Happy New Year!
Here it comes again, folks, New Years Eve. The night it’s obligatory to have a rollicking good time.
Why, I’m not so sure. Perhaps because the passage of the years can be depressing, especially after the age of forty or so. Or perhaps it’s because we have to face learning to write a different number on our checks just when we’ve finally gotten used to the old one.
And then there’s the drinking. In previous years, I offered this hangover recipe for the day after, even though I don’t really drink.
As for tonight, I’m planning a quiet time. That’s the prerogative of age, although to tell you the truth I’ve never been a big New Years Eve carouser.
And then there are the ubiquitous resolutions. This year I’ve fastened on a single one: to go to bed earlier (although not on New Years!). It’s a goal I’ve focused on before—actually, every year for quite some time. Obviously I’ve had a lot of trouble keeping it, since here I am, trying again. I’ve always been a tremendous nightowl, and being a blogger hasn’t helped me any in my (admittedly weak) efforts to change my nightowl proclivities.
So a very HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you! Are you planning anything fun?
[NOTE: This is an revised version of a previous post.]
Instapundit has recently published links to research that indicates human beings seem to appreciate and enjoy life more as they enter the last third of their own life. I am one of those.
Although I’d like to slow the passage of time — the older one gets the faster time seems to pass — I was sitting with my 2 yr old grandson the other day and just reveling in how wonderful life has been. There is certainly one major change I would affect if I could, but I look forward to both the joys and the challenges of the new year.
To Neo and all the commenters here, I wish you a healthy, prosperous and wonderful New Year.
That is some hangover recipe you got there. Some people swear by a Bloody Mary the morning after, but for me it’s plenty of water and boiled eggs.
We plan to celebrate the New York New Year (11PM local) or perhaps the Newfoundland New Year (10PM local), and then go to bed. Great night to stay home and off the roads, I think.
On the political front it promises to be a very grim year. Maintaining a proper perspective (half empty – half full) requires that we equally embrace life’s incredible beauty and joy as well.
I and my father greatly enjoy fishing and come spring, my 92 year old father and I plan to build a skin-on-frame boat.
Modified with modern materials, it’s a ‘technology’ used for thousands of years by the Inuit native Americans. Remarkably tough (bullet proof, ballistic nylon) and unbelievably lightweight (12ft = 30lbs!).
Life is what you make of it, in that while we can’t control what will happen, we always decide (consciously or unconsciously) how we’ll react to it.
Tonight, a special steak dinner, some single malt scotch and to bed after the fireworks lessen.
It’s not about what you do, it’s about what you enjoy.
I have the flu, so fun is not on the agenda for me tonight. But I’ll pass along a friend’s Fb status that made me laugh, even though it hurts when I laugh: I can’t believe it’s already been a year since I didn’t become a better person.
Resolutions? To stay healthy by eating right and exercising. To stay engaged in the blogosphere and the real world.
Happy New Year to Neo and all who read and comment here. Remember that the world, whether or not it is clear to us, is no doubt unfolding as it should. With all the duplicity, chaos, and uncertainty it is still a beautiful world. Let’s all stay strong and cheerful. 2015 can be a great year.
Checks? Who writes checks any more?? (Well, I do, once in a while, but not very often any more.)
Mac, you already are a better person if you can retain your sense of humor even with the flu. Thanks for the smile, and Happy New Year to all!
Best wishes to all for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2015.
At this point in my life, this comes to mind:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHJ3iZpfBRI
I have a post gestating for tomorrow morning – of what I resolved last New Years and the one before that, of what I managed to do, and what has been left undone, or partially accomplished. A good bit of them I managed to do – finish a short bagatelle of a YA adventure for publication in time for the seasonal market, get cracking a good way into the next serious book. I’ve been better able to do some of the house-improvement stuff, than the personal-improvement stuff, though. Diminish the pile of to-be-read books, do better and more effective marketing … even clear out the cat-boxes more often – no, that’s left for this coming year. Sigh.
Well a very Happy New Year’s to all and a very happy new year, all year long.
Let’s hope some diseases (Parkinson’s would be good) are cured next year. That would surely be a happy new year.
I agree with “T” above, enjoyment and appreciation of life is greater at this end of it. Grandkids are a delight as is the retreat from the hustle and bustle.
Happy and Healthy New Year to all, especially you, Neo, and may all be safe tonight.
I shall read then early to bed, unless the fireworks get too loud. No more partying for this guy, I hit my lifetime limit a few years ago. Now the mere act of being alive is fun enough.
Happy New Year all. Still getting over the flu down here, so going to bed as soon as the Orange Bowl’s over.
BTW, the year 2015 sure sounds ‘futuristic’, no ? Hope it’s a good year for all of us.
Happy New Year to Neo and her eclectic band of readers/commenters.
I have enjoyed visiting this site on a daily basis to see what Neo offers; and to read the mostly edifying responses from her readers.
Nicely done one and all.
To paraphrase one of my favorite people in all the world:
“God Bless you all in 2015, and may God continue to bless the United States of America”.
I never go out on Amateur Night. Too many drunks on the road.
Happy New Year to all, and to all a Good Night.
Happy New Year
May 2015 bring a healthy dose of morale boost to America. It is needed.
Here in Greater Seattle the New Year won’t dawn for another couple hours. My wife and I enjoyed our arbitrary tradition: a delightful medium rare NY strip with a good Bordeaux. I’m now listening to Schoenberg’s first symphony and reflecting on the year. It was a fairly positive one for us personally; though far less sanguine for the nation writ large. I still take solace in the election results, no matter how absurdly the media may spin them. Beyond that, though, 2014 was filled with heartache and worry. My New Year’s wish is modest: that the social state of America (particularly race relations); remain stable and not descend into further destruction and acrimony. Honestly, it seems as though such a humble hope may be too ambitious and unrealistic.
A peaceful and joyous New Year to all!
I’m a big night owl too! I think it is biologically wired and as I get older, it seems to be more deeply set and harder to change. I wouldn’t worry about it though it does make life harder if you have a 9-5 job. That’s the big rub. I also want to set the clock back a bit but will settle on being just a little bit less night owly — I hope you can get the schedule you want but don’t be too hard on yourself Neo! We night owls rock!
Happy New Year!
I am going to have a couple of pints at a bar down the block. No big deal, just a little bit of celebration.
May everyone here have a great 2015!
Of the 16 people who were at my house on Christmas Eve, 9 were sick with flu or cold (one flu confirmed, on tamiflu, still wound up 4 days in hospital with pneumonia). 2 later became sick. Bad odds, but I am still ok. All but two had a flu shot, I was one who didn’t.
I will wish for a more effective flu shot and more available tamiflu. I also wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year.
>>The night it’s obligatory to have a rollicking good time.
I suppose it’s cultural. I come from a background where NYE is spent with the family, maybe some close family friends as well, to count in the New Year. My father pops some champagne, we make a somewhat ‘festive’ dinner, not much, if any, drinking, and when all is said and done we hit the sack and attend mass the next day.
I resolved to memorize one poem per week over the course of this year. The aim is to add some beauty to my mind and to address some holes in my education.
Happy 2015 to everyone.
Anna:
You may want to take a look at these two posts: this and this.
I hate sauerkraut but found a recipe for chocolate sauerkraut cookies that are quite tasty. Keeps my husband happy on the new year superstition front.
Only made traffic stops, nor fights, no wrecks. A successful Amateur Night.
Please swap the nor fights and the no wrecks, for a clear reading.