What better way to start the new year, indeed the new century, and for the pedantic, the new millenium, than with a brand new journal!

My last effort dissolved into elegant lethargy sometime last April. Somehow being tied to "having" to write about something made it twice as hard to summon up the enthusiasim to actually commit to virtual print. Perhaps the pressure from having the journal layed out like a regualr newspaper and supposedly "published" to a schedule made that failure inevitable. I have known others to write for considerably lengthy times - it was not to be with me.

Oh, well, it was fun while it lasted, but like many things in life, its time to move on. Evolution must occur. So, this time around, a different structure may help overcome the pressure of *having* to produce. This time I will only write when I get the motivation, when something must be recorded or said. Perhpas this will make it less of a journal, more of a rants section, but whatever it becomes, maybe this time I will continue.

So, the significance of this pieces title for those that don't get it - today is January 1, 2001. In short date format 01/01/01.

I had a relatively quiet night last night - we arrived back from spending Christmas with Leonies family, Kathryn went to stay overnight with a friend (and went to watch the New years Eve fireworks at the Cruikshanks Reserve), while the rest of the family got an early night.

Today is significant for another reason. My Australian readers will of course recognise that this is the Centenary of the Australian Federation (and if you don't know it, you will by the end of this year - its almost impossible to escape the fact in the media in this country).

So why should I have an opinion on some crusty old event that happened a century ago? Well, to answer that, I guess one has to understand the significance of that event. To me it seems incredibly civilised that a new country can come into being, not as a result of a war, bloodshed, revolution or violence of any kind, but through a peaceful and open vote.

Somehow, that always seems so natural as an Australian. There are many cliches about our nation, but the one I like best is the "fair-go, laid-back" image of this people. There is a saying common in my home State of Tasmania - "She'll be apples", meaning everything will work out well in the end.

Looking back over a century of rapid change - it hasn't been easy - the other cliche about "droughts and flooding rains" comes to mind, along with the ANZAC image, but we are still here, plugging away, with much to be thankful for. So, "She'll be apples" seems appropriate too.

Oh, and what was I doing for those 8 months between the old journal and this one? Apart from work, we went on a little jaunt around the world. Nothing like seeing how the rest of the world lives. Certainly makes you appreciate home.