Seasons Greetings

Hope everyone had a great Christmas.

I love Christmas. It's really hard to get into the Christmas spirit in New Zealand because instead of being knee deep in snow, it's 25 degrees. Also, Christmas decorations are scarce. There are a couple of houses per suburb that put up Christmas lights. On the other hand, in Canada it seems like there would be a couple of houses per neighbourhood that would not put lights up. As a kid I would be excited about Christmas as soon as we put up decorations, around 1st of December. We have a Christmas calendar, and instead of crossing out days like some people do with and ordinary calendar, you move a Santa Claus over. As a kid we raced to do it. This year, I raced to do it, but it was a move straight to the 23rd. Maybe this is normal and the excitement subsides as you get older.  But I want to be as eager as this little guy. Or maybe that’s too eager.

Even though the build up is not as exciting, Christmas is great. It's a time where I realize how fortunate I am.  My family is very loving and we get along extremely well. There are very few times when we don’t, and that’s usually caused by super competitive board games. Today my mum asked for my favourite and least favourite Christmas memory. I did have a traumatic experience when Santa delivered a gift to the wrong person. I had a gameboy taken from my firm grasp. Big mistake Santa. That is the only thing I could think of, and that was over 15 years ago. That kind of stuff makes me think of the less fortunate around Christmas. Kids coming to school and wondering why they received socks and their peers had an iPhone in their stocking. Was one kid more well behaved that the other? Unlikely. For my favourite, I couldn't pin point one, I was spoilt and received so many thoughtful, amazing gifts. But, I am aware it’s not about receiving, it's about spending quality time with the fam, good food and drinking beer. I hope you guys are aware of that also.

Today my dad, brother and I went to a little golf course up in the hills. The wind was gusting and it was a tough little 9 hole course. I shot 8 over, which I’m happy with considering the wind and the greens being in rough shape. We plan on playing tomorrow as well. Twice, in 2 days. 5 times in the last 2 years. I am going to try and get back into golf. It's definitely one of my favourite sports to play.

Later in the evening we had Christmas dinner. Normally for us it's either a big seafood dinner, or turkey. This year we had ham. It was crazily awesomely delicious! Way to go Mum! Even Gordon Ramsey would be happy to serve that meal at any of his restaurants. I can't wait for leftovers tomorrow.

I leave for Hong Kong in less than 40 hours. Holy shit. I have been really busy and also, there has been a bit of procrastination. So, I haven’t thought about the trip a whole lot. It's going to be an extremely good experience and I am really looking forward to it. However, I am a bit anxious about the flying, the language barrier, the freezing temperatures and the food, but that’s what makes China, China and I am stoked for the trip. My eldest sister works for Emirates so I get discounted flights. I have to fly to, or should I say, I get to fly through Dubai, which adds to my excitement but, man, I better go do some research.

Exciting times! Happy Holidays! check back for updates. Thanks for reading blog post #2.