2000...and shit.

A friend of mine messaged me this morning. She's 28, living in Singapore, and she says, "Just brought in the new year here. Boring. Enjoy your youth. It's all downhill from here." Her message made me pause for thought. What a way to start the new year! It made me pause because I'm going to turn 24 next month. Is it really all downhill from here? I had the impression things were on their way up! Judging from my time in Cairo at least, which so far has been one of the best years in my life. In fact, it's in Cairo where I've met friends much older than me, having the time of their lives, despite not being 21 anymore. And by this, I don't mean having 21-year-old kind of fun, getting wasted and pulling meaninglessly...but leading rich lives, meeting fascinating people, travelling to beautiful places, spending quality time with friends. It seems the older you get, the better you know how to enjoy life. Isn't that a good thing?

But maybe it's just this little bubble that we live in called Cairo. We're always talking about how we aren't living in the 'real world', how life here is almost uni-life like. Except its not. We're all holding down jobs, building careers. We pay for rent, pay the bills, deal with landlords and deal with what is sometimes a not very easy city to live in. We cook, damnit! Yet, we still meet up on a daily basis, we still do imaginative things (I'm thinking of Murder Mystery Dinner two nights ago). Is it because we live away from our families, familial obligations? (I'm not really trying to answer any of my questions here — right now, my brain isnt really working, so I'm just focusing on raising the questions. I had to blog because it's part of my new year plan.)

But I also have much younger friends in other parts of the world who already act like they have 4 kids and a spouse. So maybe it is country-specific. Attitude-specific?

I start the new year with no passport, and no clue as to what's happening to me in the next 2-3 months. I know most of us don't know what's happening in the near/far future, but I literally do not know where I will be. Have an awesome job offer in Dubai starting end of January, but several factors hold me back from taking it just yet. A confusing start to the year such as this makes it a tad difficult to make resolutions, make plans. Nevertheless, I rang it in with good friends, good times, and what is shockingly, my second NYE celebration in Cairo. I'm not going to bother recapping 2007, because I did that on my Arab-versary post. And I cant really make any projections for 2008 yet since I don't know what the hell I'm doing. All I hope for is as much energy and enthusiasm as in the past...and that I never lose the child inside me.