High Hopes, Hooker Heels, and Hangovers: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of New Year’s Eve

New Years, in my humble opinion, is overrated. There’s all this anticipation and pressure to go out and have a good time with all the other people (feeling the same anticipation and pressure) ringing in the new year with one too many shots of Patron and a sweet little hangover in the morning.

Then there are the God awful shoes and sparkly clothes one can only get away with one other time of year.  (Happy Halloween!  Hello hooker heels and sequins.)

Hooker Heels

Plus, there’s always that obligatory kiss at midnight.  (Raise your hand if you’ve ever kissed a person at midnight “just because” and not because you actually wanted to…  *Looks around sheepishly and raises hand*)

For these reasons, many of my best New Year’s have been spent at home with bare feet, a few bottles of beer, and some sparklers.  There’s something to be said for simplicity.

Last night, however, I rang in the New Year with thirty of my closest friends and their friends and the rest of the people at the eight bars we visited in our efforts to celebrate the end of one year and the start of another.  A good time was had by most.  And no one vomited, which is sadly unusual.  (Have I mentioned I’m a sympathetic vomiter?…  Question: How do you know Lauren Grant is holding her friend’s hair back as she gets sick?  Lauren’s getting sick right there with her.  Oh, the memories.)

My favorite part of the night involved grapes…this should tell you something…  Apparently on New Year’s Eve in Peru, there is a tradition of eating 12 grapes and making 12 wishes for the year ahead.  My dear, sweet Peruvian friend had pre-proportioned and bagged 12 grapes for each person in our group.  (Thank you Rosa!)  She even made extras for any stragglers or last minute additions to our party.  (Welcome aboard Jill and Steven and Steven’s brother and that weird guy with the scraggly beard, Ray-Ban sunglasses, and green and white striped shirt.)

Just after midnight, outside of a perfect dive bar in Clearwater Beach, passersby could see thirty-plus people holding ziplock baggies, gazing happily at the fireworks in the sky, slowly popping one grape after another into their mouths.  While it may sound trivial (or odd), I can assure you, it was certainly a unique site to see.

Outside the Perfect Dive Bar

Yes, I have reservations about the consistent overrating of New Year’s Eve; however, I do love new traditions involving wishes and grapes and a large group of hopeful people.  I can also appreciate what New Year’s represents for so many people: a fresh start.  A goodbye to the old and a “Well, hello there,” to the new.  And, of course, this is represented in the blessed New Year’s Resolution.

A resolution, by definition, is “a formal expression of intention.”  In the past few days, I’ve asked around and heard several expressions of intention. One friend intends to lose six pounds. (With the loss of six pounds, she’ll be one pound under her goal weight, and that leaves her a little growing room for big breakfasts and Big Macs.)  Another friend hopes to quit being a “head case” and breaking up with women for questionable reasons.  (“She was going to break up with me at somepoint anyway, so I thought I might as well go ahead and get it over with.”)  Another vowed to get three meals out of, and learn the mother’s name of, any man she was thinking of sleeping with. All intentions were made in hopes of a better year ahead.

My Favorite Choice for Would-Be New Year's Resolution Dinners...Always Helpful in Finding out Mothers' Names...

I, also, have put some thought into what my resolution might be.  Here are a few that came to mind:

1. Don’t have an opinion, at all, about my sister’s choice in men.  (In the past, I’ve had strong opinions… “He has twenty-six tattoos, a crazy ex-wife, and a criminal record?  Good Lord.”)  I figure her taste in men is questionable at best, and it would be mighty difficult to be resolute in having positive opinions about these suitors of hers.
2. Learn to say, “No.”
3. Drive slower.

After some deep thought, however, I’ve decided this year, there will be no New Year’s resolutions. Resolutions are for change, and while change is often good, we’re not supposed to “fix” something that isn’t broken.  I’m pretty darn happy, so why do I need a resolution?  Sure, there are flaws, but flaws are what make things interesting.

Besides, how can I not have opinions on my sister’s boyfriends?  I’m her sister; I’m supposed to have opinions.  Learn to say, “No”?  Why? I like saying, “Yes.” …even if it makes my schedule a living hell sometimes…  Drive slower?  Ummm.  Well, I have places to go and people to see, and as long as I’m paying attention, I figure a few extra miles per hour only aids in a productive day.

So, while there certainly is a great deal of hype surrounding New Years and the events that take place during this brief time period, the good thing is that it’s just another day.  Chances are we’ll all have another day quite similar tomorrow. And then again the next day.  Because of this relative reliability in the coming days ahead, I’m not too concerned with not having any New Year’s resolutions this year.  If I change my mind, there’s always tomorrow.