When I was younger, so much younger than before, New Year's Eve was a big deal. After college, my college friends and I would throw down these big, epic ragers that live on in infamy. They were such a big deal that we decided to pack it up for a few days and go up to Bear Valley. We'd rent two or three cabins and party non-stop. We partied so hard and so well that all of us have pretty much eliminated ourselves from elective office. Videos and photos do exist.

We even had a New Year's Tradition. For the party seeing 1991 turn into 1992, the women-folk got pissed at the men-folk's desire to crank up the Grateful Dead's New Years Eve concerts and conspired to take over the stereo and crank Madonna's "Holiday" as the New Year began. It was at the same party where someone brought a cigar box full of joints and handed them out to everyone with the stipulation that they couldn't smoke it till Midnight. Midnight came, the joints got lit and Madonna came on. Ever since that party, "Holiday" was the song that got played every New Year.

As we got older, though, the partying slowed down a bit. Too many people didn't want to deal with the trip and the partying. Actually, the biggest complaint was that there weren't enough beds and it was too difficult to get any sleep during those days. So we stopped going up to Bear Valley and brought it back to the City. Those were fun too, but not nearly the non-stop bacchanalia's as before. They were fun enough, though, even though my roommates would throw parties in the apartment I lived in, full-on ragers with DJ's, lots of people on X and my bedroom turned into a dance floor, I'd go hang with my friends. The only year I was planning on going to the party in my apartment, I came down with the flu and spent it on a friend's bed watching "Lethal Weapon III" (God, what an awful movie).

For the Millennium, my friends and I got all gussied up in Tuxes and went to some big Society type thing at the Culinary Academy. The food was yummy, the drinks cheap, but I mainly remember that night for facing the dilemma of not knowing what to do when some woman I was chatting up told me she worked for a Republican congressman- a really Conservative one too. I did what I had to do- I bailed. The year after that, to usher in 2001, Homey and his roommates threw another legendary party, the highlight of which was the throwing of a TV from the balcony into the backyard at the stroke of midnight. Now that's something you don't see every day.

Last year, I went and hung with the college friends again. This time, it was a little different than before. I realized pretty early on that all of the women there were either married with kids or pregnant. Kind of fun, but not really. Especially considering that the partying didn't really start til the kids were fast asleep. That year I decided I wasn't going to do the New Year's thing with the College friends again. I love them all, but it's just not the same.

So now this year rolls around. It's New Year's Eve. It's the big night. Or, at least, it's supposed to be a Big Night. In a way, New Year's Eve is way over-hyped. We're supposed to have one of these epic nights, like when you party like Romans or run through a rain-storm to tell Sally that you love her, but in most cases, it's never like that. Luckily, I've had pretty good times on New Year's Eve, but as I talked to other people this week, most people haven't been so lucky.

This year, I got nothing. College friends and their babies are in SB, don't know what's up with my old roommates, and my other friends had kind of meh plans. That is the few who I talked to because I didn't really have time to deal with figuring out plans this year. Crazy thing about my job is that things have been so busy at work that it's almost like the holidays don't exist. So I'm staying in tonight. Kind of all bah-humbuggy about the New Year's thing. All this despite the fact that from everywhere outside my window, I can hear people partying like it's 2002. And all this despite the voice in my head telling me what it tells everyone else, that it's New Year's Eve and it's a BIG DEAL.

Thing is, I'm kind of okay with it. I'm tired, a little burnt-out, and feeling kind of schleppy. Today was a long, hellish day at work and there was two-hours of Buffy on. Besides, as I said, there wasn't really that much I could find to do.

Still, I wonder- is this just a sign that I'm getting older or a sign that I'm a loser?

Anyways, happy New Year.

Holiday, celebrate. Holiday, celebrate.

If we took a holiday, took some time to celebrate,
Just one day out of life, it would be, it would be so nice.

Everybody spread the word, we're gonna have a celebration,
All across the world, in every nation.
It's time for the good times, forget about the bad times, oh yeah,
One day to come together, to release the pressure, we need a holiday.