Distant

So I suppose this is the time of year that you meet people, family and friends, that you haven't seen for a long time.

And it can be a real mixed bag.

You either remember why it was that you were friends in the first place, and wonder why it took you so long to get back in touch.

Or you remember why it was you grew apart in the first place.

I've been lucky this year, I've definitely had the opportunity to renew some great old friendships. But of course it's kinda tough with me going away so soon. So I've taken to inviting everybody I know to come visit!

But I suppose that I've been thinking about how you grow apart from people, and the part that distance plays in that.

I have a reputation, well deserved of course, for being crap at keeping in touch with people. Whether it's calling, organising things, or emailing. Of course it's not that I don't miss people, or think of people. I suppose part of it is that I'm so caught up in what I'm doing at the time. Part of it has to be laziness.

But a lot of it is that when you go to email someone that you haven't talked to in a long time, it's so overwhelming. There's so much to say, so much to talk about that I tend to get scared and run away. I'm hoping that by keeping a blog, I can keep people up to date on the japanese adventure stuff, and be able to use emails to keep more in touch with people on a personal level. Hee hee ... I guess we'll see.

But aside from my personal downfalls, I think it is tough to keep friendships over distance and over time. I've found that when you go away, people who, at one stage, relied on you for anything from to talk about problems, to just going to the cinema, have to find someone new. And when you come home, while they want you back in their life, and you want to be back in theirs, it's hard and unfair to expect to reclaim that place.

Of course it helps to keep friendships fresh and from getting stale, because you constantly have to rediscover things you have in common and make an effort.

Anyway thats a load of crap really. But there is a bittersweet element to meeting old friends this Christmas, knowing that it'll be so long before I'm around again.

Broker...

Than a broke thing...

So even though being a temp at the moment is the best option, it's far from perfect.

Just before Christmas I left a perfectly good job, so that I could work the 28th, 29th and 30th of December. I get into work this morning, an hour later they told me to go home because they weren't busy. RAAAAARRRR!

I had my budget for Japan down to a penny. And I was still falling short. And now, even one week without a decent pay makes an effect.

Ah well ... whats the difference between a huge loan and a huge loan with a hundred more!

And the bells ...

So it's Christmas ...

This year there was definitely a feeling that I had to make it as good as possible, since I wouldn't be here next year. In reality it was as fun as any year. I always enjoy it up to point, but it turns out to be a long day and we've normally spent a lot of time together in the previous days, so with the best will in the world, we run out of things to say!

Having said that, the worst thing about Christmas the year I was in India, was that I really didn't miss home all that much! I was on a beach with 10 of my friends in the sunshine, eating tandoori fish, drinking beer and watching the sun go down. I think it might be important to not try recreate Christmas as it is a home, but to enjoy what you have. Well we'll see next year, I'm sure I'll be selling my soul to get on a plane home!