Thinking back on the past decade, I can summerize it like this: I've loved some, I've laughed some, I've cried some, I've sighed some. I've had great times with great friends and family. I've taken loads of pictures, so that over the years, I can look back on all of it, reminisce, and smile. I've said goodbye to two adored grandmothers, and hello to a niece and a nephew. I've gotten older, and hopefully at least a little bit wiser. I've made new friends, have kept old friends, all of whom I cherish dearly. I've learnt that as bad as things get, they always get better, and that hope equals happiness. And I have basked in the knowledge that I am one heck of a lucky girl, to be surrounded by such lovely and loving people!
Overall, it's been a great 10 years!
Here's looking forward to the next great decade......
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Happy New Year!
New Year's Eve brings out the worst in us. Or in some of us, anyway. And I shouldn't really say that it's New Year's Eve that does it, I should blame the alcohol consumed on New Year's. Which, in my case, always exceeds the usual amount I tend to drink, which lately, has been nearly nothing.
I have a friend who is an amazing DJ. His wife is an amazing party-planner. They are the most fun, the most caring, the most wonderful couple! They're so incredibly in love with each other, with life, with their friends, and with having a good time. So where he DJ's on New Years Eve, is always where I want to be. Because I know that the night will be a good one. With good friends, great music, and a good time had by all.
And this year, like the last 2 which were also spent in their company, New Year's Eve did not disappoint!
The night was a mix of constantly exclaming "Oh, I love this song!" as we moved our hips to and fro, of watching each other deteriorate into childish drunken semi-fools, and of taking lots and lots of silly-posed pictures which will never be shown, posted or printed. But boy are they fun to look at the next day, as I sigh to myself, laugh outloud, and think "ooooh, goodness".
This year, soon after midnight, a nice young man and I chatted at the bar. I say "nice" because he was nice. And I say "young" because he was young. Very young. He was 25. And he was quite keen on flirting. I kept laughing (or it should have been a laugh, but the vodka kept morphing it into a goofy type of girlie-giggle instead). It felt silly, flirting back with him. He was cute, but he was such a boy! He was very charming, very sweet, very doting, and I just kept giggling. I kept telling him he was such a "good boy" because he was kind, and making sure that his group of friends and I were well looked after (meaning that our glasses were full. Which probably makes him more of a bad boy, than a good boy, but I didn't quite grasp that, at the time). It turned out, we both went to the same University in New York. Yay! Something in common! That seemed to excite him, as though it gave him an "in", something to talk about. "Except that I was there before you were born" I said, deflating his bubble of flirtatiousness slightly. "Ah!" he replied "I knew the age thing would come up" he said. And then, to my Mrs Robinsonesque surprise, he continued with "I really don't care about age. See, I'm in my sexual prime, and you're in yours. So it's actually perfect!". Mmm hmm. Interesting. "Now let's agree not to mention age again" he proclaimed, ending that discussion. He was quite forthright.... for a boy. It made him seem almost a little bit manly. I giggled again, in a way which made me seem a little bit girlie.
A few seconds after that discussion, his friend said to him "how old is this girl?!". It was within my earshot, seeing as I was standing right there. This girl, I thought to myself, is a woman, thank you very much. I'm not old, I'm just older than you chickadees. "What did your friend just ask you?" I asked, my ego slightly bruised. "Nothing.... ignore him... he's just being beligerant" he said. "Beligerant?!" I repeated, quite impressed, thinking to myself that that's a big word, for such a little boy to know. Sigh, it just seemed so wrong to be flirting with... a junior mint.
Somehow, in my mildly intoxicated state, that nicname came to mind, and it stuck. I had gone to the washroom at one point, and heading back to the bar area where I had left him, I thought to myself "where's Junior Mint?". Oh goodness. It makes me shake my head in shame.
It was a fun night, all in all. Full of silliness, good fun, good laughs. At the end of the night, Junior Mint wanted me to join him and his pack of fellow Junior Mints at their hotel for an after-party. Nope, I said, I was going to be joining my friends for our annual New Year's late-night bite. He didn't seem to understand why I would choose food at 4am, over a potential fling. He didn't quite get that flirting with him for a few hours was fun for me, but that's where it ended. The idea of anything more than that was really not the least bit enticing.
My friends and I went for food, discussed the evening, shared a few laughs, and we went home. Another great night! Another year ended. A new one has begun...
