The Good Old Days

Well, it seems to be New Year's eve.... again. Somehow the older we get, the faster time goes... I can't believe we're on the eve of 2007... weren't we all just going nutso about Y2K?!? (well, not me... I didn't heed the advice and stock up on canned goods and water, and look where that got me... oh, right).

Auld Lang Syne-- a Scottish tune written in the 1700's is roughly translated to mean "the good old days," which confuses me a little. The tried and true New Year's anthem, looking back at the past? Yes, yes... the whole, those who don't understand history are doomed to repeat it mantra. I get it. And I understand having an appreciation for it and being able to accept where you've been to understand where you are... but New Year's, it seems, should be a celebration of fresh starts and the excited anticipation of what's to come.

But everyone seems to get a little too nostalgic (yes, even for me) on this day... and some tend to wax poetic about how they've done this and that in the past and boy, come January, they're going to make every effort to be a better person, and so on and so forth. You know what I say to that? There's no time like the present, people. Why wait for something in the future when you can do something right now? It's those people who will never actually do anything... they're either too hung up in the past or not big enough people to realize that it's what you do that's important... not what you say you will do.

So, rather than drivel on about what I've learned and what my resolutions will be (I'll leave that for the silent monologue that's constantly running in my head), I instead leave you with my own version of self-righteousness on this eve:

Be thoughtful of yourself and of others in the new year. There are bigger things in this world than any one of us. You can really only have expectations of yourself and your own actions... and everything else is incidental; but it doesn't give free license to be unkind. Be aware of who you are, your limitations and your gifts. And be honest about them. What little things that make the world go 'round, indeed.

Happy, happy new year, everyone. May it be merry and bright.

Christmas in NYC

Those regular lurkers to this blog are very familiar with my waxing nostalgic about NYC and my great love for it. It seems that I will always miss the city that never sleeps and even today, two years after leaving, it still feels like home. But nothing so far has made me miss NYC as much as Christmas-- because the Big Apple truly knows how to do it up. I'm convinced not living there has been why I've had to kick start my Christmas, sputtering and never exactly gaining momentum, for the last couple of years. All things aside, New York magazine has just published their "Reasons to Love New York" issue. My favorite reason?

"Because We Can Be Defiantly Deluded"- by Jonathan S. Paul

New Yorkers consider it axiomatic that our tap water tastes better than anyone else's. The notion is up there with walking-and-talking speed as a point of civic pride. Here's the catch: IT appears not to be true. Recently, we assembled a panel of experts for an unscientific blind tasting of water from here and five other major cities: Paris; LA; Seattle; Golden, CO (blogger's note: since when is "Golden, CO" considered a major city?); and Newark. According to our aficionados, not only does New York not have the best water, but we have the worst. A shock? Sure. An embarrassment? Nah. Screw the evidence. The very fact that we're wrong only serves to prove that we're proud.

You gotta love it.

Sadly, that means both LA-LA-Land AND Newark (?!?) have better tap water. Huh. I still don't believe it. Anyone have any guesses as to which of the five aforementioned cities was #1?

Christmastime Is Here

I'll Be Home For Christmas

Heading to La-La Land to spend the holidays with the fam tomorrow. It's been a while since I've been "home" (as much as it can be home considering I've now officially lived away from CA longer than I actually lived there...). Needless to say, I'm looking forward to seeing them (minus one A, who will not be gracing us with her presence...) and catching up with old friends.

Speaking of old friends, myspace is my new favorite thing. In the last year or so, I have found some of my favorite people. Found, quite literally, because they were indeed lost-- or perhaps I was... but either way, now we've all found each other and it's been quite nice getting to know them again. It's a strange thing this myspace world, because it connects you with old friends but really, you're meeting new people because you haven't actually talked to these people for half of your life. In my case, most of the friends are from junior high (we were split up when we went to different high schools), bonds of friendship formed in mutual commiseration over acne, puberty, and a slew of firsts: crushes, kisses, heartbreaks, dances, best friends, no friends and really, really bad fashion (it was the 80s, after all).

Reminiscing with the old crew has brought back a lot of buried memories, and even prompted me to peruse old journals and, unfortunately, relive some of that angst--a surprisingly semi-humiliating, provocative and eye-opening experience that I seriously plan not to relive anytime soon (as G so aptly pointed out, the past is past for a reason...). It's humorous, though, to read how heart-achingly important everything was... and actually, a little disturbing. But at the same time, it's so nice to connect with these people who were such a big part of my formative years and contributors to who I am today (whether they know it or not).

Reconnecting and re-living some of the memories of, oh, more than 15 years ago (?!) has also made me appreciate where I am and how far I've come. Although the last 15+ years have been a giant jumble of confusion at times, I'm in a better place than I have ever been. I'm happy with where I am and, even more importantly, who I am. Who knew that awkward 13 year old could come so far?

This Boy's Letter To Santa Claus