New Year's Eve - Plans and Resolutions

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mood swung
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New Year's Eve - Plans and Resolutions

Post by mood swung »

also known as Saturday Night/Sunday Morning syndrome, the ICU version. Clearly owes a debt to Mardi Gras (or possibly the other way around - who am I to know history? which of us really does?). I love the idea of fresh starts, even if I don't quite believe in them.



No plans for me and the mister. If he remembers champagne, we might toast. Or we might be snoring in our seats by 8. We just aren't that lively anymore.

As for resolutions, I find it best to forget about the ones I made for '08 that didn't take, and begin again. So, I'll be working on being a kinder, gentler mood who learns to mangle another language while sneaking back into that size (youthinkI'mtelling?) I used to wear, reading a list book each month while watching my savings grow.

And you?


Fear not. I have done this kind of post many times over the life of this board and I have yet to ask ANYONE how this or that resolution worked out.


dreams.


we need 'em.
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Re: New Year's Eve - Plans and Resolutions

Post by Who Shot Sam? »

Staying in with the fam tonight. Bottle of champagne for us, sparkling cider for the kids. They want to to watch What About Bob? (again) and I'll probably oblige.

God knows what 2009 holds. The end of 2008 has been scary enough. Keeping my job would be nice. Everything else is gravy.
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Re: New Year's Eve - Plans and Resolutions

Post by mood swung »

I checked CNN this morning, and their headline was 'No Where To Go But Up' and I thought never never never never never say that - it's just asking for trouble.

Staying employed sounds good to me too.
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Re: New Year's Eve - Plans and Resolutions

Post by Boy With A Problem »

Snowing like a mofo again out there. WWAP just called from the liqour store asking if I wanted the small or big bottle of Makers Mark - after all these years.....We're going to try to make it to the chain steak house down the road and then back at the house well in front of Dick Clark's rockin' new years eve.
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Re: New Year's Eve - Plans and Resolutions

Post by pophead2k »

Usually keep it low-key on New Year's eve (amateur hour), but this year we've been invited to a neighbor's house party with the promise of a post-midnight retro dance party! Happy new year's everyone.
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Re: New Year's Eve - Plans and Resolutions

Post by spooky girlfriend »

I'm practicing my pucker for a big fat kiss goodbye to this wretchedly difficult year.

I am hoping for a better 2009, but mainly just want my family to be safe and happy. It's tough raising teenagers, ain't it Moody?

Champagne at midnight, courtesy of Doc, which I will probably start early - although not too early or I'll be asleep. I will probably make some snacks for the kids - heaven knows they can't go long without eating.

I'm grateful that I feel better than I did one year ago today.

All my best to each of you for a fabulous new year. :-)
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Re: New Year's Eve - Plans and Resolutions

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

Went for a cinema + meal combo with Lady Westinghouse and our youngest two (the nearly 16 year old being at a party somewhere towards the fens, which he appears to have survived with nbo visible damage). Inkheart, which could have done with a better lead than Brendan Fraser, but was thoroughly suitable as family fantasy. Well made, mostly well-acted (Dame Helen Mirren, Jim Broadbent), from the Cornelia Funke book I confess I'd never heard of, lots of fun intertextual stuff as the premise is that certain 'silvertongues' (a ref to Lyra from Pullman?) can make stories come to life by reading them, and an overall conclusion that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword.

We then went to this 'New York Italian' affair called Frankie and Benny's, a chain, but one I'd heard was OK. It wasn't. Cold temperature, for a start, surly waiter, shit also cold calzone with processed chicked, microwaved salmon fishcakes for DW, etc. I took great pleasure in hitting the red 'no' button when prompted to pay a gratuity (though was slightly disappointed that the 'optional' 12.5% service charge hadn't been levied automatically as often happens these days as I was planning to inform them that I was opting not to pay it).

