It's that time of year again, and the swan song for an entire decade. Will you be heading to Times Square, a friend's house, a huge hotel bash or just staying at home and watch Seacrest continue to shamelessly destroy Dick Clark's legacy? FOCUS: What are your plans for ringing in the new decade? ALT-FOCUS: What was your most memorable New Year's Eve?
I absolutely HATE New Year's, with a passion. It's not that I'm a grouch, or a grumpy old man, but I spent many, many years working in bars as a DJ or guitar player in a band on NY Eve, and it's always been a gong show. Glorified babysitting for a bunch of idiots that pick that night to show what amateur drinkers they are. Too much drama, and I have had my fill. I'm much more open to having a few friends over, cooking an awesome meal, and cracking open a few (or a few few) bottles of nice wine, and just enjoying a quiet night in. Best New Year's Ever, though, was spent up at the top of Mount Garibaldi, with about 10 friends, winter camping. We had 4 Jeeps that we 4x4'd all day to get to the top of the mountain, and it was awesome. There was a full moon, and snow everywhere, so you could see everything. We sat around and bullshit, drank some cheap wine, and snuggled with our dates. Spent the night in tents, packed up and spent 6 hours getting back down the mountain the next day. It was awesome. Here's a pic from the mountain (not my pic, but this is Mount Garibaldi, and this was the exact place we camped)
DaddyNet pretty much summed up my feelings for the holiday, and I have taken a simliar approach over the years. Depending on what the weather does (which, down here, it can either be 80 degrees and rainy or 20 degrees and snowing this time of year), we normally load up a group of people and spend the night either in the woods at the hunting camp or in the swamp at the river camp. This year, I think its going to be a hunting camp year. I might try to shoot a small hog or something and do a pig roast. One of my best friends who is a member of the camp (and who lives his life aspiring to be Tom Cruise in "Cocktail") likes to make sushi every New Years Eve, so it will be an interesting combination, if nothing else.
Well I'm no amateur drinker, however, I'm old enough to know better but still too young to care. Heading out to Vegas for my 2nd annual drunkfest. Anyone else from here plan to be out there??
I dont really like going out on new years eve. Around here all the bars are packed with idiots and morons who get in the way of a good time. Plus it takes an hour to get a beer. I'll probably opt for having friends over and get blasted with them while we play rock band. My most memorable new years was when I was 19 and went to Canada with some buddies. Got shit faced at some club, finger banged a random on the dance floor, almost got in a few fights because we were young American idiots making fun of Canadians, had a waitress sneak us beer in coffee mugs at 3am, decided to wander to the hotel alone at 4am through dark alleys, sat on some garbage and had a smoke with some bum in the alley, finally found my hotel by walking towards the tallest building I could see, and passed out in a bed with some chick who half heartedly jerked me off in a state of semi-consciousness. Hell of a night. And hopefully I can continue my tradition of accidentally missing the countdown because I am busy pissing.
I never understood the allure of Times Square on New Years' Eve. I know a bunch of people who have done it and said they had a good time. How? How is it possible? Times Square sucks the other 364 days of the year because of the shoulder-to-shoulder foot traffic. Why would I go when there are 100 times as many people? You have to get there at least 6 fucking hours early, you can't drink in public, there's no place to piss, and when you really break it down, it's just a few thousand assholes standing around making noise for four hours. That's not a party. That's a Harry Potter book release event.
I'll be working at my second job. Probably get out before midnight and hang with the wife. Nothing flashy or extravagant. Christ, these got old a long time ago for me. I've actually never had a really memorable New Years Eve, they were all kind of the same, some random party along with the chick and a promise to God that I'd never drink again the next day.
No shit. A friend of mine went there, partied it up with a bunch of her friends, only to find out that there were no johns anywhere. Not a single porta-potty or anything similar to be seen. They ended up circling the wagons, with coats drawn, to create the Pee Circle. The sad/funny part was that when other girls saw what was going on, they all wanted to use it as well. Her friends spent about half an hour, in a circle, hiding chicks pissing in the gutters... what a wondrous New Years Eve. While I admit there may be a revenue stream and web site in there somewhere, it's not my cup of tea.
The Mrs. and I started a NYE tradition before we got married: Videos and take-out Chinese food. I rang in 1984 at Times Square with a bunch of college friends who had never been to NYC before. Eh. Wouldn't do it again. Most memorable was the first NYE out of college and a bunch of us got to together in New Haven, CT (one of the girls was a nurse at Yale Medical Center) and we crashed a corporate party at a local bar. The hosts didn't seem to mind. What made it memorable was Alma, the accordian player. Think "Disco on Lawrence Welk."
I, along with my wife who was conscripted, will be bartending at a retirement community New Years Eve party for about 220 seniors who like to get after it, they tip well so it is worth it. It is a good way to start off the new year by making money.
