Organising the year ahead

I was looking at my filofax the other day and was wondering what I had to do. Not what I had to do for this coming week but what I had to do for the whole year. And suddenly I panicked. Although I am busy with ‘stuff’ I have no anchors. Last year throughout the year I had things planned the whole year. Carnival in Feb; Visit from H in March. Laverne and M coming in May, and Easter/Passover. Friend coming to visit me in Nicosia in June. Long weekend in Paphos with friends in July. Back-packing in the Balkans with Laverne in August. Moving house in Sept. Big party in December. And that’s not including the countless coffees, nights out, days by the pool that packed my year. As 2008 was so full I expected to open my agenda and find it all filled out with lunches and dates lined up for me. Of course a new year means an empty agenda which you are meant to fill. And that’s the tricky part, arranging your year. It makes your whole outlook for the year a lot more pleasant if you know that you will be doing something new or exotic or if a good friend would come and visit you that year. It gives you something to look forward to amongst ‘to do lists’ and obligations. The secret is to plan your year as soon as possible but the problem with that is dealing with people who are not as organised as you and have no intention of being so. The other alternative is to order lots of things from eBay and hope that after 9 days of bidding for something you didn’t really need (like a Burberry scarf or a pair of fluffy pillows) they arrive on time