In anticipation of this upcoming year, I am going to celebrate the new year as it hits every country around the world. Each hour I will play House of Pain, jump around and wish the closest person a Happy New Year in the appropriate language.

Another Christmas Day over. Boxing day, the official pyjama day has started off nicely, sitting on the the sofa watching all the Christmas TV specials I missed yesterday. This Christmas was especially quiet and uneventful, but not without it's highlights including beating my dad home in a tantalizing car race.

Driver 1 drives a big mercedes and Driver 2 (thats me) drives a micra, it's cute but the size of a shoebox. By chance we meet each other on the dual carriageway and I stay close behind him. I could overtake him at this point but it would involve breaking 3 laws, which normally I might do so late at night, but not when Driver 1 is your dad who pays the insurance. Lets be sensible. My opportunity finally comes when I'm able to cut through the town centre while he bypasses. I flash a few red lights, they turn green and I beat him to the round-about where I have right of way. Just 2secs later and I would have been defeated. But I remain victorious.

It is now only 11days until I fly back to Vancouver. 6 more long shifts at work. 2 Sundays @ First Lisburn Presby C. 2 more pay cheques. 1 NYE shindig. Once more I have to make sure I see peeps, pack sensibly and leave my affairs in order. Starting right now.

I'm going to go eat some turkey.

Today I proved that Christmas can be done in a day, more or less. All you need is one day off work and a car. Don't get up too early or you'll fade early. It's all about endurance. Coffee number one and a cereal bar to go. Hit up downtown first, free parking at church (sweet!). Lodge some money in the bank, buy some gifts in the bookstore. Coffee number two to go. Drive out to Marks & Spencers, your darling place of employment. Wear a stylish hat or sunglasses so nobody notices you and realises how lame you are being in work on your one day off. Can I help it if the bloody place sells everything? Buy your stocking fillers (3 for the price of 2), family gifts, christmas flowers, turkey, pudding, mince pies and mulled wine all on 20% staff discount. Things start to get busy at this point and chances are a complete moron will be manning the checkout you choose so pick a fun aisle to queue down (hint:not the pet food aisle). Coffee number 3 to go. Quick stop at the chemist for painkillers.

Now its the big one, what you have dreaded all day. Tescos. For international readers, that would be grocery store. The traffic to get into the carpark is right round the roundabout a mile away. Have a festive CD in your car to play at this point. It's dog eat dog in there, no time for Christmas spirit or manners, just go go go. Grab everything, never look peeps in the eye, its full on trolley wars. 2 hours later all the food for Christmas dinner is bought, packed and loaded into the car. Coffee number 4 to go. Stop at a friends house for some free food and review the situation. Back into town for any gifts you have forgotten as well as wrapping paper and card.

Back home. Into your pjs, stick Love actually on the TV, hot chocolate on the side, wrap all your presents, stick em under the tree and you're good to go.

I should work in the North Pole.

I passed my driving test today. I could tell you guys how excited I am, relieved, free to go where I please. Instead here are my top tips on how to pass your driving test in Lisburn city.

1. Do not practice for 72hours the day before your test.

2. Work so many hours that you can't think about driving or cars or roads or signs the week of the test. If you do, you'll burn yourself on the coffee machine.

3. Befriend your examiner asap. Sympathize with the fact that he spends his life driving around Lisburn in the passenger seat.

4. Make a point of telling the examiner, (whose name is Brian, I know this because we are friends now, see point 3 above) how many times you have previously failed. This makes you a professional.

5. When reversing around a corner, and about to hit a curb but don't know whether to drive back out and start again or keep going with fingers crossed, talk so much about your possible options that Brian eventually just tells you what to do.

Good luck future test takers. I hope Brian is you're examiner because he is a legend.

Days off are beautiful things, right up there with Christmas trees and frosty mornings. But they disappear in no time. It's like how when you are a little kid excited for Santa and Christmas Eve goes on forever. You try to waste time watching the christmas movies on tv and you go to bed earlier than any other night in the year with no complaining. And then Christmas Day comes and it's over before you know it. No fair.

So what do you do on a day off. You start with coffee, go figure. You hate the coffee shop but get withdrawal symptoms your first morning without the smell of fresh ground coffee beans. Then you catch up on the TV you missed. Then you go to hospital and have them shoot beams of high energy electrons at your chest to make pretty black and white pictures of your skeleton. They charge you for telling you you're normal and for wearing their ugs hospital gowns.

Then you go back home, fall asleep accidentally on the sofa and waste 3hours of your glorious day off, cook some meatballs and spaghetti for dinner, write in your blog so your 3 regular readers know you're alive and still complaining, watch a christmas movie then go to sleep.

