New Year's Eve's Eve

So, do you have plans for New Year's Eve?

We kind of coasted into our plans this year. I don't know about you, but it's not one of my favorite holidays. I mean, what's the big deal? I like a day or two off work as much as the next guy, but how 'bout one in the middle of January, a month otherwise bereft of holidays, instead of less than a week after Christmas? Yeah, it's the day we switch from the used up calendar to the spiffy new one, but that mainly means I have to remember to finish 20__ with 04 on my checks now. Woo. Hoo.

In recent years, we usually went out for dinner with friends and celebrated the ringing of midnight at whichever restaurant/bar we were at. But the service is always terrible and the food usually sucks on New Year's Eve (it's one of the two busiest days of the year for food service, along with Valentine's Day) and I really don't feel like paying $75-100 for a meal and a champagne toast at the end of the night. I'm not fond of champagne, and by the time midnight rolls around I've usually had a couple drinks of something else, so the bubbly just serves to upset my stomach. Woozy nausea ensues, and I end up puking or feeling like I need to. No fun.

Last year we made dinner at Mike & Em's and watched the fireworks around town from their 41st floor balcony. Lots of fun, far cheaper and more our speed. The Purvi aren't able to host this year and we've been invited to a couple other people's places, so we'll be doing a little party hopping this time around. Thank god for the penny rides on the El; no need to catch a cab or worry about drunk drivers the way we're travelling. Hope yours is safe, too.

Posted by Andrew Huff at December 30, 2003 02:43 PM