Peer pressure and staying home on new years (for those home tonight)

[The Straight Story]

You see the images. Times square. Parties at bars on TV. Images of people hosting nice parties in their fine homes.

And then, you see yourself. Home tonight.

Here I am, my wife tired and ill and already in bed. My neighbor's oldest daughter is over playing with my young daughter. Both my neighbor and her husband are tired and may not be up much later.

So I may well ring in the new year alone at my computer. And I wonder - why the hell do people feel bad about such things?

And I have heard that before 'I just wish we were like other people' - the people we see on TV. My X wife was like that. To her 'normal' is what she saw and not what she lived. Some people feel less about themselves if they are not living the image they see day in and out on TV and in magazines ('have a great new year's party, here's how', etc and so on).

I have a great wife. A beautiful daughter. And hope for 2007. I have friends on DU whom I have never met, yet who have made my life better.

Normal today is not the normal of yesterday or what we see on TV. This is, soon, 2007 - and I am happy to be spending it as I am. Here with you, knowing my wife is getting the rest she needs, that my daughter is playing with a friend, and that somewhere out there I can spend a great new year's eve with people all over the US and the world on a website I call my home on the internet.

If normal means being drunk at someone's house and swerving home, I want no part of it. I can drink at home safely and not worry I am out on the roads. If normal means being lonely and masking that by being around others, I am glad I am not lonely and that instead I am here with my friends whom I have shared an amazing year with.

Sit back, have a beer if you wish, and come on to this thread and let's ring in the new year together. You don't even have to reply, just know that you are not truly alone as you have friends here wanting to share this night with you - and many more.

Happy new year's my friends. And let's kick some ass next year together!

[Canadian Socialist]

1. I'm alone...

through my own choice. I just do not enjoy New Year's Eve parties. Too much "expectation". I prefer to have a few drinks, surf the web, maybe watch a movie or two.

And, there is the fact that I can't get a date. heeee.:party: :toast:

[The Straight Story]

5. Well, you have many dates here tonight ;)

Hang out, have some fun.

If you want to have some real fun: http://www.usnpl.com
Go read news papers from all the 50 states and let's see who can find the coolest story ;)

[Th1onein]

25. I'll be your date!

I'll kiss you at midnight, too!

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

2. Peace and love to you and all of us in 2007

[Yavin4]

3. I Live In NYC and Smart NYers Stay Home on New Year's Eve

The people you see in Times Square on TV are tourists. Here's why people stay home:

(1) You cannot get a cab to go any where, and if you do get a cab, they charge you double.

(2) The people in Times Square are not allowed to leave until the party is over, even if they have to pee. They pee in bottles or on themselves.

(3) All nightclubs charge extra.

There's a saying in NYC: New Year's Eve is for amatuers.

[The Straight Story]

8. Indeed

I talked to a friend on mine in NYC tonight, he said times square is hell - no bathrooms, people barfing and peeing themselves, and you cannot get anywhere. He is staying home as well :)

[silverojo]

58. Eww...remind me not to go to Times Square!

:scared:

[Pierzin]

63. that is funny!!!! tee hee hee

I am going to a friends a few blocks away. have a few brewskys, and back to my place. good enough.

[Jim Lane]

73. I live in NYC and I'm not staying home tonight....

Instead, I got out of town entirely. I'm visiting family in Massachusetts. We're making the effort to stay up until 12. We laid in some party-type food -- a bag of popcorn and some nuts (of the Planter's kind, not the Freeper kind).

A friend of mine in NYC is staying home, though. She's holed up in her apartment, alone, watching Gone With the Wind for the umpteenth time. (I'd almost rather be out partying with the drunks, but, hey, it takes all kinds.)

[question everything]

83. We were in NYC two years ago

our hotel was on 49th st. but we had tickets to a play at Lincoln Center. We were allowed to go round to 8th Avenue to our hotel, but there was no way to get into 7th Ave. We ran north to Central Park and missed the actual ball drop, but we enjoyed the fireworks at Times Square. We were told that the crowd started gathering at 4:00 PM. There is no way we were going to hang out there for that duration.

Yes, seeing it on TV is so much better.

[CrispyQ]

99. I had no idea!

Harr! What you don't see on TV.

