After a tumultuous exchange with Nick earlier in the night, he reluctantly ended up joining his dad, Gary, and myself for New Year’s Eve in New York City at the annual Gov’t Mule NYE fest at the Beacon.

We arrived via mass transportation (translation - the bus) at the Port Authority (PA) along with several hundred other soon-to-be revelers. Surprisingly, traffic was exceptionally light (possibly everyone was using mass transportation, too?), and we made it in under an hour. Impressive!

With extra time on our hands, we decided to grab a quick bite to eat before the show (the real reason was to have something to absorb the alcohol which was about to be consumed), and ended up at a pizza joint inside the PA. Nick grabbed a couple of slices while I went for the pasta primavera. I only mention this because - for fast food coming from the PA - it was pretty damned good.

Bellies full, we started to walk over to the subway to catch the No.1 train. I figured it’d be a good idea to use the bathrooms before we left the PA, and made my way to the ladies’ room. In the bathroom, there was a small line. Looking around, I noticed there were open stalls, but nobody was going in them.

Moi: Is someone else waiting?
Lady #1: No, some stalls don’t have any toilet paper.
Moi: Oh, I see.

Next in line, I waited patiently for a stall to open up.

Moi (talking to lady in line behind me): You’d think they would’ve stocked this up good tonight.
Lady #2: Yeah, no kidding.

Ah, my turn. I walk into the stall, and with a flash of brilliance, turn back to the lady behind me.

As we enter the year 2008, I repeat my same wish as last year - for there’s not one better that I’ve yet to come across. In the wise words of whomever is the original author, herein is my wish (customary to our Chinese friends, the year of the Rat):

May peace break into your house and may thieves come to steal your debts.
May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet for $100 bills.
May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips!
May your clothes smell of success like smoking tires and may happiness slap you across the face, and may your tears be that of joy.
May the problems you had forget your home address!
In simple words …May 2008 be the best year of your life!!!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Doesn’t it seem like we just rolled into 2007? I still remember the hangover - vividly.

Reflecting back on the past 12 months, I ask myself - what have I accomplished this year? Let’s see, of my initial goals:

• Spend more time away from my desk than I do at it. After a great start, I estimate I spent approximately 52% of my time away from my desk, so I don’t consider it a success. I tried, really I did! Part of the downfall could be the memory foam leather desk chair I bought mid-year. It’s also a great recliner and, with the memory foam, fits my body to a tee - beckoning come hither, relax. So, I did, frequently.
• Spend more time in the gym and on the courts. Well, I sprained both ankles last year playing racquetball. Both you ask? Yep. After spraining the first one, I kept playing anyways - favoring the injured one. That just increased the stress on the other until it finally gave, too. Three weeks on crutches and air braces later, I recovered - and tried to get back on the courts. One attempt was enough to realize it wasn’t going to happen. Sometimes just the act of walking will cause an ankle twist. So, I have - unhappily - given up racquetball. As well, I cancelled my membership at the gym, and gained 5 pounds in the process (damn that perimenopause).
• Discover at least ten new places this year. I did a lot of exploring this year and exceeded my goal by discovering about 20 new places - some local, some distant in the following states: New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Georgia. Traveling to and from the destinations were half the fun; one such example described here. Each new destination also provided a great set of memories, some which can’t be shared publicly - but will be stored in my mind for later recall.
• Be the best damned lush I possibly can be. Okay, to clarify this one - I wasn’t looking to become an alcoholic, just a good social drinker. Happy to report this I did successfully achieve. We started the LLC - Lunch Lush Club. The LLC wasn’t just lunch though, we’d socialize after work, too. You know you’ve succeeded when you can walk into any given restaurant/lounge and the staff already knows what you want without you having to request it. Yes, life is good. Cheers!
• Learn basic Italian (will need this for an upcoming journey). Luigi, my instructor, says I’m doing great! Then again, he’s on an audiotape, he’ll say anything!
• Rediscover the lost passion for cooking. Yeah, okay. I’m content in the knowledge that Martha Stewart I’m not, nor ever will be. I accept that. I used to love to cook, and bake. Now, not so much. After coming home from a long day of work, it’s not the joy of my life to stand in a kitchen and cook. After doing the math, I discovered I’d rather pay someone else to cook and clean up afterwards for me - so we ate out more than we ate in during the past year. I did shock my son when, a few times, I was overcome with the urge to cook - and he benefited with a home-cooked meal. Poor kid. I’m hoping he’ll get inspired and want to start cooking for me.
• Photograph more ‘living sculptures’. I did do a lot of photography this year, but didn’t shoot any living sculptures. What is a living sculpture? Multiple people posed in varying forms that create a composite shape. The original intent was to get the kids together with a Twister mat, and let them go wild. Well, I’m still aiming to do that; the outtakes are what will be the best shots.
• Spotlight a minimum of 10 new upcoming artists. I love music. All types of music. There’s nothing more exciting than discovering new talent that I otherwise may have missed out on. For the past couple of years, I’ve published a series of spotlights on different artists. Some you may know, and some you may want to get to know. Each spotlight contains audio and/or video clips, so you can get a taste of what they have to offer, musically. I fell way below the mark on this with only two completed. Currently, I have others in various stages of draft, and will publish them in the coming year.