ZzzZzzZzz

Martin Smith (Delirious) had an idea to head a campaign that was soon to become known as Compassionart. 12 talented and reputable Christian worship artists committed to writing 15 records in 5 days and giving them away. Writing a song to God is a very personal thing so can you imagine doing it with 11 other people without injury? And then to bypass all the legal jargon so that 100% of proceeds and royalties go to the people that need it in countries like Africa, India, Brazil, Cambodia. It happened in 2008.

I follow the work of Watoto with orphans in Africa pretty closely after some good friends of mine picked me up a leaflet @ missionsfest last year. It is exactly the type of organisation I would like to work with in the future and is one of the chosen causes of CompassionArt which is how I came across the campaign.

It doesn't matter what kind of music you are into or what your views are on contemporary praise songs. I have never liked Delerious or Michael W Smith but seeing their work on this campaign is inspiring and I have a new found respect for their work. Worship and Justice for the poor are 2 of the most influential aspects of modern theology, which makes modern worship leaders and campaigns like this one very relevant. We might not remember all the sermons that we hear but praise songs and their lyrics stick with us and projects like CompassionArt and the results of organisations like Watoto will leave lasting impressions.

The record is good and the message is golden. These artists are using their talents from God to further His kingdom and the reconciliation of humanity. It's something we can all strive for.

Guess who jumped back on the train headed for the real world? It's me, Debs, working girl once more. I spend my days rotating throughout various tasks....making coffee, making polite conversation @ the till point whilst ripping people off, toasting teacakes and filling baked potatoes, washing dishes, cleaning tables or, when I'm really lucky, I get to stand at a portable coffee cart beside Santa's grotto in the freezing cold. My mind changes about 231 times each day about whether I like it or hate it.

PROS
Money.
Constant smell of fresh espresso is like drinking espresso shots constantly which is like being high.
Money.
Time flies like it does when you're having fun.
Money.

CONS
I burn myself everyday. On the coffee contraption, the milk frother, the ovens and the dishwasher.
I cut myself with knives or scissors.
I have to wash my uniform every day.
My hair smells like coffee and the rest of me smells like ham and cheese toasties
The process of recruiting secret agents for a counter terrorist unit based in Lisburn has been put on hold.

Despite all that, I am very grateful to have a job. I am just the type of person who will always complain about a job like this one because I am passionate about working with youth and saving the world. When you are in the midst of the lunchtime rush, with 11 toasties cooking at once, another 5 waiting and peeps shouting numbers all over the show, you have to reassure yourself 'it's only temporary'.

I'm trying to find a flight to Vancouver in January. Sounds simple and very exiting mmm? It's not.

Here's the problem. There's this little important piece of colourful paper known as a VISA. Foreign peeps won't let you into their country without afore mentioned visa whereas in NI, anyone and their terrorist brother can walk in no questions asked. They would probs be offered a beer and a handshake in fact.

It takes 6weeks to process a VISA, or at least that is what it says online. So in reality it could take a hell of a lot longer. Anyways, lets stay focused. It's only been 4 weeks 2days so far. So flights are getting more expensive, I'm working full-time and trying to get in touch with the canadian consolate at the same time during office hours while waiting patiently for the brown envelope to arrive in the post. A brown envelope which I am expecting to have a shiny white light surrounding it and voices humming the tune to topgun.

Do I (and feel free to wager in) take a risk without the visa in my hand and book a flight now that puts me right back where I started when I came home debt-wise or do I wait permanently on-edge and book a flight 2days before Christmas hoping for a last minute deal?

Also if any millionaires, owners of private jets, airline workers with discount or potential lottery winners have grown accustomed to reading my blog, please donate to the cause. I will give you my family and my karaoke machine.

Mr M. Spencer aka Bossman/The suit: Debs, can you take this afternoon off and work tomorrow night?

Debs: Sure.

Worst idea. I spent my afternoon collecting new music including 101 crazy power ballads. Despite now having a rather impressive and extensive music library, it was a waste of an afternoon. I could have worked on my book. Made a movie. Put up a Christmas Tree. Taken photo's of the beautiful frosty streets. Baked cookies. Gone home and done my laundry. Read a book. Booked a flight to Vancouver. Called a friend.

Crappy. I'm going to go for a walk in the icy cold right now to make myself feel better.

But, one more thing.....now would be a good time to confess my love for Master Josh Groban, musician extraordinaire. His voice is so good, I would go so far as to say enchanting. The good news is that he is currently single i.e. no gf, no wife, no kids. I would like to remedy that. So if you know Joshy-G, get him to read this blog entry. Thanks.

Youtube him. Now.