Well, as 2006 draws to a close, I find myself spending it pretty much the same way I’ve done so for years now. Earlier today we went to Seibu’s depachika and loaded up on food. We’ve eaten a good part of it, waiting until around 23:00 or so for the soba. I’m flipping through all the TV specials, including of course the venerable KOHAKU on NHK, mixed in with some K-1 for good measure — poor Akebono continues his losing streak, and in record time! I am quite sad that Takashi Okamura of the comedy duo 99 won’t be doing his annual New Year’s show — I did get a kick out of his appearance on KOHAKU though — it just doesn’t feel the same. A bit after midnight we’ll walk over to Gokokuji, a rather large temple not too far from where we live, for hatsumode (first prayer of the New Year). I always look forward to the food stalls set up in front of the temple — gotta get me some buttered potatoes! Strangely enough, despite the couple of beers I drank earlier — some delicious amber Kohaku Yebisu, which I highly recommend — I’ve taken the time to install a program, Tracks, to help me get started on the whole GTD craze. I’ve also been cleaning up the computer a bit, leaving me with a beautiful clean desktop (although I tend to be pretty good with that at all times), and changing the desktop after about a year with no change to what you see above (photo taken during Tokyo Design Week at the Design Tide main exhibition space). Tomorrow, it’s 2007, and I look forward to a first bowl of ramen wearing my brand spankin’ new sneakers! Happy New Year, everyone!