If it feels like you’ve stepped in an alternate, upside down universe as of yesterday afternoon, it’s quite possible we all have. That would seem to be the only explanation for what I’m about to tell you… I got my car learner’s license yesterday! No, this isn’t a sick joke, or even an early start on my New Years resolutions, but the result of a christmas present I got, which was a voucher for two driving lessons.

I had my first ‘attempt’ in yesterday evening, just coming to terms with it. Not helped by the fact that it’s a manual I’m learning, the process was frightening and the thought of actually having to control the thing in traffic is horrific at the moment, but I hope I’ll get better.

I don’t have any license photo to give you though because, in line with RTA constitution, their license printer was broken (seemingly has been since I got my proof of age card two years ago), and they were out of log books. Also, I had to hand in my proof of age card on New Years weekend, and was issued with a piece of paper which allows me to drive, but gives me no proof of identity. Splendid.

As for Christmas, I had a nice time in at the radio station on Christmas Eve, and did our present thing that evening as my brother was working Christmas day. Christmas day itself was quiet and relaxing, and we just did a family thing in the evening. Boxing Day, upholding tradition, I went to Janne-Maree’s boxing day games day where we played a couple of new games, one where you have to recall the rest of a famous quote, lyric or line, and another where your team members had to guess what song it was you were playing with your feet on the small ‘Big’ keyboard. It didn’t help when the cards were wrong, so we had to make a few corrections occassionally. We figured that was okay with three pianists on each team.

Now to recap the year - it really has been a great one in my own little world. More good marks at uni, and I’m starting to enjoy it more. I started the year Musically Directeing my first show, the pantomime The Stolen Fuzzies. I then went on to MD Cabaret which taught me more than a little about dealing with other musicians. I learnt that not everyone will drop everything to be at rehearsal when they say they will, like me (but some will). Finally, I’m midway musically directing my third show, “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” which is going very well. It’s okay, I can say that - we’re on break.

I also returned to the stage briefly for a concert which was a lot of fun, and I may get the opportunity to do more of the same next year. This year I became a multi-media mogul wannabe, trying my hand at podcasting, broadcast radio and most recently videocasting (thanks also to Phillip for the plug). I hope to do more of all three next year.

I also had a wonderful holiday mid-year up to Brisbane to see Becky, and had the pleasures of meeting and spending time with Becky’s family, Andrew and of course the lovely Rebecca. In case you missed it, be sure to check out the Brisbane podcasts here and here. It was also equally nice to see Becky again when she visited just weeks ago, and of course it was a lovely, life-threatening evening with the ladies.

A few other less important things happened this year, such as moving house and turning 20, but they don’t really hold the same level of psychotic excitement that the others do. And now, seeing as though I don’t have a very adventurous plan for the day before I head out to Adam’s to watch the New Years fireworks (only on at 9pm to make riotous people go away before they get too drunk and violent, Adam included), I figure I can fill this out and be ahead of schedule for 2006 before it even begins.

1. What did you do in 2005 that you’d never done before?
Fired someone (albiet from a non-paid band). Well, I fired someone and had someone else fire someone else. It wasn’t my responsibility, and it still wasn’t pleasant.

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
No, I don’t do New Years resolutions for the same reason I don’t do extended warrantees. I forget, and when something goes wrong, I’m too angry to care.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No. Although Becky and I are still expecting our “Ripley’s Babies”. (We both rubbed a fertility thing in Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Not close to me personally, but family friends did die.

5. What countries did you visit?
None, unless BrisVegas counts.

6. What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005?
Perhaps a little more stability, and I think I’ll get it.

7. What date from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Again, I tend not to associate memories with particular days. That’s the non-historian coming out in me.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I’ve achieved a few things I wanted to do for a while… Musically direct a show, get my Ls, go on radio.

9. What was your biggest failure?
I don’t think about failures.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No, I was pretty healthy all year apart from the odd small cold here and there.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Maybe my MP3 player because it has allowed me to podcast. I’m going to really need it now that my bus trips will be almost twice as long. My iBook is wonderful too.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
I think I’m getting better behaved each and every year. I never get in trouble.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
I don’t know if it’s a covert video effect, but you know when you see people on TV in interviews and you can actually see that they have no soul? Their skin is a bit less textured and their eyes are shallow? I don’t like them.

14. Where did most of your money go?
I think it would have been my iBook.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
My iBook turning up. That was a very exciting day.

16. What song will always remind you of 2005?
Songs themselves will always be those of Cabaret, and my Try-To-Play-The-Whole-Orchestra-But-Fail arrangements of them.

