I'm suddenly aware of the clock ticking beside me. It was ticking the whole time but I just didn't hear it. The year of the millenium (we'll ignore 2000 as it wasn't really) draws to a close. I think about past New Year's resolutions and how long they lasted. It's futile. If you didn't have the conviction to change your life on December 10th, what makes you think you're going to magically aquire it on a chosen date while getting smashed on toxic beverages? My life has changed - mostly for the better. But it is in ways that were practically inconceivable a year ago.

So for the year 2002 which has almost zero significance as a date to remember; I hereby resolve not to make any resolutions - thereby breaking it before it even takes effect. This is the way it should be.

But in fact, tomorrow does mark a new chapter in my book of life. I'm no longer a cubicle rat working for a faceless conglomerate of media barons. I'm a slave to no man. Likewise I'm a slave to no woman, while also freeing myself from the pangs of bitter loneliness and desperation.

Free at last...

The euro arrives in full force a few hours from now. The untold story is how this has affected the black market. Money launderers have only 8 weeks left to convert their hidden truckfuls of sovereign cash before they become worthless. Granted this process has been going on for some time as there has been ample warning. But changing a monetary system provides an opportunity to flush them out. Whether you like it or not you have to take your cash to a legal financial institution and convert it or lose it all. For a brief time the absolute size of the illicit market can be calculated.