As I begin writing this, the weather outside is unusually mild for this time of December, but I also realize that by the time readers see this (some before Christmas, some after), the weather could well have changed altogether back to a normal wintry level.

As my thoughts are looking at the coming New Year's celebration, I can recall at least one New Year's I experienced that was much considerably warmer than even the mild weather we were getting.

My daughter (the writer) chuckled at the thought that a few months ago, a temperature approaching 0 Celsius would have been considered incredibly cold, whereas at this time of year 0 is considered downright balmy, even tropical. Like much of life, I suppose, it's all a matter of perspective.

The fact is, we've been getting off with some incredibly mild winters in the last few years, and we're about due for a wintry blast that will remind us just what country we're in. And with weather patterns being unpredictable many times, that blast could arrive within a day or two of this writing, and you could very well be reading this with a raging blizzard outside your windows.

Or not.

Now, I know there are families who head to Mexico or the Dominican or Hawaii or some other tropical destination come winter time, and they can fully relate to what I'm going to say. For my part, I should indicate this was a once-in-a-lifetime trip, to be in the Philippines as part of a four-month stay with a team of young people.

As part of our stay there, on New Year's we headed down to the U.S. Naval base at Olongopo, outside of Metro Manila, and we spent a good part of New Year's Day roasting on a sandy beach (the base's "Officers' Beach, actually), and then we had a tour of an aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson.

On New Year's Eve, as we gather here with friends or strangers to ring in the new year, there are places that have a whole different way of celebration, I can tell you. In this part of the Philippines, New Year's Eve was spent with partying out on the street, popping off these deceptively small firecrackers all night.

We got a hold of one, a small triangle with a fuse that easily fit in the palm of the hand. For such a small package, it packed a huge bang when we set it off. Indeed, we were told that every year, many Filipinos lose fingers and hands by not quite letting go of the little crackers before the fuse burned down. On the streets, tires burned in piles and bonfires were lit everywhere; we stayed away from these as the gatherings were noted to be fairly wild.

As I lay roasting in the tropical sun, I couldn't help but think of how most people back here were spending the day with temperatures in the -20s. Oh, what sweet thoughts those were! Once we're here and we're acclimatized with our holiday celebrations, we're well used to what the weather can do as we snack on munchies, sip hot chocolate and watch the Rose Bowl parade and various college bowl games through the day.

This year, we'll be curled up under a blanket, possibly watching a movie or the ageless Dick Clark ring 2008, and it'll be considerably quieter than that day of long ago, on a tropical isle in Southeast Asia.