For 3 of the past 4 NYE's I've thrown a party at my apartment and plan on keeping up the tradition. Probably 10-15 of my best friends depending on who's in town. Of course, since everyone is gainfully employed this year we'll probably enjoy decent champagne and good beer instead of the Budweiser/Andre's combination that makes for an oh-so-pleasant New Year's day. Best New Years was sophomore year of college, the first NYE party I threw. By the end of it there were girls doing blow of the toilet lid and people running around half naked in the street out front. Both my roommate and I were on academic probation due to alcohol violations (not grades) too so if a cop had rolled by and bothered to bust us we probably would have been kicked out of school. I also lost my V-card on New Years but that wasn't as much fun overall, though she was very sweet about me lasting all of 3 seconds.
Best New Years ever was 12/31/1996 when my twin boys were born. Yep, got the tax deduction times two without the work or cost for that year. New Years plans are going to be the same as it has since 1996. I get to throw a 13th birthday party for twin smart ass boys and their friends.
This year I'll be heading up to sceneic Oshawa Ontario (motto: "You missed the turn-off for Burlington, asshole!") to see my buddy's band play (he's a former Canadian hair metal rock star). Should be fun, generally because he is completely out of his fucking mind. My favourite new year was hands down 2000. My lifelong friends took up all the apartments in a vast downtown Victorian house in London, and we threw a three-floor bash. After the clock struck 12, me and three friends stormed downtown, walking into people's houses without permission and partying with complete strangers all night. Not one person was upset about four scary looking guys kicking in their door at 2 am. It was just a great night and a great mood for everyone. I'll never forget it.
Last years trip to Miami for the Orange bowl might be outdone this year by a trip to the Big Easy and the Sugar Bowl. I spent last year drinking from 5pm to 3 am New years eve then getting up and drinking from 10 am im until 3 am after the Orange Bowl loss. I actually passed out during the game and had every person I ever knew at UC come by and take a picture with my passed out self. Turns out I didn't miss much. Four or so years ago my brother got a hotel and a few tickets to a huge Hilton (or Hyatt) party in downtown Chicago. Some how he managed to get sloppy passed out drunk an hour after we got there and his buddy took him back to the room. I proceeded to drink by myself, made out in a fuzzy daze with some random chick who got swept up by her friends while we headed to the bathroom, then I wandered the streets with some Americanized Indian dudes looking for breakfast while they tried to pick fights with random passers by. Crazy shit.
I think it's pretty commonly accepted that the older you get, your tolerance for crowds diminishes significantly, which is why New Years Eve seems to be shittier every year after your 27th birthday. I would say, however, that one of my best New Years ever was spent with an insanely large crowd. I went to Brazil (Buzios) for New Years in 2004, and despite the hundreds of thousands of people crowding the beach, it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Traditionally on New Years, everybody in Brazil wears white, and it was really cool to look out over the beach into an entire sea of people dressed in white. Everybody was partying their balls off (even young kids). It was pretty much a no-holds-barred drinking and fraternizing free-for-all. People down there are generally much prettier than we are, which also made the crowd a helluva lot more tolerable. I'd definitely do it again in a heartbeat. Uh, if my fiancee lets me.
You son of a bitch. Planned that out, didn't you? FOCUS: I'll be partying it up at Penn in Philadelphia. One of my friends owns an apartment close to campus, and we're starting there. Anyone from the board going to be in Philly?
I'll be headed to Milwaukee* for this. I think some of the proceeds go to benefit a MS research foundation. I get a free hotel room with my buddy and open bar. Of course I'll make a fool out of myself dancing around (by myself), probably hit on women that have rings on their left ring finger, and chug entirely too much cheap champagne. Yup, about par for the course. * I will NOT drink that cooled down and bottled urine, Miller Lite, though.
I was going to bite the bullet and host a party at my house this year until my buddy told me he was throwing a big bash at his company. "His company?", you may ask. How could that be fun? It'll be fun because the company he owns designs and builds these motherfuckers: It's going to be a beach/luau theme with sand, kiddie pools (some full of booze, some with jell-o perhaps) and he knows more hot women than anyone else I know. He plans on having 5-6 of these things fully inflated meaning the bikini clad hotties will have plenty of places to bounce around. Plus these make good beds at the end of the night.
I guess it being summer down here we treat New Year's Eve a little differently. Sometime after Christmas me and some friends would leave Auckland and go to the coromandal/up north/some other place that had beautiful beaches and a concert nearby. There are concerts playing around the country leading up to New Year's eve and time is spent at these concerts, drinking, swimming, and waking up at 7am because your tent is boiling hot. New Year's eve is usually the worst night during this time, because it is built up too much. But the nights leading up to it and after are some of the best times I have had. When I was 15 I made the front page of the paper (it was a small picture in the corner of the page but it still counts) after singing and dancing with the Hare Krishnahs. Another good new years period was spent camping in a friend's uncles backyard. Next to us was an RSA (Returned Services Association) and All Black Marty Holah. We would drink at the RSA early in the day/evening before we got rowdy and pissed off all the Veterans. This year will be my first New Years out of New Zealand. I will be in Koh Phangan at a full moon party with my girlfriend and some other friends. I expect to be drinking whisky by the bucket and drinking lots of mushroom shakes.
Me too. I don't love or hate New Year's anymore than any other occasion. I certainly don't go out for any event anymore, really. I guess that's just me being old. I did recently move into a new house, though, so I'm thinking about throwing a New Year's/housewarming this year. Of course, only my less rowdy friends will be invited. Getting old sucks.