Back home for charades, Guitar Hero and Jools's Hootenanny, great fun as ever with Martha Reeves in great form, Duffy, Hold Steady (who were great) et al. We always have champagne on Christmas morning, but went for cheapish but passable cava come midnight. Largely on the basis that you aren't going to finish a whole bottle then if just en famille and that finishing yesterday's champagne the next day is an abuse, whereas with cava, no prob.

Got up, smashed a cafetiere jug to smithereens on the tiled floor, then stayed in bed till gone midday, reading Pynchon and finishing the cava in a buck's fizz - see, that's the pay-off, great way to finish up last night's fizz, will do this next year!

Resoultions:

1. Stay no. 1 poster and make sure they are frequently overlong and excessively detailed (blogs schmogs, these things are much more fun).

2. Finish Pynchon's Against The Day before Inherent Vice is published in August.

3. Use time wisely (e.g. with 1 and 2).

4. Continue to learn and be a nicer person to live with and all that.

5. Go to as many good gigs as in 2008.

6. Walk the dog more and shed some weight.

7. Get to Old Trafford at least once and ensure that Man Utd occupy a place of sufficient priority in life.

8. Think global, act local.

9. Have fewer headaches.

10. DIscover some new music I love almost as much as Fleet Foxes.

11. Be happy with the prospect of being 45!

12. See and speak to my parents more.

13. Stick to the maxim 'treat others as you would have them treat you' at all times.

14. Keep the finances under control enough to have some decent family holidays.

15. Eat 5 sufficiently good restaurtant meals to be able to post about in Dec '09 (BWAP, I am seriously underwhelmed!).

I love a good resolution, me.
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Re: New Year's Eve - Plans and Resolutions

Post by RedShoes »

I'd like 2009 to be a year of responsibility. I'd like to take better care of myself, my house, and my finances. I'm pretty happy that 2009 has begun with more money in savings than 2008 did (by $50!), but I'm hoping to see it grow quite a bit more this year and ideally see debts vanish, or at least diminish. Personally I'd like to slim down and generally feel healthier. And I'd like to have a good system to keep my house clean and comfy.
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Re: New Year's Eve - Plans and Resolutions

Post by Who Shot Sam? »

Made a nice breakfast for everyone this morning - bacon, scrambled eggs, strong coffee for the grown-ups. Also watched a load of movies and TV - the Bond flick with the Russian villain who derives sexual pleasure from strangling men to death with her thighs, Good Night, and Good Luck, I Am Legend (not generally my type of movie, but I must admit it drew me in), the Tony Bennett Spectacle (best one so far IMO) and finally a documentary about the thoroughly unpleasant Sirio Maccione, the guy who runs Le Cirque restaurant in New York.

A little bit of work to do tomorrow then I'm going to enjoy my last weekend of freedom before we plunge headlong into winter.

Funny you should mention Guitar Hero, Otis. That's what we did on Christmas at my dad's place - a nice change of pace from watching my dad sit around watching college football and drinking single malt. My stepbrother had just acquired the game for his Xbox and my wife ended up beating everyone (must be the manual dexterity from playing piano while the rest of us have no musical affinity at all). Good fun.
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Re: New Year's Eve - Plans and Resolutions

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

I love it. We got an Xbox, or rather the boys did, from Santa, but it's worth keeping the old PS2 just for Guitar Hero. I can get around 90% on Easy without stretching myself too much, but I had a quick go on Medium and the combination of using the little finger, simultaneous notes and too many notes too quickly was all too much. A 12 year old was round here recently who could get 90%+ every time in Expert. Phenomenal. He's also a good guitarist, fan of Satriani et al, but I think he's really honed his skills on GH.

Red: may I suggest your house system be called Blue? I'm sure he can be trained into it...

After posting the above, I listened to a thoroughly depressing radio show about where the economy is heading (including William Hopper, co-author of The Puritan Gift, which more or less predicted the events of 2008), and the advice was:

1. Act as if you're going to lose your job, because when you do, it will hurt less.

2. Repay as much debt as you can.

3. If British, holiday in Britain, as everywhere else will have become relatively too expensive.

My own job is, as far as anyone's can be, pretty secure, given that I publish books largely intended for export, so relative £ values look good, and that in times of hardship education remains a high priority, but we're still all vulnerable. I know someone who has a high-profile personal finance journalism role who's been given a 10% pay cut (though all the extra work the crisis has brought him means he's still doing well out of it!).

