i is risen! i haven't died for anyone's sins and been reborn, or even really recovered from recent seasonal festivities, but i've been back at work for two days and am attempting to post, and that's something. apologies to those of you who continue to expect phone calls and messages from my sorry ass; what with the driving all over arizona with the in-laws and and the crawling all over new york city with my little sister and her boyfriend - and the running all over the damn place at the gym! nineteen times since quitting smoking! - i've been busy.
i've never been a big fan of the when harry met sally (or 200 cigarettes, or insert-movie-with-splashy-manhattan-party-here) approach to new year's eve. for one thing, the missus despises ritualized public displays of affection, and kissing him at midnight is like kissing your twelve-year-old son goodbye when you drop him off at junior high. for another, the nonsense in times square has gotten so overblown that streets are blocked off (in the afternoon!) as far west as eighth avenue and as far north as...something north of us in the 50s. i was too annoyed by having to prove my residence just to come back home from the grocery store to venture far beyond the door after dark. we went to a wee party at our friends' new apartment in brooklyn heights (a thousand square feet! we must leave manhattan posthaste!), gathered around the TV for a minute or two on either side of the ball drop, and streamed up to the roof for distant fireworks. the night's real and unexpected treat, for me at least: an unearthly garland of sounds that seemed to come from warehouses a mile away and lasted for twenty minutes after twelve. some were deep and mournful, like organ music, electric whalesong; others were higher and more insistent, like train whistles or coyotes. no oboe, george insisted, though i definitely heard oboe. he noted that it was awesome, and i agreed.
and how did you spend the evening?
They imposed the smoking ban at midnight here. So I was there.
ReplyDelete(I learned last year that NYE truly is amateur hour, as they say. The more organized events are (by and large) frat parties for people over 50, with a $100 price tag. Pass.)
Of course, it was going to be an early night for me anyway, as I had to fly to Kansas City the next day for a court hearing on Wednesday.
(Boy. Do not go to Kansas City on New Year's Day. Dead as a doornail. April or May, before it gets too hot out? Sure. Probably quite pleasant, actually--lotsa parks and fun stuff around town. But not New Year's Day. No hair of the dog. The dog had a bad attitude and took off your arm.)
"there" = my local (with the poorly-manufactured electronic dart board)
ReplyDeleteerhm, i was busy playing "rock band" (nix the earlier belief that i was going to be playing guitar hero, and rock band is a helluva time with a gang of people) with deborah & gabe & their friends. we also watched the ball drop "in nyc" at "midnight" pst. gabe lit a firework (he only had one) and we all ate brownies and drank apple/pear/peach/orange sparkling beverages. pretty tame, but it made me happy. :)
ReplyDeleteso, any theories as to the source of those peculiar (albeit awesome) sounds? ships? a herd of gargantuan tubas? an art collective doing something "arty" in greenpoint? guerilla advertising for cloverfield?
ReplyDeletethat last would be disappointing, but would not surprise me in any way.
after chocolate fondue, we opened a bottle of champagne at 9pm (ostensibly to celebrate the new year on the east coast); the bottle was still half full when our houseguests turned in at 11. baby j woke up just before midnight, so we welcomed '08 as a family.
ReplyDeleteis it wrong that we finished the champagne with lunch the next day? we're so old.
begged off of two parties, and instead had a late dinner at our favorite restaurant in providence. returned home just before midnight to watch the ball drop on tv. skipped the champagne (actually prosecco) in the fridge. new year's day at the huge outlet mall in wrentham (new indoor soccer shoes! and a silicone pot cover/trivet!). i think this makes us the oldest farts in the comments section.
ReplyDelete@g: i thought local bloggers would be all over the weird sound - lord knows they post like fiends when one of the ever-so-often strange smells (maple sugar mystery of '05, anyone?) is afoot - but i can't find anything. some researcher i am.
ReplyDeletei confess that i would be somewhat flattered if a viral marketer bothered to target random brooklynites on a rooftop. i decided this morning that i might be willing to go see cloverfield, despite j.j. abrams's previous epic disaster disasters (see: rimbaldi 'zombies' in the alias series finale) - coincidence?
let's just be grateful that something gave us the opportunity to use sweet phrases like "herd of gargantuan tubas."
@valya: aw, i love that baby j was up for the new year! assuming that he didn't keep you up for the rest of the night, that is. i think you still get credit for the champers. you could always pass it off as "still drinking the next day!"
@jacob: you might win, but i'm jealous. i need new shoes.
@all: preemptive apologies for a huge kidchamp hiccup - i discovered after i posted this entry yesterday that my offsite FTP stuff in blogger is hopelessly tangled (authentication refused repeatedly, though i hadn't touched a thing) and i can't edit the site or add new posts as a result. i'd have tweaked the weird grammar of this post's last sentence LONG ago, believe you me.
Watched Viva Las Vegas with my folks and fell asleep by 11. That Ann Margaret has spunk.
ReplyDeleteall hail paul, who resuscitated my internets. the last sentence is still questionable, but but less so than it was, and hey!
ReplyDeletedanced to the best of our college years at a very college-y bar, chosen last-minute, in chicago...we celebrated east coast new year's more energetically than central-time new year's, which means we're either nostalgic for new york or we're just crotchety and aged. the best part of the evening was what bracketed said college-y bar: really yummy dinner and then late champagne by the fireplace on our friends' couch. (lau, leaving manhattan makes sense: more than 1000 square feet AND fireplace in chicago!).
ReplyDeleteaha, our friend dave solved the noise mystery! from time out's guide to festivities:
ReplyDeleteFor a serene start to the year, you can catch the Liberty Island and New Jersey fireworks, and hear the ships blast their horns to welcome 2008, at Rockefeller Park in Battery Park City. Bundle up, bring snacks and flasks, and pat yourself on the back for dodging the heaving crowds at nearby Battery Park. Hudson River, near Murray St and Park Pl West (bpcparks.org).