:rofl:

[sanskritwarrior]

4. Normal is what you make it

I had a party last night so I could relax tonight. I don't get people that feel that people that aren't out partying have something wrong with them. Conversely I don't feel people that go out are ignoring reality. Every single one of us deals with our lives in differnt ways. So cheers my mate and good on ya and have a Happy New Year's.

[mzteris]

6. Well done. Well said.

I think you're exactly right.

Commercials (tv and print ads) make us think our lives are *supposed* to be "just so". And when it's not, some people can't understand why. They never stop to think about the endless staging and the airbrushing and rehearsals and retakes. Life's not like that.

In real life, houses are messy, kids misbehave, wives gain weight, and husbands lose hair. Ain't life grand?!?

Here's to you - :toast:

[leftofthedial]

7. Happy New Year, Straight Story

I'll be home with my younger daughter after I take her older sister to a sleepover at a friend's house.

We'll be popping a bottle of sparkling cider at midnight.

So, I get to spend at least part of New Year's Eve with my two favorite people.

I'm a musician. I usually have a great-paying gig on NY Eve, but almost my entire November-December calendar wiped out this year. I probably could have scrounged a gig tonight, but I opted for time with my girls instead.

Woo Hoo!

[Catshrink]

9. We've always called New Year's Eve "Amateur Night"

I hate the idea of partying because I'm "supposed to" or getting smashed because it's "the 'normal' thing to do." Being around drunk people is not fun and getting "crazy" just isn't me. And, if "everyone" is out partying and getting loaded, the last thing I want to do is be on the road and take a chance that the partiers will have the wisdom of choosing a designated driver.

I always stay home, do something I enjoy doing, and am usually in bed by 11 or so. The only time recently I stayed up was as we turned to 2000. I don't feel lonely or weird or out of step.

That said, it is good to know that the Internet allows others to express similar sentiments. In reality, I think more people stay in than go out. Peer pressure doesn't work on me.

[Redstone]

39. "Being around drunk people is not fun." How right you are. I remember two years ago,

when we had that legendary DU meetup in Boston, everybody got well-lubricated, but nobody (with one exception) was really what you'd call drunk.

It was a memorable night, full of laughs. As opposed to a night full of vomiting, as the usual frat-party let's-get-as-drunk-as-we-can night is.

Redstone

[Redstone]

10. Dude. Mrs R always goes to bed at 9 PM. I guess it's beauty sleep, because, well,

just look at her.

And she always tells me to come and wake her up about 11:30 so she can toast the New Year with me. I always try, but it never works.

So at midnight, I go back downstairs and drink a quiet toast to her, and to my family and friends, and finally to the ones who are no longer with us (shedding a silent tear or two while doing so), then I go back upstairs and slip quietly into bed with her.

We'll celebrate having survived another year tomorrow.

Redstone

[The Straight Story]

15. Hi RedStone:

Speaking of the Mrs:

I am glad to ring in the new year with you and others, and here is a pic of my Mrs. SS. Life don't get any better then her and the little one. And I would much rather be here home with them both then out somewhere.

I will shed some tears tonight for my mom, I just can't help it since it was two years ago - and I am forgetting what she sounds like. But I am thankful for what the Lord has blessed me with. I hope this year is a good one for you and yours my friend - and talking to you on DU has been a pleasure for me this year.

[Catherine Vincent]

26. The both of you are good looking!

Happy New Year! :hi:

[Redstone]

29. It's been a pleasure yacking with you as well. You've become an asset to DU, as well as

becoming someone I'm proud to name as a friend.

I can see why you're happy with Mr]opppp (Oops, the kitten just walked across the keyboard of my PowerBook); I meant to say Mrs SS, she looks like a comfortable woman...a good wife and mother. That she does.

Best wishes for the New Year to you and yours.

Redstone

[motocicleta]

61. I used to do some New Yearsy type activities

The December that my father died, 1995, my future wife and I spent new years with my grandma and grandpa. We certainly weren't going to do anything too wild with them, 10 days after their son died, but it was a sweet, sweet night, and none of us were awake at midnight. It started a trend. Now we tell each other we love each other the same way they did that night, and sometimes one of us wakes the other up at midnight, but mostly not. I wouldn't dream of going out on New Years.