As far as albums, it was what I bought this year. As far as 2005 cast recordings go, I really liked
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (I listened to this in Min’s car on my way to the airport to Brisbane), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Sondheim Sings Volume 1 and Volume 2. I also got into the 2004 cast recordings of Pacific Overtures and Assassins. I also got into a whole heap of wonderful music both classical and film score. If you’re in a similar vein, comment and let me know what you got into this year.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Generally happier I think.
ii. thinner or fatter? I don’t know, maybe the tinciest bit fatter.
iii. richer or poorer? Richer, I think. But I’ve made a good effort at spending it.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Not sure - I think my life was pretty much well balanced this year.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Again, I think things were good.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Most likely with the family around at our new place, on the yet to be built deck.

22. Did you fall in love in 2004?
With some music, perhaps. Certainly not with any person.

23. How many one-night stands?
Oy.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
I’ve been going back to a program I found years ago, Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
The person who wrote this list of questions is a hateful, awful person.

26. What was the best book you read?
I don’t know about best, but I’m still making my way through How Sondheim Found His Sound.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Apart from some classical stuff, maybe Sondheim’s The Frogs. When did I buy Mark Trevorrow’s album? That’s also a fun little find and the accompanying DVD is great.

28. What did you want and get?
The chance to musically direct a show.

29. What did you want and not get?
Wings.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
So many crap films, so little to choose from. Oh, I know. Unmistakenly it was Die Mommie Die!, even if I was a little late to the piece.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 20 and went to dinner with my family. Every one else was busy or away or something. So they told me.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
It was pretty satisfying as it was - let’s not get greedy.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004?
Last years answer was: “I paid $3.50 for this shirt!”. This years answer is “I found this in a cereal box!”. I think we’re on a downward slide.

34. What kept you sane?
I didn’t know I needed that much help…

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
‘fancy’? Gee, Aunt Irma, ain’t this all just real swell!

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
I think it’s the war this year. I can’t come to terms with the fact that at least two heads of government are so blatantly rejecting their responsibility to represent the needs and desires of the people of the country in favour of their own individual Family First bullshit. The irony is so thick that it makes me want to vomit.

37. Who did you miss?
The school people I no longer get to see.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Rebecca and Andrew from Brisbane, as well as a whole bunch of lovely people from Cabaret.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005?
No matter how much you care about something, some people will never care.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?
“Some people do it for enjoyment, some people do it for employment”. Not really, but I was just reminded of it this morning.

Thank goodness that is over.

2006 promises to be a big year with my 21st Birthday, finishing my music degree and a load more theatre, as well as my continuing efforts in podcasting, videocasting and broadcast radio. Not to mention me trying to control that hunk of metal on the roads. Scary stuff.

If I’ve been a little quiet recently, it’s because of this:

Here is the very first vidcast (and probably the only one for a while), which follows my walk across the new bridge they’ve built on the open day that I won tickets to. Sorry for the quality, but I wanted it to be a small file so as to not wipe out all my hosting bandwidth. Just deal with my editing guffs as it was the first time I had attempted anything video. Be sure to leave comments!

That is it.

I’m buying a massive, expensive external hard drive. I’m sick of mine carking it in the middle of editing something. I’m ready to spend money on this thing.

I’ll deconstruct Christmas when I’m less frustrated.

I’m going on air again in an hour (midday), this time just as a guest for the Christmas installment of Showbiz. I’ve packed some Christmas music, hopefully I’ll get to play some.

Tune in if you’ve got the chance!

Merry Christmas!

We’ve got broadband back now, and I’ve set up wireless throughout the house, but it never seems to help when I lose a post because Safari decides to crash. No computers are perfect. Some just more beautiful.

It’s getting close to That Time Of Year ™ and it would apparently be wrong of me to pass on a few thankful moments. Despite my bitter tone, I do actually want to thank those who have taken the time this year to read my blog and a special thanks to those who have commented and supported it. I suspect there are readers out there who do not contact me, so I can’t thank you by name, but I will thank those who have left their names on the site. Thanks to Kevin, AJ, Tammy / Greg, Kit, Dave, Becky, Rebecca, Carla, Megan, eMack and anyone I’ve missed (oy, everyone’s got a website nowadays!). I truly do read every comment (except those that gMail thinks is spam), and I’m delighted to receive each and every one.

Also, thank you to those whom have supported the podcast this year. Podcasting itself as a form of media is only very young, and I’ve spent my first 10 months with it experimenting, exploring but always having fun. Like the blog, however, it’s something I’m only really interested in doing if there is an audience for it, so I emplore you to email me and tell me whether you love it, hate it, and which style of podcasts you like. I’ve done everything from heavily edited theme-based interview shows, to unscripted monologue, to sound-seeing tours, but I’d like to get some idea of which direction to head in the new year.

So thank you to those whom have supported me, through the website or otherwise this year, in your many different ways. I sincerely wish you all a wonderful Christmas period and a joyous New Year.

And no, I’m not posting the alternate photo where I have crazy serial killer eyes and a large stream of drool hanging down (I had that stamp on my tounge a good 5 minutes, and it wasn’t the licking kind.)