And an odd one. I didn’t take New Year’s Eve day off because Jill worked the night before and slept all day, and it was pretty quiet at work. We hadn’t been invited to any parties and had tentatively decided to go out to a restaurant when we got a call Sunday from Jill’s best bud, Joanna. She was moving down to Tampa from Boston to start a program similar to Jill’s, and was going to be in our area on New Year’s Eve. So we said we’d be happy to hang out with her, and we cleaned up the place, then played with Illa and read on the couch until she showed.
It was after 10 by the time she arrived, not much time to get ready to go out and eat. So we decided to stay in. We did the rounds of appetizers thing, accompanied by plenty of fermented beverages, with Queen’s videos on the telly (why not?). With five minutes to go, we flipped between the awfulness of Carson Daly and Ryan Seacrest until the ball dropped, then I had BNL’s “Auld Lang Syne” cued up while they blathered, then we gave in and watched until we pulled out Trivial Pursuit with DVD, which should have gone faster because everyone can compete for a wedge but it didn’t, and it was 3 by the time I got to bed.
I got up around 10:30 and Joanna was up, but she went back to bed so I read the paper and started a book. Besides the usual resolutions (eat better and exercise more), one thing I want to do this year is read more books (thanks, Idiocracy!). So my goal is to read one a week, and that includes anything bound, including collections of comics (but not single issues). I caught up with my magazines on New Year’s Eve and the DVR is pretty slim (even with the new stuff I’ve subscribed to), so I’m confident I can keep the pace. And if I can’t, I should be able to catch up when we go on vacation.
Jill got up after noon, and Joanna finally roused herself after 2, and we headed over to IHOP for brunch. I had carrot cake pancakes, eggs and bacon, Jill had stuffed french toast, and everything hit the spot. Joanna headed off to her cousin’s place in DC soon after, and we camped out downstairs, Jill reading and me working my way through Super Mario Galaxy. I’m 2 galaxies down now, and while I really like the game, I’m once again developing a case of Nintendo thumb due to using the nunchuck to move. I wish there was some way to move without it, like one Wiimote to move and another to collect star bits. I started a fire then finished my book and made some quick quesadillas for dinner.
It’s weird having worked yesterday, being off today and working tomorrow, but a four day week’s better than a five day one, right? 2007 didn’t really go out with a bang, but with Jill’s car having a big repair recently we weren’t prepared to go all out, and we had fun. It was a decent year, some good concerts (detailed later this week) and good times, but a lot of pressure on Jill with school and now on rotations. At least her goal will be achieved this year, and the end is in sight. But look out 2009!