PS SS: you will forget in some ways how your mama sounded, but you'll always remember when it counts. Sometimes it takes a second to pull up my dad's voice, and it's never as clear as I'd like it to be, but his memory is always close to me. I just say that because I remember feeling like a turd the first day I didn't think of him, and the first time I had trouble remembering his voice, which is just silly, because after he died I thought of him most hours of every day for probably a year straight. I'm sure by that point he was ready to be out of my thoughts for a moment, and here I was making myself feel bad for not thinking of him for a whole day.

This is all getting too convoluted, I feel like I can't quite make my point - dealing with his death is always troublesome for me to get the words out properly - but I have the feeling you see where I am going with this.

Suffice it to say - Happy New Year's! Kiss your family, tell em you love em, and I have a good feeling about '07!

[peacebird]

18. hubby asks me to wake him also - but usually we just toast the new year at sunrise!

:toast:

[jrthin]

11. Hubby...

snoring beside me as I read DU, and I'm one happy camper. Happy 2007 to you and your family and ALL those here tonight.

[Redstone]

34. I don't believe we've met, but allow me to return the New Year's wishes to you

and your snoozing hub.

Redstone

[bklyncowgirl]

12. Happy New Year everyone.

No one we know and would care to be with is having a party. We could go to some bar or other and ring in the New Year with strangers but who the hell wants to drive home on amateur night.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. I haven't been to a New Year's Eve gathering in years and years

and I'm just fine with that. I'm too old and nerdy now to go out and party, but even when I wasn't, I didn't really enjoy being with a bunch of loud drunk people. Staying home and watching the teevee with cats for company is way more fun.

So, Happy New Year to all the rest of you homebodies! :party:

[MikeNearMcChord]

32. I am glad that I am not the only nerdy type

I had my share of New Years eve,fun and I don't remember some of them. And frankly I don't like driving on the roads at this time. Movie night for me.
Happy New Year to all at DU! Feliz Ano Neuvo!

[KatyaR]

65. Me, too (sigh).

However, after you've spent just one New Year's Eve in Times Square, it's hard to find anything to top that (even though it was a little scary at times).

The really sad part is that I don't have anyone in my life that I want to spend tonight with. The one person I'd like to be with died many years ago, and that's spoiled many a celebration for me.

But I'm happy to be here, with my little doggie snoring softly on the couch and me enjoying a nice Peche Prestige sparkling wine while I read DU. I'm going to bed in a little while, but I'm sure I'll still be aware at midnight to hear all the commotion.

Happy New Year, everyone--may our dearest dreams come true this year.

[Papillon]

14. I'm alone and am happy for the computer company.

My husband passed away 12 years ago and I have no interest in another relationship. I have my 2 babies next to me, a rescued Maltese and a very active Papillion who insists on barking every time he hears fire works. I just talked to my sister and wished her a Happy New Year. My 3 children live far away and are enjoying their own celebrations. Happy New Year Duers.

[The Straight Story]

19. Glad to spend this night with you

My dogs say hi to your pets :)

I have buster, a mini dachshund and his son, wiggles - a chocolate dachshund.

Buster is weird, he spends hours a day running around a tree barking at it. Has for two years. 3-8 hours a day. He is a legend around here, and he even came up in a meeting at work on Friday.

We will have a beer for you :)

So tell me about YOUR pets. I love animal stories!

[Papillon]

30. I'm half finished with my first beer. Cheers...

Pretty soon I'll put on some Leonard Cohen (I love Take This Waltz).

I got my Maltese, Rambo, when he was 8 from the local humane society. His elderly owner had just passed away and her kids didn't want to keep him. He's 12 now and is such a delight to me. He is my velcro dog, never more that 3ft away and loves to sleep under the covers.

My Papillion, Rylie is four and is such a smart boy. I started clicker training him when he was a puppy. He learned to put his feet on a ball and roll it around, fetches, will go to his bed when I think he's been running around too much, and is so house broken I never have to worry about him, unlike Rambo who I absolutely don't trust.

Rambo and Rylie wish Buster and Wiggles a Happy New Year, too.

Edited to add Wiggles. Can't forget the puppy.