I woke up the next morning, and did what I do every January 1st. I leaned over to get my camera, and had a look at the evidence from the night before. I hadn't drank that much, I knew exactly what I was doing at all time, and yet somehow, in the pictures the next day, we all seem different than we did the night before, looking at it through sober-coloured glasses. The poses we make, the looks on our faces, the vacuous looks in our eyes. I hadn't noticed any of it the night before. I laughed... and laughed, and laughed some more. It was all in good fun, all within reasonable limits of acceptable behaviour, and... none of it will be posted on Facebook.
I called my friend Dave in the afternoon. He is my long-distance best friend, and confidante. He is my conscience, in a way. My "Dear Diary" friend. He's never judgmental, always eager to laugh with me, even when he's laughing at me. He knows me well, and he often gets a telephonic next-day low-down, after a particularly fun night out. So I called him yesterday, on New Year's Day.
I told him about Junior Mint. "Sounds like you were a true cougar last night" he said, fittingly. Sigh.......... Yup, I guess I was. Or could have been, had I acted on it. It was fun, I told him, but it felt a bit pathetic, and silly, to be flirting with someone so young. "Why?" he asked, sounding surprised, since for him, flirting with a cute 25 year old would be a welcome boost to his ego. "I don't want to be kissing a cub in a club" I said. "I am ready to have a baby, not date one". That last bit made him cringe.
Looking back on the night, which was only just 2 nights ago, but feels like another dimension, makes me smile, and it makes me laugh. New Year's Eve is always an exception, for me. The night where I allow things to happen, which wouldn't normally. Where I let myself regress slightly. I talk to people I wouldn't normally talk to (like Nick, who bought me a shot, asked if I was Greek, and then had nothing more to say. But who got a Happy New Year hug anyway). New Year's Eve is always fun. They have all been great. All been silly. All been memorable.
Yesterday, New Year's day, was great. Full of delighted sighs and smiles, and story-telling. And now today, January 2nd, it's time to act my age again. To put things into perspective, and to think back on the year that was. To be thankful for the things that matter: that my health is in tact. That I have a wonderful family, who occasionally drive me nuts, but who are there for me, and with me, through all the good and the bad. And for a beyond-wonderful chosen family: my dear friends! I have been so so lucky, to have met and made friends with the most inspiring, stimulating, heart-warming people. I thank my lucky stars for them constantly! I am thankful for the life I have and hope that it stays this good, that this new year will be full of good moments, good fortune and happiness, for myself, and for those I care about. And finally, I'm thankful for the ability to hope. And for the continued hope that true love awaits. That somewhere out there, someone out there, is the person I am meant to be with, the man who I am meant for, and who is meant for me. And maybe, just maybe, this will be the year I find him....
Happy 2010!!! May all your dreams and wishes come true!!!
I have a friend who is an amazing DJ. His wife is an amazing party-planner. They are the most fun, the most caring, the most wonderful couple! They're so incredibly in love with each other, with life, with their friends, and with having a good time. So where he DJ's on New Years Eve, is always where I want to be. Because I know that the night will be a good one. With good friends, great music, and a good time had by all.
And this year, like the last 2 which were also spent in their company, New Year's Eve did not disappoint!
The night was a mix of constantly exclaming "Oh, I love this song!" as we moved our hips to and fro, of watching each other deteriorate into childish drunken semi-fools, and of taking lots and lots of silly-posed pictures which will never be shown, posted or printed. But boy are they fun to look at the next day, as I sigh to myself, laugh outloud, and think "ooooh, goodness".
This year, soon after midnight, a nice young man and I chatted at the bar. I say "nice" because he was nice. And I say "young" because he was young. Very young. He was 25. And he was quite keen on flirting. I kept laughing (or it should have been a laugh, but the vodka kept morphing it into a goofy type of girlie-giggle instead). It felt silly, flirting back with him. He was cute, but he was such a boy! He was very charming, very sweet, very doting, and I just kept giggling. I kept telling him he was such a "good boy" because he was kind, and making sure that his group of friends and I were well looked after (meaning that our glasses were full. Which probably makes him more of a bad boy, than a good boy, but I didn't quite grasp that, at the time). It turned out, we both went to the same University in New York. Yay! Something in common! That seemed to excite him, as though it gave him an "in", something to talk about. "Except that I was there before you were born" I said, deflating his bubble of flirtatiousness slightly. "Ah!" he replied "I knew the age thing would come up" he said. And then, to my Mrs Robinsonesque surprise, he continued with "I really don't care about age. See, I'm in my sexual prime, and you're in yours. So it's actually perfect!". Mmm hmm. Interesting. "Now let's agree not to mention age again" he proclaimed, ending that discussion. He was quite forthright.... for a boy. It made him seem almost a little bit manly. I giggled again, in a way which made me seem a little bit girlie.
