Alors, mon calendrier français dit 'C'est un bon week-end pour les amoureux!'

Cependant, n'oubliez pas les personnes qui aiment la Chine car, bien sûr, c'est le Nouvel An chinois!

This post was in French because, as you may be able to translate, my French calendar said today 'It's a good weekend for lovers!' (in French, naturally). However, it's also important to welcome in the Year Of The Tiger... Every Tiger except Tiger Woods, maybe (yes, I stole that joke).

Anyway, Happy Valentine's Day/Chinese New Year/whatever you may be celebrating.

Bypass the hearts

It's a bit ridiculous how so many single people are complaining and sighing deeply and conspicuously just because they'll be without a lover on Valentine's Day. So what? As most will agree, the day of Cupid, hearts, flowers, chocolates et al is a giant marketing ploy tailored to fuel our over-consumption and make us feel all romantic (if cliche is romantic) for a day . Considering this, why do we still mope and pity ourselves simply because we're lacking a partner? And besides, it's Chinese New Year tomorrow! There's no sense writing emo-poetry and sobbing into your loveless lap when you could be enjoying some chow mein and egg fried rice while watching the fireworks. Let's get some perspective and sense here - it's the 21st Century in which it's perfectly acceptable to remain single, marry young or old, never get married, date younger or older or outside your race, love someone of the same sex and generally do your own thing without being judged. And being alone on Valentine's Day is simply another one of these things.

If I may reflect...

2009. An eventful year (isn't it always?), at least in my private yet ever expanding world. Though it's never been quite as terrible as I thought at the time, it's a wonderful relief to look back on some of the things I've done this year and think, well at least that's over. For example, half of my Science GCSEs, half of my Maths GCSE, part of my English Language and Literature GCSEs, 30% of my Drama GCSE, a quarter of my Spanish and French GCSEs, a bit of my History GCSE and, oh, a large amount of that preposterous ICT qualification that neither I nor my fellow academic peers agreed to.

Well, anyway, I suppose I'll wish readers a pleasant, prosperous and ultimately happy New Year (and I hope it's good when the year's old, too).

I've never really made resolutions (though at the age of 10 I did become rather enamoured with growing a giant vegetable that year - one day), however I have some goals:

• Achieve the best grades that I possibly can in my GCSEs
• Start giving more money to animal charities on a regular basis
  
• Learn to play a musical instrument, maybe
• Master French and Spanish so I'm fluent
• Learn a new language - choices: Italian, German, Irish, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese
• Start going clothes shopping again - I love clothes and fashion, but I can never bring myself to buy anything and only want to look
• Audition for a proper play/musical and maybe the National Youth Theatre, not just amateur youth theatre clubs
• Go to see Avenue Q again, hopefully twice
• Go to Harrods (and Harvey Nichols again, maybe)
• Write an article for a newspaper and send it in
• Start a few art projects that have been in my head for a while
• Reach the tenth generation on The Sims 3 (I'm on the fifth now which is huge for me)
  
• Go to a house party
• Actually buy some makeup, particularly from MAC, instead of just gazing longingly (this relates back to the clothes thing)
• Spend some of the money I have saved up - not a lot, but it's just sitting there growing and never gets to have fun
• Get my hair cut into a completely new style (I think two and a half years is a bit ridiculous)
• See some really good films at the cinema
• Start reading fashion magazines in French
• Expand my music tastes (of course, never forgetting Regina Spektor, but I know there's a lot out there that I sometimes miss out on a lot)
• Read more fiction (I can't help my love of Science textbooks and French grammar books!)
• Dress up whenever I feel like it, oh, and go to a costume party
• Do more photography
• Submit some of my photography to, er... somewhere important!

So, I'm fairly ambitious. But hopefully in the summer holidays when GCSEs are finished I'll have some time to do at least a few of these things. So, I hope your tonight's good!