Overall, I feel good about what I did accomplish during 2007. While I didn’t achieve success on everything, I did make an effort and put a dent in each goal. Then again, I didn’t set any that were unattainable, and instead were realistic.

I haven’t put too much thought into my goals for the coming year, but plan to over the next couple of days. Like last year’s, they - too - will be realistic. I do know one of the top items will be to survive perimenopause! These hot flashes are enticing me to move to a colder clime.

So, how did you fare this year, and what goals do you have for 2008?

This year, Gary, Nick and myself spent New Year’s Eve in Manhattan, and had such an amazing, memorable time. We were down the street from Times Square; but were at the Beacon partying down (for the second year in a row. Hop over to Mule-A-Go-Go NYE for last year’s roundup) with Gov’t Mule and friends: Gregg Allman & friends; Devon Allman and his band, Honeytribe, Gordie Johnson; John Popper; Machan; and Toots Hibbert. I spent the better part of the night backstage, reacquainting myself with some amazing folks, while meeting and making new friends, too.

The show was incredible - three stellar sets. The crowd was explosive.

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Mule kicked us off with a mellow groovin’ Thorazine Shuffle, and then proceeded to thrill us, shake us, electrify us, groove us, and leave us spellbound with such offerings as: She Said, She Said, Whiter Shade of Pale, Unring the Bell, Reggae Soulshine, A Million Miles From Yesterday, Feel So Bad, and Dreams. Toots Hibbert added a reggae flavor to the night, and Gregg & Friends took the stage with Sweet Feeling and Just Like a Woman. Mule then rejoined the stage with Gregg for a couple more - including Just Like a Woman. John’s harp, and Gordie’s guitar provided additional dimension to an already stellar lineup - making the final show of 2006 one to remember.

The evening was the best New Year’s ever! Midnight toasts of Moet & Chandon White Star and Jack & Coke, balloons dropping from the ceiling, and confetti streaming through the theater, and a uniquely fragrant scent imparting a contact high upon all those capable of breathing. Nick managed to hold out until around 2:30ish in the morning (by which time he was worn out).

We made some new friends, ran into some old friends, and took away memories that we’ll always treasure. (Click on the pictures - you’ll see the guys hugging the stage [left front] - they were up front and personal. Why am I not there, too? I was backstage, away from the limelights.)

Upon walking out of the theater after the show, we discovered it was raining. Gar managed to ‘hijack’ a taxi (not really, seize is more the right word) back to the hotel. The driver was determined he wasn’t picking up any fares, stating “oh no, no, no!” Gar was determined he was - telling us “get in the car.” We won.