Sunday, January 01, 2006
The Decline/Ascent of New Year's Eve
Maybe decline isn't the right word. Maybe the ascent, because I had a good time. Probably better than I have in years!
I always hated the pressure of finding the right thing to do, as if it magically, the rest of the year was represented by one night.
What I've wound up doing has run the gamut. Though I never did the requisite ball dropping crap, I've done interesting things.
One year we were in Israel where the New Year is virtually ignored. There they celebrate only the Rosh Hashanah (The Jewish New Year). They call December 31, the Sylvester, and ignore it for the most part. We were in Haifa, the port city so we heard the ships in the harbor blow their horns, but it was eerie that no one cared.
Another year we were in flight, on our way home from California. The pilot led us through the countdown on the plane. That was fun.
There have been parties, and low key nights where we fell asleep before anything happened.
Last night, we got the kids into their pajamas and told them they could wait up. They are two and four. The older one got it, the baby just enjoyed not having to go to sleep. It was working out just fine. We waited for Dick Clark (who did a yoeman's job, considering). We laughed at Anderson Cooper, and the ridiculousness of CNN trying to be hip.
At 11:45 it all went horribly wrong. By midnight, everyone was crying and desperate (myself included)! Somehow though, it was still one of the best ones yet!
Happy New YEAR!
I always hated the pressure of finding the right thing to do, as if it magically, the rest of the year was represented by one night.
What I've wound up doing has run the gamut. Though I never did the requisite ball dropping crap, I've done interesting things.
One year we were in Israel where the New Year is virtually ignored. There they celebrate only the Rosh Hashanah (The Jewish New Year). They call December 31, the Sylvester, and ignore it for the most part. We were in Haifa, the port city so we heard the ships in the harbor blow their horns, but it was eerie that no one cared.
Another year we were in flight, on our way home from California. The pilot led us through the countdown on the plane. That was fun.
There have been parties, and low key nights where we fell asleep before anything happened.
Last night, we got the kids into their pajamas and told them they could wait up. They are two and four. The older one got it, the baby just enjoyed not having to go to sleep. It was working out just fine. We waited for Dick Clark (who did a yoeman's job, considering). We laughed at Anderson Cooper, and the ridiculousness of CNN trying to be hip.
At 11:45 it all went horribly wrong. By midnight, everyone was crying and desperate (myself included)! Somehow though, it was still one of the best ones yet!
Happy New YEAR!
