The peculiar optimism of New Year’s Day
Shelley Powers has a wonderful post about the optimism inherent in New Year’s Day. Personally, I couldn’t see the back of 2002 fast enough. It was not a pleasant year. Six months of unemployment. More time spent with doctors in the past few months than in the previous ten years put together. Problems at my new job (if you know me, you probably know what I’m talking about here.) If years had graves, I would dance on 2002’s. 2003 has to be better. After all, I’m getting married this year; that alone guarantees 2003 will be a positive experience.
I spent New Year’s Eve, 2002, quietly, watching the Peach Bowl while Laura slept off some kind of sick feeling she had, then logging on to IRC to wish a few friends a Happy New Year and make some smartassed comments, and finally hitting the sack around 11 to greet the departure of the old year by studying the insides of my eyelids.
My favorite New Year’s song (not that there are many) is Scrawl’s "11:59 (It’s January)", which has the following line that seems particularly well suited to my feelings on the coming of a new year:
It was a good year because it was such a bad year that this year could only be better.
Happy New Year, everyone.
Posted at 12:32 PM