Merry Christmas, schlappers!

Here it is... one of those grand Christmas posts people don't have time to read at this time of year. That's okay, pop it aside and read it in February.

It's been a bit of a watershed year for me with lots of life lessons and personal growth, etc, etc, *vomits*.

Started the year by becoming spectacularly single. As a result I spent much of the first six... seven... eight months of the year enjoying the advantages of that, adjusting to the change and getting ludicriously drunk.

Mostly my partner in crime was McPheedashit, who had also become rather single. Dancing Daniel moved to Sydney for an incredible opportunity at a dance school over there at about the same time. Which was great for him, but left me rather alone. Thank goodness for McPhee!

I've also made a heap of fantastic new friends this year, who I would not be without for quids. They know who they are. Big love.

In March I was invited to attend Mardi Gras in Sydney, so I stayed with DD and Nash then. It was amazing to be in that city during MG and an honour to be on a float called "Outback Mountin'"... which was partially inspired by Brokeback Mountain and partially inspired by Outback House.

In June my protestations to my employer that they didn't pay me enough to do what I do paid-off and they moved me to a branch office in the southern suburbs. I now write the Mel-VILE Times - 40,000 copies, 60,000 readers. And I pretty much write it myself. It's been a challenge getting to know a totally new area (I didn't even know some of these suburbs existed before I started writing about them. Seriously). I also write for the Freo and Cockburn papers and I edit all three when our editor is away (which has been most of the last six months).

I'm still writing lots of arts and in the last year I've met/seen/interviewed (name drop alert) Hugh Jackman, Kylie Minogue, John Waters, Brett Tucker, Betty Churcher (inspiring), Dame Kiri Te Kanawa (b*tch), Verity James, Andreas Scholl (gentleman), Rachelle Durkin, David Hobson, Max Bygraves (he's got two hands), Enda Markey (very attentive), Courtney Act, Simon Gallagher, Irina Baronova, MC Lars, Tim Minchin, Tim
Brooke-Taylor (highlight of the year), Denise Drysdale, Bryn Terfel, Amanda Muggleton, Breakestra... there are more, but this is off the top of my head.

In terms of work, I get the very rare shift at Nova now. That really seems to have dried-up. but then, I did tell them I was leaving for Europe, so they started looking around for new casual/newsreaders.

Europe, by the way, was a serious concern. I was supposed to have left in August and I moved out of my flat and rented it out in preparation for going away. I moved in (supposedly briefly) with Dad at his Bayswater pad. Still living there, still loving it. And, I believe, so is the old man.

We're getting along so well we've decided to sate our appetite for European travel together. In March we have a month together floating around the continent. We fly into the UK (Edinburgh) and work our way down to London before travelling from Paris to Prague... via train and several countries/cities (including Florence and Vienna). Dad stays a month longer in Europe than I do.

In the meantime, New-Thom-With-An-H will be house-sitting for us. NTWAH is the other big bit of news for 2006. He is an amazing boy and I love him. We met at my favourite nightclub in September and have barely been apart since. He's a keeper.

2007 will be my biggest year yet. Not only is there travel afoot, but when I get back (all going well) I should start filming my documentary. An amazing woman called Melanie (my director) has put incredible amounts of work into ensure that my initial idea will be an educational and entertaining product that is far more likely to be sold/aired than anything I could ever have produced. There will also be a book to go along with it... which I have to write. Very excited about the whole thing.

I have also put the flat on the market. I bought it on Christmas Eve three years ago and I can't see myself living there again... after some wise counsel I've decided to sell. It's on the market for 2.5-times what I bought it for, so it will hopefully net me a tidy sum to do everything I want to do.

Anyway, I have crapped on for long enough. I hope you are all wonderfully well and happy and I wish you all the best for the Christmas season and a safe and blissful new year.

(Ah, such fond memories: Me Lara and Phil [not Philbert] at Mcpheedashit's famous cocktail party).