So dear reader, we have once again arrived at the tail end of yet another year and the calendar is about to flip over from 2012 to 2013. It has all gone so fast. It seems to me that the older I get, the faster time flows and even though I know this isn't true, it certainly does feel like I was welcoming in 2012 not that long ago.

Of course, the  most anticipated event of the year was the end of the world. A misinterpretation of the Mayan Calendar had people believing that there would be some world ending cataclysm on December 21, but it's now December 31 and there appears to be no hint of a global apocalypse - not even one containing Zombies. The reality is that if your Mayan calendar is about to run out, you just need to get a new Mayan calendar. Personally, I'm happy it didn't end because I would hate to end up in whatever version of an afterlife awaits me knowing I never finished the painting project I spent my entire holiday period working on.

I don't do New Years Resolutions. I used to, but I figured that any changes I wanted to make in my life could be made at anytime. Same goes for everyone else if they really want to make the change. Sure, the first day of the year makes it easy to remember when you decided to make the change, but there isn't a hard and fast rule about having to do it then. Making the decision to improve your life is vastly more important than remembering what day you decided to do it - unless it's your wedding anniversary or  your wifes Birthday. Forget either of those and you won't need to worry about next years resolutions.

It's hard to tell whether 2012 was a success. In fact, how does one gauge how successful their year was if there were no life altering events that happened?  From my point of view, I managed to make it all the way to the end without dying so that's a success for me of sorts - not really much of an achievement since I have relatively little control over life and death outside of being careful and responsible.

On the other hand, a couple of friends gave birth to healthy sons so they'd be looking at 2012 as being a particularly successful year for their families and they get to continue enjoying their success for years to come and one other friend announced that she would be adding a second little bundle of joy to her family mid 2013 so she gets two bites of the success cherry.

This was also the year that I learned a valuable lesson in not assuming everyone knows a family secret before casually bringing the topic up in drunken conversation at 2:00am. While it was a monstrous faux pas at the time, it pretty much seemed to have turned out okay in the end. Knowing me, I will probably do something similar in 2013 so it will be a lesson learned but ignored.

Oh, there was also the whole me "coming out" thing that was a surprise to absolutely nobody.

So with the end of 2012 only a few more hours away, what do I have to look forward to in 2013? Well, for starters, I seem to still have my health despite my love of chocolate and alcohol - neither of which I indulge in moderation. Thank goodness for my gym membership.

Also, starting at the end of January, I  will be attempting training as a Les Mill BodyCombat instructor. I may do well or I may fail dismally. Whichever way it goes, at least trying and failing is better than not trying at all. At least I'll still be able to participate in the classes.

I was once accused of over-planning my life to the point that I knew what I was doing months in advance and was inflexible. I'd like to think that I have improved over time. Yes, due to my work roster, I have a general idea of what I am doing in my job up until at least May, but now I make commitments and work around the roster rather than missing out on things (except when I have to get up at ridiculous o'clock in the morning). That's a positive to take into 2013 with me I guess.

So, that's it. My last blog entry for 2012. The usual mingling of words hastily thrown together that sounded a lot better in my head and translated pretty poorly to the screen. All in all, 2012 has been a pretty average year and average is good. My motto has always been "Strive to be average" and I hope I am living down to that standard.

All that is left now is to wish everyone who has made it down this far a happy and prosperous 2013 and hope that you too strive to be your best even if you best is just average. As for success, you're the best judge of what success is to you so embrace every little win you have throughout the year.

As for me, I'll see you on the other side.

Later days.

Trivial fact number 221:- On average, women say 7000 words per day, men manage just over 2000 (when they can get a word in that is)

Hello dear reader, it's been a while since we last sat down and had a talk about stuff. In fact, reading through my last offering, I found it to be rather tatty compared to some of my efforts over the years and not really worthy of being sent out onto the web, even as virtual toilet paper.

Anyways, it's Christmas Eve in the great land of Oz so that means  that, once again, it's time for my annual musings on Christmas. Of course, we are all very lucky to be still around to celebrate the event considering the world was supposed to have ended a few days ago. Mind you, if it had, I wouldn't have fallen off a ladder on Sunday, banged up my head and grazed my back on my driveway.

There are really only two ways to celebrate Christmas. From a religious point of view, it's the celebration of the creation of Christianity 2000 odd years ago. From a secular point of view, it's a time for gathering the entire  family together to share a meal, catch up and pretend you care about what your siblings have been up to in the last 12 months.

Usually, in the weeks leading up to Christmas, I see a few Facebook posts or get a emails from my Christian friends espousing the importance of "Keeping the Christ in Christmas" due to their objections of people wishing others a Merry X-Mas or Happy Holidays. This has always had me wondering about the way people celebrate Christmas personally and why they would think that by not acknowledging the word "Christ" somehow detracts from their enjoyment of the season.

Now, I will never tell a person that their faith in a higher being is wrong - just because I don't believe doesn't give me that right - but at the same time, I shouldn't be frowned upon because I don't acknowledge the Christian aspects of Christmas. In fact, I'm fairly certain that other non Christian faiths have a hard time coping with this time of the year (and Easter) but you never hear them suggesting that the Christ should be taken out of Christmas - that's reserved for the more radical Atheists who hate every religion and they just embarrass Atheists like me who are way more mellow.

Christmas is a word. The word itself is not what makes this holiday season what it is and it isn't worth making a fuss about. In the long run, does it really matter if we say Merry Christmas, Xmas or Happy Holidays? When you sit down to your big family meal on Christmas day, you will be celebrating in  your own way and it won't matter to you how anyone else is spending their day. If you are of the Christian faith, you will give thanks to your God for allowing you to celebrate the birth of Jesus. If you aren't, you'll still be thankful, but you'll be thankful to the people you are with for being able to enjoy this special time with your family.

As for me, I'll be spending Christmas afternoon with friends. We'll eat more than we should, drink enough alcohol to make us say stupid things and probably laugh till our stomachs hurt. How we celebrate Christmas won't detract from how anyone else spends their day and how other people choose to celebrate won't bother me.

So, in the spirit of the season, I want to wish anyone who reads my ramblings all the best for Christmas no matter how you choose to celebrate it. It's almost the end of 2012 which means we can all start winding down so we can start it all up again for 2013.

Later days.

Christmas trivial fact - St Nicholas, the original Father Christmas, is the patron saint of thieves, virgins and communist Russia.