NYEI wanted to drink, so I didn't drive to Jake and Ryan's this year. Instead, Sam and I took an Uber to Andy's and the boys joined us and went to Capalaba together.
As with previous years, there was a lot of silliness. It was a tad awkward because we had a few strangers in our midst (Phil had his family there and Cammy brought two of his friends).
Despite all the bad food, I stuck to my guns and avoided most of them. I did drink a fair bit though, which made it a bit more fun. :P
As with previous years, we all brought sparklers and Ryno made a huge sparkler bomb out of them.
However, unlike the previous years when it took a while for the bomb to go off, it just went off as soon as Ryno had lit the fuse. Thankfully, one of us managed to record it going off:
The midnight count-down was a bit of an anti-climax. None of the TV channels was showing the fireworks in Brisbane and we couldn't find any livestream of it online, so nothing actually happened after the count-down. People progressively left while we helped the guys clean up a bit as we waited for our Uber to come and pick us up (the driver who took us there said he would come back at 1 am to get us but he never did).
I wasn't feeling my best when I got home, courtesy of all the grog I consumed but thanks to these awesome Hydrodol capsules, I only had a very mild hangover when I got up this morning and it went away very quickly as well. With the amount I drank, I would normally have gotten a cracker of a headache for most of the day after.
2016 was not an easy run for the world. Let's hope 2017 would provide some relief but I am not holding my breath.
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