Christmas and New Year

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I have several subjects to mention here.

I really enjoyed the ballet-performance before Christmas. It was a *great* start to my Festive Season.
I was amazed at the grace and the strength of the dancers, and I am looking forward to going to the *next* ballet-performance (whenever it is) in my local theatre.

On 23 December, I went to a restaurant for "Christmas Dinner". The food was really nice, and the service was also very good.

On 26 December, I flew to London to do some shopping and to meet an old friend.
The shopping-part was *horrendous* - this was the time of the post-Christmas-sales in the department stores on Oxford Street, and there were *huge* crowds on the streets and in every store.
I met my friend in London, and we spent a few hours in a bar on a rainy evening. It was really great to see him again.

I came back to Holland, and then it was time for the New Year Celebrations.
Every year in Holland at midnight on the 31st December, people let off showers of fireworks. It is a real spectacle.
Unfortunately, in the days leading up to New Year, there are large groups of young people who wander around the streets lighting noisy fireworks *non-stop*, and they try to use the fireworks to damage property (eg postboxes, rubbish-bins).
This type of vandalism is an enormous irritant to me - and it happens *every* year. (In fact, it gets *worse* - *every* year).

After New Year, it is a "tradition" that I catch *at least* a cold, or possibly influenza.
It happened *again* this year, and so I've been suffering from influenza for the past few days ... but I'm starting to get better now.
*If* I can sleep tonight ... then I'll go to work tomorrow, for my first working day of the year.
(I'm really "unable" to start work on the 2nd or the 3rd of January - I need "more time" to relax before starting work again).

During my Christmas/New Year holiday, I wanted to finish a "photograph-project": I wanted to scan several hundred of my old photographs into my computer.
Suffice-to-say ... I never even got started on this project ...

I also wanted to read a *large part* of a German book that I'm reading at the same time as my friend ... and I only managed to find time to read "a little" ...

When I think back to what I am *most* pleased about during the past month, it has to be the new CD-player that I bought for the living-room, which allowed me to move the old CD-player from the living-room to the top-floor of my house.
- Music, one of the loves of my life.

For many years it has been my intention to take early retirement from my office.
Of course, this can only happen if I have enough money in my early 50's !
Every year at the beginning of January, I update my calculations to see if my plan is developing in the correct way.
After making the latest updates ... I can say that 2007 was a "successful year" (when I compare the "achieved" to the "planned").
On this subject, I'm pleased with myself.
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