Hope

I mentioned yesterday that I could not think of another person that has inspired more hope, worldwide, this year than Barack Obama.  Well the readers of Uganda's daily newspaper, The New Vision, have demonstrated this hope by voting Obama "Man of the Year."  This is a similar accolade given to him by Time Magazine proclaiming him "Person of the Year."  However, it's different.  Each year for the past decade, The New Vision has awarded the "Man of the Year" title to Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda.  I find this to be an interesting shift.

Well, it's the last day of the year.  I went for a jog.  I've been to the gym.  I made an amazing tuna salad (a bit of Tabasco makes (almost) everything taste better) that I ate for lunch on toast.  The end of one year and beginning of another inspires many people to reflect on the past and plan for the future, and I'm not exempt from this.  I've never been affected by a new year as much as this one.  I guess that's because I can feel a big change is about to occur.  Many people have posted lists of what they consider to be the best songs of 2008.  Well, when I reflect on the past year, one song is always playing as the score in the background of my mind:  It's a Bitch to Grow Up by Alanis Morissette, from her Flavours of Entanglement album (a great album if you've not given it a listen-to), released 10th June 2008.  It pretty much summarises my overall feeling for this year.  Alanis has a talent for doing that for me.

I feel done, I feel raked over coals 

and all that remains is the case 

that it's a bitch to grow up.