New Year, New Decade, New York

After two incredibly hot and regenerating weeks under the aussie sun,  I am back and excited about this year and this city. Tumbling headlong back into this dense and noisy concrete jungle after the open space and quiet of Oz is always an assault on the senses, but the energy of this place quickly reminds you why it is such an inspiring place to live.

2010 is going to be a special year - I can feel it. As we continue to argue about how to refer to the last decade - the double-o's, the naughties, the post-9/11 era - I prefer to look forward to this new decade and what it may bring. Unfortunately, the events in Haiti have kicked off this year with a disaster like so many other years - the bushfires in Victoria last year, the Asian tsunami of 2004 -  but somehow they also unite the world with a humanitarian cause. My hope is we all take the opportunity this decade to look at things differently and make a difference for the better.

My resolutions this year? To continue to explore this city and its five boroughs. In two years I have only scratched the surface. I will put on my sporting cap and go to a Mets game, watch ice hockey at Madison Square Gardens, visit all those local museums that often get overlooked, hear jazz in Harlem, eat greek in Astoria and watch the russian mafia stroll along the Brighton Beach boardwalk. And all this with my now fave song "Empire State of Mind" as my theme song: "New York....these streets will make you feel brand new, these lights will inspire you".

Let's get out amongst it! Happy New Year.

Image: Penn Uni