[ikojo]

53. wyenot_us, I am happy to be home with all of DU

on New Year's Eve. I've never understood why is it people get drunk and trashed in order to bring in a New Year. I much prefer the more introspective Jewish New Year even if it's followed by Yom Kippur a few days later.

Happy New Year's to all of DU and all who seek peace.

:party: :bounce: :grouphug: :headbang: :yourock: :woohoo: :applause:

[InvisibleTouch]

16. It's not even a blip on my radar tonight.

I've never done much in terms of New Year's parties, except one year when I was at a gathering with "friends" who mostly turned out to be enemies; I still have bad/weird memories of that event.

Some years I've gone to family gatherings at a friend's home, where we then stayed the night, so as not to be on the road with the drunks, but that was always pretty low-key. Most years I've been on the net chatting with people at the stroke of midnight. This year - eh, I just can't muster much give-a-damnedness. I'll probably have the computer off completely. Probably won't even bother to watch the ball drop on TV. It's not that I'm especially pessimistic about 2007 - after all, it's got to be better than 2006, if only be default - it's just that I'm too tired to care about the hoopla this year. I'll be entirely happy with my peace and solitude. :)

[nono]

17. Home for the New Year

My wife and I will be home, we have had the drunks and crouds in the past. We now spend our time at home with our pets.

[anakie]

20. already done that

bed around 9pm last night - I justify it by saying I celebrate new year with New Zealand time (3hrs ahead). It is now 1pm'ish, Jan 1st and I have been at work since 7am and feel great.

Happy new year to all on DU, things can only get better now that the Dems will control both houses and we in Australia have a real chance at getting rid of Howard.

Peace to all.

[CountAllVotes]

27. Thanks for the good wishes anakie

and you are so very right; we all hope for the best!

This awful nightmare must end!

It will change no doubt.

Happy New Year 2007 to all and to you too anakie! :toast:

CountAllVotes

[Raine]

21. I'm home

and it's really the place I prefer to be. I never feel like celebrating the end of a year, the end of something always seems sad to me so I would rather just use the time for reflection.

[The Straight Story]

23. reflection is good

And I have a lot of that to do tonight....

[Catherine Vincent]

22. I'm alone right now on my pc but I don't feel bad.

I may get some company later to bring in the New Year though. I've got my Torguga rum and coke ready! Partay! :party: :toast: :party: :toast: :party: :party: :toast: :party: :toast: :party:

[The Straight Story]

24. Hey there cat_girl!

I know we don't always see eye to eye - but tonight let's crack open a few together and party :)

I look forward to another year with you here on DU!

[Redstone]

43. I agree with TSS. All differences get put aside tonight. I'd be happy to have a drink with you

as well.

And all the best to you for 2007.

Redstone

[Catherine Vincent]

56. That's great, Redstone.

I wish you and your lovely wife (and family) a happy new year. But, imo, there shouldn't be any differences put aside on my behalf, I think you and I agree on everything. The same with SS which is why I was confused when he said we don't always see eye to eye. Uh oh. :shrug: ;-)

[Redstone]

69. Lots of people around here, and I don't know about TSS, but I do tend to get

confused, and there are a number of DUers with "cat" as part of their screen name, so it's entirely possible that I have you confused with someone else.

Please don't get offended by that, because I do really have a hard time keeping things and people straight.

Having had four concussions will do that to you. So listen to me: If you've had three concussions, don't get another one.

Pretty sound advice, yes?

Redstone

[Catherine Vincent]

71. Four concussions? Oh my!

Don't get that fourth concussion, very sound advice. I'll keep that in mind. :hi:

[Redstone]

74. Yup. It's NOT the drugs, it's the concussions. After the third, be careful, OK?

Redstone

[Greybnk48]

28. We never go out NYE. To much pressure to have fun.

Like those giddy people on T.V. My hubby and I are dogsitting two puppies for my daughter and her beau and watching the football game. The Packers are winning and the puppies are peeing outside for the most part, so all is good.

