New Years Eve

What are your plans for New Years Eve?

Will it be a big night out at a club? Or quiet evening at home with the family? Maybe you'll be attending a house party and just hang with friends? Will you have dinner out or stay in? Will you drink too much? Will you make resolutions? Will you get kissed at midnight? What do you think it will be like?

When I was in college, New Years Eve was always a big production. It was a big night of partying. It didn't necessarily mean there was a lot of planning involved; things just evolved. My best memories of New Years Eve have always been in Austin. There's something magical for me in that city as the year changes. It all started in my first year in college (1995) when Summer and I stayed with Joey. The whole weekend surrounding New Years was incredible and I most certainly fell in love. His name was Gabe. It was forbidden love (complicated at the time, very silly in retrospect), but we kissed for New Years. It was bliss.

Later on in college, once I was old enough to drink, Autumn and I made our yearly trek to Austin on New Years Eve. We always ended up on Sixth Street, where there are dozens of bars to choose from. It typically didn't matter which bar we ended up at as long as we were together. I have a lot of fond memories of those various New Years, but the exact numbers and order get muddled in my mind. It probably doesn't matter it's the memories that cound. I remember the year we partied with Kris and Taylor. They had just moved into their apartment in south Austin. I work high heels with fur on the toes. We drank at the Aqua Lounge where the bartender would spit fire. There was the year I got a speeding ticket between Kerrville and Austin on a little two lane highway. I think that same year we met up with Chris and Cody, but not until well after midnight. There was the year of the new millenium and there were so many people in the streets I thought I was going to get trampled. There was the year we drank at the Blind Pig and Autumn argued with a "friend" all night long. I remember being particularly sober that year and having a conversation with another sober stranger about herding cats after the bars closed.

Kris was also a regular fixture at New Years Eve. How many years in a row did we end up spending together? I can't remember, but I think maybe last year was the first time we didn't spend it together. Kris was often with Autumn and I in Austin. One year, Kris and I celebrated in a mansion in Dallas. A friend was dating a millionare and we got invited to the party. It was fabulous yet I felt distinctly out of place at the same time. Another year, we spent a very relaxed New Years Eve at Kris' house drinking champagne, eating chocolate covered strawberries, and watching Sex and the City.

This year's New Years Eve plans aren't set yet. I'll keep you posted.

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