A few seconds after that discussion, his friend said to him "how old is this girl?!". It was within my earshot, seeing as I was standing right there. This girl, I thought to myself, is a woman, thank you very much. I'm not old, I'm just older than you chickadees. "What did your friend just ask you?" I asked, my ego slightly bruised. "Nothing.... ignore him... he's just being beligerant" he said. "Beligerant?!" I repeated, quite impressed, thinking to myself that that's a big word, for such a little boy to know. Sigh, it just seemed so wrong to be flirting with... a junior mint.
Somehow, in my mildly intoxicated state, that nicname came to mind, and it stuck. I had gone to the washroom at one point, and heading back to the bar area where I had left him, I thought to myself "where's Junior Mint?". Oh goodness. It makes me shake my head in shame.
It was a fun night, all in all. Full of silliness, good fun, good laughs. At the end of the night, Junior Mint wanted me to join him and his pack of fellow Junior Mints at their hotel for an after-party. Nope, I said, I was going to be joining my friends for our annual New Year's late-night bite. He didn't seem to understand why I would choose food at 4am, over a potential fling. He didn't quite get that flirting with him for a few hours was fun for me, but that's where it ended. The idea of anything more than that was really not the least bit enticing.
My friends and I went for food, discussed the evening, shared a few laughs, and we went home. Another great night! Another year ended. A new one has begun...
I woke up the next morning, and did what I do every January 1st. I leaned over to get my camera, and had a look at the evidence from the night before. I hadn't drank that much, I knew exactly what I was doing at all time, and yet somehow, in the pictures the next day, we all seem different than we did the night before, looking at it through sober-coloured glasses. The poses we make, the looks on our faces, the vacuous looks in our eyes. I hadn't noticed any of it the night before. I laughed... and laughed, and laughed some more. It was all in good fun, all within reasonable limits of acceptable behaviour, and... none of it will be posted on Facebook.
I called my friend Dave in the afternoon. He is my long-distance best friend, and confidante. He is my conscience, in a way. My "Dear Diary" friend. He's never judgmental, always eager to laugh with me, even when he's laughing at me. He knows me well, and he often gets a telephonic next-day low-down, after a particularly fun night out. So I called him yesterday, on New Year's Day.
I told him about Junior Mint. "Sounds like you were a true cougar last night" he said, fittingly. Sigh.......... Yup, I guess I was. Or could have been, had I acted on it. It was fun, I told him, but it felt a bit pathetic, and silly, to be flirting with someone so young. "Why?" he asked, sounding surprised, since for him, flirting with a cute 25 year old would be a welcome boost to his ego. "I don't want to be kissing a cub in a club" I said. "I am ready to have a baby, not date one". That last bit made him cringe.
Looking back on the night, which was only just 2 nights ago, but feels like another dimension, makes me smile, and it makes me laugh. New Year's Eve is always an exception, for me. The night where I allow things to happen, which wouldn't normally. Where I let myself regress slightly. I talk to people I wouldn't normally talk to (like Nick, who bought me a shot, asked if I was Greek, and then had nothing more to say. But who got a Happy New Year hug anyway). New Year's Eve is always fun. They have all been great. All been silly. All been memorable.
Yesterday, New Year's day, was great. Full of delighted sighs and smiles, and story-telling. And now today, January 2nd, it's time to act my age again. To put things into perspective, and to think back on the year that was. To be thankful for the things that matter: that my health is in tact. That I have a wonderful family, who occasionally drive me nuts, but who are there for me, and with me, through all the good and the bad. And for a beyond-wonderful chosen family: my dear friends! I have been so so lucky, to have met and made friends with the most inspiring, stimulating, heart-warming people. I thank my lucky stars for them constantly! I am thankful for the life I have and hope that it stays this good, that this new year will be full of good moments, good fortune and happiness, for myself, and for those I care about. And finally, I'm thankful for the ability to hope. And for the continued hope that true love awaits. That somewhere out there, someone out there, is the person I am meant to be with, the man who I am meant for, and who is meant for me. And maybe, just maybe, this will be the year I find him....
Happy 2010!!! May all your dreams and wishes come true!!!
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