Happy New Year to all those here bringing in the new year on DU! :hi: :party:

[carolinablue]

31. home with kids and hubby

10 years ago tonight, I gave birth to our youngest daughter. Occasionally, we go out to a friend's party that it "family-oriented" but mostly we spend it with our two girls. We have a little birthday party. Watch t.v. celebrations, have some "sparklers" and "toast" with grape juice (for the girls) at midnight. It has become a very family celebration and I love it!!

[Greybnk48]

37. Happy 10th to your baby girl!!

Welcome to DU. We just drink diet Pepsi!!:hi:

[Deb]

42. Welcome to DU carolinablue!

My nephew was born on NYE too. We used to tell him that the whole world was celebrating with him, what a beautiful way to start the new year! :hi: My Hubby is sound asleep on the sofa, I'll wake him at midnight. One son is in Key West partying tonight, the others are in homes for the night, whew, no driving.

[badgerpup]

45. Happy New Year to all you people

...from me and the Fur People. :hi::hug:

Quiet evening at home, listening to occasional fireworks.
Around midnight, I'm going to stick my head out the door and listen to all the horns blowing and bells ringing and more fireworks...
shout "Happy New Year!" :party:
then I'm either gonna go to bed, if the cats leave me any room, or stay up and read for a while.

Safe, inexpensive, good company...and I don't have to worry about finding the bathroom or driving home. :)

[ellenfl]

33. i have lomg considered new year's as amateur night.

i called family and begged them to be safe as most were going out for the partying. honey and i are staying in. he will probably fall asleep before midnight but i am up that late every night.

this year will be a little sad for me as my little brother passed away in july. he was not yet 50. however, it will be bittersweet because i am so happy about the changes to be made in our government starting soon. i truly hope our dem leaders don't let us down.

anyway, HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone.

ellen fl

[Silver Gaia]

101. Ellen...

I don't know if you will come back to this thread and see my post, but I hope you will. I want to let you know that you are not alone. I also lost my younger brother, who was not yet 50, last July. We were close, and the loss still feels so fresh. I just want to reach out to you to let you know that my heart is with you. I thought about my brother a lot yesterday, too. But then, I think about him almost every day.

I will join you in wishing everone here at DU a Happy New Year. It will be a good one. I feel it in my bones.

[Silver Gaia]

102. Oh, and we also stayed home last night.

As we always do. My husband and my college-age daughter (and our sweet, sweet doggie, six cats, and five birds :) ). We watched Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion New Year's Eve show on PBS (my thanks to the DU member--whoever you are!--who posted about that last night, otherwise I would not have known about it), toasted with champagne at midnight, then went outside to watch the fireworks show downtown.

[ellenfl]

103. we didn't celebrate at all. honey was asleep well before

midnight and i was in bed watching law and order . . . and the fireworks i could see out my sliders!

sorry to hear about your brother. mine died on bastille day, which is fitting since our mother is french.

i am hoping that 2007 will be better. 2006 sucked . . . except nov. 2, of course. our long national nightmare might be over.

ellen fl

[ChazII]

35. You are one smart husband/dad/ friend

and thanks for this thread.

[JerseygirlCT]

36. Happy New Years to you, too

We almost always spend it quietly at home. I'm often in bed well before the new year.

My teenager is already asleep, lol!

It took a while though to get past feeling like some sort of cultural outcasts because we weren't out partying on this particular night.

[blues90]

38. Here with my wife and cats

My wife is in bed watching tv to get away from politics . I am on and off this computer reading posts and was watching old twilight zone episodes until they took me back too many years with old memories .

I have never been big on new years eve hype . To me it used to be a new start but this year feels different .

[The Straight Story]

41. The wife was upstairs watching the twilight zone episodes as well

Her favorite one is a civil war episode (her area of study in history).

This year DOES feel different - but for me it feels different in a good way, a new start and a new hope. Going back to California soon, and starting life all over. I look forward to this year - though I am sure there will be challenges.

[blues90]

51. What part of calif ?

I have been here since 1981 and want to get out . This is in Hollywood however , too crowded and too manic . We should have left when the going was good like 10 or 15 years ago .

Northern calif would be nice .

[eridani]

40. Hubby and I have steyed home on New Years for as long as I can remember

We can see the Seattle Center fireworks just fine from our front porch. Wine for me (skipping the Metformin) and microbrew for him, and Handel's Fireworks music in the background.

