Merry christmas.. you filthy animal

Can we dispense with apologies? I get it, I'm not good at updating on an often and frequent basis! This is clearly evident.  And even as I promise myself that I will try really, really hard to do better, there is just so much going on in the city that, the time I spend updating, I can't help feeling that I should be experiencing things that I still haven't yet.  Catch 22.. no?

But it is important to keep this blog up.. if only just as a record of my time here. And since my parents, my lovely, amazing, generous parents saw fit to equip me with the most beautiful thing that I've ever had the pleasure of owning (an apple macbook) when they came to visit at the beginning of December, I now really don't have an excuse not to.

So, I am currently missing my family a lot, as it is two days before Christmas and I'm not home! It's weird because I didn't think I'd want to go home, I thought I would be so excited about New York at Christmas time that I wouldn't have a chance to think about home. This has not gone according to plan.. and it's not anything to do with the fact that New York isn't magical at this time of year. It is. It's the most spectacular place at holiday time. I really love it. But it goes to prove that, especially at Christmas time, it's not the place that makes it special, and makes it mean something; it's being with the people who you love most.

So this evening on that note, I decided to watch Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. And Kevin's speech at the end when he stares up at the Rockefeller tree could have been me:

KEVIN: "I know I don't deserve a Christmas, even if I did do a good deed. I don't want any presents. Instead, I want to take back every mean thing I ever said to my family. Even if they don't take back the things they said to me. I don't care. I love all of them.. Including Buzz. I know it isn't possible to see them all. Could I just see my mother? I'll never want another thing as long as I live if I could just see my mother. I know I won't see her tonight, but promise me I can see her again. Sometime. Anytime. Even if it's just once, and only for a couple of minutes. I just need to tell her I'm sorry."

KEVIN'S MUM: "Kevin?"

KEVIN: "Mom?"

[turns back to the tree]

"Wow, that worked fast!"

Of course, I'm going to be missing everyone on Tuesday... a lot. But before everyone gets all worried, don't be! I'm sure I will be having a lot of fun too, and expect a good old blog about it soon.. promise!!

Merry Christmas xxx