So yeah, keeping the job and staying above water is a priority, and more broadly hoping that the inevitable job losses and fallout from all this aren't going to be as horrible for so many as this show indicated they might. I hope Obama's going to be able to make the positive impact the world needs him too, and that there's some sort of move towards a global realignment of the economy along with the environment with the word Red uses, responsibility, as key. A shift in time focus from satisfying needs and wants in the here and now to a more longer term sense of continuity in the future.

The euro is 10 now and of course led to the inevitable twaddle from Conservative William Hague that Britain will never join it. Before long when the euro is worth more than the pound, the Little Englanders will look increasingly laughable. One thing I'd love to see in my own lifetime is an end to currencies altogether. Forget the euro, let's just have global money.
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Re: New Year's Eve - Plans and Resolutions

Post by miss buenos aires »

What I did on my mini-vacation:

Xmas Eve: Had my parents over for dinner, which was a first (both hosting a holiday and hosting my parents, I mean). Served French onion soup, purple potato pancakes and roasted Brussels sprouts with walnuts and balsamic vinegar.

Xmas Day: Went to my boyfriend's sister's house. Someone had the brilliant idea to give a stink bomb to a 9-year-old boy. OF COURSE he set it off immediately. I bonded with my boyfriend's nieces by letting the older ones play with my iPhone (yes, I've succumbed) and spinning the littler ones in circles until they could barely walk.

New Year's Eve: Started drinking vodka martinis at 3pm, which led to falling asleep on the couch in front of The Twilight Zone at 10. I cleverly set my alarm for 2 minutes to 12 so I could wake up and wish the boyfriend a happy new year, but it didn't go off. I didn't realize why not until New Year's Day at 11:58 AM.

Resolutions: No, thank you. Besides continuing to squirrel away as much money as I can, and working on the list, which are left over from 2008...
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Re: New Year's Eve - Plans and Resolutions

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

You and that bloody list...
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Re: New Year's Eve - Plans and Resolutions

Post by so lacklustre »

Drank litre bottle of Port with biscuits and cheese - yum yum. Don't do resoluions.
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Re: New Year's Eve - Plans and Resolutions

Post by mood swung »

Don't do resoluions.
Well, they're best not left to amateurs. But I really thought this was YOUR year to burn a pic of the pope on national television! Aim high!

BWAP, did you watch Dick Clark? I put it on a few minutes before midnight, but it was just too painful to watch. I rang it in with Carson Daly.
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Re: New Year's Eve - Plans and Resolutions

Post by Boy With A Problem »

No. We ended up with Carson Daly too - though it was just as sad as old Dick.
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Re: New Year's Eve - Plans and Resolutions

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

An aged institution, I take it. Jools Holland asked Martha Reeves how she'd normally see in the New Year and she answered that she would watch Dick Clark on the telly, and something about a ball dropping, which meant nothing to 99.9% of the viewers, me included.


So he had a stroke a few years back. Painful, as you say, Mood.
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Re: New Year's Eve - Plans and Resolutions

Post by Boy With A Problem »

Dick in better days - more than 50 years ago.

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Re: New Year's Eve - Plans and Resolutions

Post by verbal gymnastics »

I'm just resolving to live, love and laugh.

I have found that every year of my life seems to get better and better but have this horrible feeling that one day it will all come crashing spectacularly down.
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Re: New Year's Eve - Plans and Resolutions

Post by bambooneedle »

It's bad luck to tell people your resolutions...
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Re: New Year's Eve - Plans and Resolutions

Post by verbal gymnastics »

As the saying goes, if it wasn't for bad luck I wouldn't have any luck at all.
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Re: New Year's Eve - Plans and Resolutions

Post by bambooneedle »

"It never gets better or worse" :wink: .
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