[cui bono]

44. This year I have a very important reason to stay home...

to take care of my beloved dog who got a pacemaker for Christmas. He's doing well, but needs to be looked after closely for another 1 1/2 weeks until the wire is scarred into his heart. And I'm very happy to be here with him and his sister. Not having or wanting kids, they play that role in my life and I'm very content to stay home them. I often stay home on New Year's Eve anyway.

So Happy New Year's to you all!
:party: :toast:

[lostnotforgotten]

46. Many New Years Spent Home Alone - This One Is No Different

Anyway - Happy New Year.

Back to reading my book.

[The Straight Story]

47. What book are you reading??

Don't leave me hanging :)

[lostnotforgotten]

57. Odyssey - Jack McDevitt - His New Sci-Fi Work

very good so far, about half way through.

[NMMNG]

48. I'm at work for a 16 hour shift

Being a wage slave I need every hour of overtime I can get so here I am. At least I know I won't end up in any accidents. :shrug:

[Wiley50]

49. Hi SS

I'm here by myself in the V-berth as usual.

You and I and a couple of others
really learned this month how fortunate we are
to belong to the DU family

My NY resolution is to get this tub back in the water
I want the joy of being seasick this time next year

Sipping my usual 40 oz Busch
(The C makes all the difference)
I'd prefer Sam Adams
but it's enough to have a wet tongue

C U Next year

Wiley

[MadHound]

50. Happy New Year to everybody, and here's to a more peaceful 2007

:toast:

I've done my share of New Year's Eve, and don't have the desire to do anymore. My wife's in bed already, and I'm comfortably settled at home with a couple of fingers of fine tequila. It's a cold blustery night out, but at some point I'll head outside to listen to the sound of a new year coming in on the wings of nature.

I've absolutely no desire to do the profit driven, media hyped New Years celebration.

All my best to all of you, and I hope that 2007 brings hope, peace and comfort to all:toast:

[SoCalDem]

52. "Most" people do NOT go out and "ring in the new year"

That's for movies & tv..

In a huge placer like NYC, even a crowded Time Square is just a small percentage....

and of course young people like to party..they always will..and what better time than New year's Eve.. How could the parents say no:)

We have been married almost 37 years and have only gone "out" once in all that time.. We were both looking at out watchec so we could go home..

Not everyone is a party animal..

Don't feel guilty...to most of us it's just another Sunday night (except that TV sucks REALLY bad)

[EstimatedProphet]

54. We're at home this year, and we're cool with it

We're right now having a raspberry lambic, and we just finished watching A Scanner Darkly. Not a bad night so far. We really don't know anyone in this town yet, so there was no one to celebrate with anyway, and why pay to go to a party?

[silverojo]

55. Your post is 100% correct

Hmm....if "normal" is supposed to be about going out boozing and whoring around the way people do on TV, I'm glad to be abnormal!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, to all you abnormal folks on DU tonight! :party:

[shanti]

59. you're not alone

it's just me and my 16 yr old son, and i'm SOOOO happy he's here with me instead of out with his buddies and partying. his gf is coming over after she gets off work. we're just hanging out here watching real world (not my choice, but still...). can you believe i've NEVER been to a new year's eve party and i'm 51??? but that's ok, cause i like it this way.

peace :hi:

[Mad_Dem_X]

60. Mr. X and I are home alone tonite

...and that's the way we like it. No loud parties or crowds, just a toast and a kiss at the start of the new year. Then it's off to bed for me, and he'll watch TV for a couple of hours before joining me.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

62. i'm home and alone

switching back and forth between A Pairie Home Ccampaniomn on PBS and wgms-fm which is playing strauss waltzes (before dan snyder closes it down) and wpfw-fm and wamu-fm hot jazz new year's eve.

i'm on my 3rd gin and tonic. happy new year all and fuck you bush
and the horse you stole to ride in on.

[Lochloosa]

66. Your not alone GreatCaesarsGhost

Happy New Year...

And fuck you bush and the horse you stole to ride in on. :toast:

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

70. cheers

:toast:

[williesgirl]

64. I'm alone and have been since my husband died 6 yrs ago. He's with me in spirit

and memories.

