New Year's Eve

The end of an old year, the start of a new one. (Or at least, the calendar tells us; for me, it often feels more that the new year starts when the new academic year starts).

No one in my family really does the stay-up-late thing. We're all (pretty much) early risers, so a midnight bedtime seems far too late. We may have a bottle of sparkling juice (because of various medications various people are on, and because of the fact that I find migraines are triggered by alcoholic beverages, champagne is out) with dinner, and a few years we've done popcorn and sparkling juice (I know it sounds weird together, but popcorn has always been considered sort of a festive treat in my family) around 10 pm or so, and then all gone off to bed.

Usually my mother and I go to the Sewing Studio's New Year's Day sale the next morning, and while they start the sale later now than they did in past years (A few years they opened at 7 am, and had the best discounts then), still, it's better NOT to stay up late.

And besides, for me, I find it better to welcome the first day of a new year alert and clearheaded than to spend excessive amounts of time bidding the old one goodbye. I suppose it's that by the time most years come to an end I'm ready to see them gone, but the new year still feels full of hope and promise and I want to get out into it and start DOING things.

I guess 2011 wasn't all bad. Yes, a few people I cared about left this plane of existence, there was bad news globally and locally (when is there NOT?). But this was also the year I officially became Full Professor, so there's that.

I hope 2012 is a better year for many, many people than 2011 was.