I need more friends.

And not Facebook friends either. Real, live, in the flesh friends - people who I can talk to, buy overpriced coffee with and who can give me the justification for buying a Wii. I should get out more and meet new people. I should talk to those people who nod at me in the gym. I should make more of an effort to turn my work friends into every day friends. And I should see more of the friends I do have.

Depressed at these thoughts, I slump further in my seat as the tram approaches Crumpsall.

I wonder if the Calabrian doctor Aloysius Lilius who created the Georgian Calendar in 1582 and the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria in 45BC knew that in creating a calendar where there was a distinct point where a new year would begin, that it would eventually lead to so much angst and naval gazing while travelling through North Manchester.

I shake it off, reminding myself that I don't believe in New Year. I will not be a slave to consumerism and will not let these new fangled things rule my life. No random set of numbers that seem to have no grounding in reality will ever dictate my mood, apart from my body fat monitor.

I always tend to lose my grip on reality when I'm forced to go further north than Victoria Station. Being this far north and travelling through an area where they still eat their first born and own a Betamax has always made me uncomfortable and plays with my mind.

I do not like New Year's Resolutions, I don't like the idea of setting myself annual goals - it will only lead to disappointment. If I did do New Year's Resolutions, "Writing a Book" would still be up there, as it has been for the past three years. The farthest I normally like to plan ahead is what I am going to eat for tea tonight. (Defrosted Jerk Chicken if you must know) Despite this, my internal devil and angel begin arguing as they try and decide what my plan should be:

"We could quit carbs and only eat protein!" the devil says.

"Yeah I'd agree to that but I'm not sure I could persuade the kidneys." the angel replies.

"I want something wild. How about adventure racing? It's like running but with maps. That way the brain will get to use its Geography degree."

"Sounds dangerous," the angel says. "Plus all the brain can remember from the Geography degree is something about the social construction of space and that the Urban Geography lecturer looked like Dr Marvin Monroe. What if we got lost in the moors? We'd probably just have Matt to keep us company and he worries more than a Limo driver after picking up a rowdy hen night."

"C'mon, we'd get to wear Under Armour. I want a challenge - something to shake us up from the dreary trudge of day to day life!"

"We could learn ASP.Net 3.0"

"Let's start hacking! We can even pretend we're doing it to learn more about 'computer security'."

"How about we just agree to blog more often." says the angel looking for a compromise.

There is much laughter.