[Lochloosa]

68. Damn....

:hug:

[Individualist]

72. Memories are special, aren't they

I've spent much of the day thinking of my mother who was buried 10 years ago today. Wishing all of you the best that life can bring in the New Year.

[question everything]

85. So sorry for your loss

even if it happened six years ago.

I hope that you do have family and friends to rely on. Being alone with only memories for six years can be very difficult. No, I am not saying to "move on." I am just hoping that you have friends with whom you can share these memories of your dear husband.

And days like today can be especially hard.

Best wishes for a Happy New Year.

[Mendocino]

67. At midnight I'll be out on a little trail not far from home,

walking the Siberian and gazing at the stars.

[roody]

75. I am at my favorite place: HOME!

Besides, the new year was December 21, when the earth changed its tilt. I don't know how to say it scientifically. But it started back the other direction.

[Corgigal]

76. HI Straight Story

My family is staying home also. 3 of my kids are sitting in the dining room playing Monopoly. My 16 daughter is under the headphones listing to her CD's. Hubby and I will be snacking on some shrimp cocktail and watching the ball drop on TV. We also have some wine coolers in the fridge.

When I was younger, in my 20's, I would go out with some other couples. The party was in the ballroom of a local hotel and we would have a hotel room so we wouldn't have to drive. Cost about 150.00 per couple back in those days. I'm happy I did it then but I rather just stay at home with the young humans and my fluffy friends.

I'll toast to my DU friends at midnight.

[AikidoSoul]

77. Here's a toast to all DUers tonight

From me and my spouse. We just read all of the posts on this thread.

Let's hope that 2007 sees some real change for the better in this country. If it doesn't happen within the next year -- we will have to leave -- as much as we hate to do it.

Best to you all!!!!

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

:toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast:

[Disturbed]

78. I won't try to top that.

I'll see ya'll here next year. :party:

[jeffrey_X]

79. My wife and I always stay home on New Year's and have our own little party....

It's been like that every year since we met 10 years ago.

[seabeyond]

80. i have never gone out on new years eve, i will never. i have no desire

and i feel no pressure to. i dont like the whole concept and i have never felt bad that i have never done it. i do new years eve the way i want, not the way others think i should do it, or they chose to do it. but then i left about all my life that way, wink

happy new years to you

good health to your wife

and hugs to your daughter

[question everything]

81. With more than 7" of snow outside

we are too glad to stay at home.

We had a nice dinner and tossed the New Year at 8:00 PM.

Yes, spending the New Year with friends should be cherished, but to be forced to mingle in the street, to get drunk and then to drive home - one's New Year can easily start with a tragedy.

Happy New Year. Our strength, here in DU, is that we have the strength of our conviction, not of what others tell us we should believe.

Best wishes to you and to your family. Hope 2007 brings only good news.

[Historic NY]

82. I stayed home cause its amateur night...........

out and I have a cold, sneezing, coughing & nose blowing. Its 1202 here now and I've heard police & ambulance sirens. A few people shooting off fireworks. For years I used to host a New Years Eve Party, then I began to realize I was never invited to one.:party:
I am sitting enjoying an adult beverage and will be off to bed soon.

[msongs]

84. new years eve is LEARNED behavior and can be unlearned :-) nt

[Kajsa]

86. Happy New year to you, Straight Story.

We went out for an early dinner, nothing fancy, and are now
home, safe and sound listening to the young neighbors in the back
have the beginnings of a whoopee- let's get real drunk night with their
friends.

I can't feel alone, it's too damn noisy, and besides,
I'm here on DU with friends from all over the world.
Most of you have already celebrated the midnight hour-
we Pacific Coasters have 2 1/2 to go.

I know what you mean about the "image" of a New Year portrayed on TV and films.
My neighbors are trying to do that. I'm praying that they all call taxis at 11 PM and
book it out of here, like they've done before.

I like the peace, so do most of my neighbors( the kids in the back are the one exception).
I don't feel like I'm missing out. I do lots of reflecting on the past year and get damn grateful
for what I have now.

Thanks for having us here and posting such a great thread.

Again, Happy New Year to you and your family
and to all my friends here at DU!

