A New Year, A New New Year's Leaf

For the first time in many, many years, I had fun on New Year’s Eve. This is a landmark event; normally, NYE is a time of dread and anxiety. It still is—there’s something about the ten-second countdown at midnight that makes me feel like a sinister black shroud has gotten tangled up in my gut—but, barring that admittedly short span of time, this year proved enjoyable. I’m in Jacksonville right now, and Andrew and I spent the Eve helping prepare a dinner party at his sister Katherine’s apartment for a few of her friends. Around ten, we went to a local bar with a nominal cover charge and manageable crowds. No line for the ladies’ room, a short wait for a drink—aside from just staying home with a DVD, this was a good place to spend the Eve even by my NYE-hating standards. I may have even worn a gold NYE-style tiara and gold beads...but there are no pictures to prove it.