:party:

[Olney Blue]

87. Happy New Years, Straight.

Nice thread. :toast:

[Bozita]

88. My 14 yo cat is on my lap, my Rottie's at my feet, and I just popped a cold one

May '07 be a more humane year than the year it's replacing.

[dennis00]

89. Thank You

I was looking for a post like this and here you are. Happy New Year. I went to New York City one year many years ago to experience Times Square first hand. Once was enough. What you don't see on television is what happens after the lights and cameras are turned off. Cops on horse back forcibly clear the streets of revelers. The street cleaners got to get to work right away so traffic can move later in the morning. Happy New Year DUers.

[fortyfeetunder]

90. it's been 10 years since I've been out...

went down to see a fireworks show with my cousin and we didn't even go to a party. Oh well.
I have some paperwork to do so I am going to listen to the local jazz station and drink bubbly this same cousin gave me this summer....

[tavalon]

91. Happy New Year!

I'm ringing it in at work. No one here is getting the first New Year's baby. We don't even have any potentials.

[Mythsaje]

92. I just toasted the new year with a glass of champagne...

just my wife and I.

We can't go out on New Years because our dogs don't like the fireworks. So we're at home again.

It's not the midnight hour of the new year that matters. It's every day afterward.

Have a great year, my friend. You, as much as anyone out there, deserve one.

[Missy Vixen]

93. Our friends were here, but they went home early

I don't blame them. I wouldn't want to be on the roads, either.

We played Trivial Pursuit, drank champagne, and toasted the New Year in Chicago ;-). My husband and I just celebrated in Seattle.

All success and love to those on DU, and here's to the best year yet. :hug: :grouphug:

Julie

[Liberal In Texas]

94. Happy New Year, The Straight Story....

The older we get, the less we like to go "out".

20 years ago, I couldn't imagine NOT going out someplace and ringing in the New Year with hats horns and drinks. Now it seems if we do that, it's like a marathon of trying to stay awake. My wife has been in bed for 2 hours at this point. I'm just up on DU for a bit of fun, but I'm fading. I'm drinking coffee with some Bailey's, but that's about it. (Oh, listening to Art Bell as a treat for staying up so late...)

Doing the New Year out at the bars is something we've done. Been there, and have the hats and noise makers, T-shirts.

Going out and being silly really does not seem all that a big a deal anymore. In our case, it isn't about not being able DO it, it's about NOT WANTING TO. I'm going to enjoy playing with my RC Helicopter and fixing my pond filter tomorrow than I am about partying tonight.

(BTW...I, as many DUers pray for your wife's health, and a better 2007 to you both.- L)

[WritersBlock]

95. Damn, I missed this thread because I went to sleep too early last night

Happy New Year everybody! :)

[Hekate]

96. Happy new year, Straight Story, and all my DU friends.We're home tonight too

It's quiet. We kissed each other at midnight, and now I'm checking in at DU before bed.

2007 -- I have hope that it will be better for us all than 2006.

:toast: :party: to you all.

Hekate

[Strangefire]

97. Introvert checking in here. *grins*

I've spent EVERY New Year's alone and at home, and I prefer it that way! I enjoy having all the quiet time I want to reflect on what I've learned the past year and how I'll carry those lessons into the new. *smiles*

[calimary]

98. Hey, we stayed home and played with the dog. Until we went -

are you ready? To that hipper-than-hip New Year's Eve rockin' extravaganza headquarters: the 24-hour grocery store!

But beforehand, my daughter and I did go out for a girlie evening - trying to find a post office annex where we could get a postmark before midnight for her college application.

We came home in time to play with the dog, drink some Martinelli's, and watch the ball drop over Time Square on TV. Then we played with the dog some more. Now, here I am back at DU, while my husband's on another message board. We really know how to tear up the town, 'eh? Just a bunch of jennas and barbaras over here. :D

Actually, it was rather a nice New Year's.

And YES INDEED. Let's DO (or would that be DU?) kick some ass in 2007! Some republi-CON ass.

----

As of 2:30am, Monday, January 1, 2007, HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYBODY!!! DU is my home on the internet, too, Straight Story. I'm so honored to be part of this community. I love you guys!

:hug:

[xultar]

100. I slept through it along with my 4 Chihuahuas and 2 cats...that's my tradition.

I LOVE IT!