New Year's Eve 2012

After years of not really doing anything for New Years, a bunch of us went out to The Coat in Portsmouth last year and it was a good time. We considered going to Saratoga, but eventually decided against all the driving and commitment and just went with what we knew. This year, Kevin and Gina got a hotel room with Joe and Mariko (who were visiting from Colorado), and I ended up staying with them too. Other than that, it was the same gang with the addition of Muscle Mike from CT and his girlfriend Jess, who I met once like 10 years ago. 

After initially finding nothing and giving up in anger, I was actually able to get a parking spot at the giant free parking lot by the bank on the edge of town. Right as I came around the corner on attempt #2, someone pulled out right in time for me to floor it and snatch it up from anyone else who wanted it. I walked the long walk to The Coat and found Kevin, Gina, Sara and Naro. Everyone else eventually showed up and we had a good time just hanging out at the bar. 

Kevin was Kevin.

Dan liked phones.

We all REALLY liked the free horns they supply,

and Naro even drank with his.

shoulda been snortin lines

Jomo was there and looking beautiful.

I put on 3 pairs of glasses and have never been more blind. Odd that my camera was too...

Kevin was rowdy,

but Dan took care of it.

It was a good night. The only darts we got in were at the end of the night when they were closing, we didn't play Apples To Apples like last year, and even though we somehow stole 3 tables, we pretty much just stood around drinking and laughing. I was attempting to be cheap (damn apple stock), and somehow got away with only spending 12 bucks that night. I do owe Nick some beer when I see him again at Lakerage, and I probably owe someone else some money, since somehow half of what I got was thrown on other people's bills. 

Highlights of the night included:

-Naro telling me that their jukebox had Appleseed Cast on it, me not believing him, then him playing Appleseed Cast, followed by me playing Sigur Ros, Between the Buried and Me, and him ending it with Bon Iver. Great party music. So many people there must have been so confused.

-The DJ actually playing songs people wanted to hear, party hits, etc. Last year was some jugamo playing underground 90s rap. This year was much better. 

-London Nachos, i.e. super crispy fries covered in cheese.

-Our waitress, Courtney, who was adorable.

-Joe just being there- it had been since May that we had all seen him and it was awesome just having him around, chatting it up, etc. 

-The free horns. Damn. So much obnoxious noise.

It eventually became 2013, I celebrated with my newfound customary White Russian, I kissed a bunch of my friends, we paid our bills, I found a way to cover my massive 12 dollar tab, and we headed out, walking directly to Joe's Pizza. I was never much of a fan of Joe's, even when Steph worked there and she brought home leftovers all the time. But what better way to start the new year than with pizza? Unfortunately they thought ahead enough to stay open till 2 or 3, but not enough to actually staff the place with people that could move faster than glaciers. From where I took this picture to when I had pizza in my hands was honestly about a half hour. AND stupid Gina just butt in front of everyone in line and somehow nobody noticed. Screw you Gina. 

I'd like a slice of clusterfuck and a slice of angry drunks please

We called a cab and they said it would be 25 minutes before they were there. I was really surprised at the lack of cabs driving around, but maybe it was just way later than I realized. I decided to go get my bag and Aerobed from my car while we were waiting so I didn't have to sleep on the floor of the hotel room. I booked it, slipping left and right and getting there and back insanely fast. I think this mile walk proved that I wasn't drunk at all and could have just driven home, but I had decided to stay over either way and get lunch the next day. I wished I hadn't. 

We gave up on the cab and by the time we were settled at the hotel, Kevin was already in bed half asleep and Joe and Mariko stayed in the car talking for like a half hour. Gina had also jacked the heat up to like 78 in the room and I was sweating my ass off, lying on an Aerobed, barely tired and mostly sober. Obviously, this was not a good night of sleep. 

Morning came and we said bye to Joe and Mariko, then got lunch at the Portsmouth brewery, which was pretty good. Kevin took me back to my car which was thankfully still there in a fairly empty parking lot, I headed back to the hotel after I realized I had left my iHome power adapter plugged into the wall (and they just let me right up to the room, which I thought was kind of odd since I never checked in and it was under someone else's name), and I drove home playing my somehow-traditional first-song-I-play-once-I'm-alone-in-my-car-in-the-new-year, Coldplay's "Glass of Water." I got home, talked to Josh, then settled in for a way-too-long nap that screwed me up for the whole night. It was a good night- just in the future, I should just either not stay over, sleep in a room with fat people who like it cold, or be way more drunk so I collapse the second I walk in the door. 

I decided to make a video like last year's, which consisted of us blowing those party horn things endlessly. I did something in my editing I've never done before, and I really think it makes the video. As always, click the link for the larger version, click the HD button for the HD, etc. 

New Years Eve 2012 from Mike Alexander on Vimeo.

Last year I also wrote a bunch of resolutions that, ironically, I prefaced with:

"I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, and if I do, I certainly don't tell anyone- telling people you've made them is a surefire way to never do them and have people call you on it when you don't. I don't like setting myself up for ridicule and failure to make empty promises because "it's something you do." 

And then Kevin said in a comment,

 "you may be living way more awesome but your deeply ingrained laziness still abounds."

He was, of course, right. I didn't record a song a month. At all. Turns out it's a lot harder and more time consuming than I thought to make music. Plus you have to want to. I didn't start a "postal service project" with Hilton, but that's his fault, since he refuses to make music. I didn't do an art piece a month- in fact I did very little art at all. And I don't think I touched Dongus Bologna stuff once. I did cut down on CDs, got rid of tons of shit, considered buying a camera (decided against it, and now I'm reconsidering), and I continued to try my best to go to everything I'm invited to and always be the guy who is up for stuff, visit friends when I can, and be more positive and awesome. I'm absolutely proud of my year, but if you divide life into years and while reflecting back, don't feel like you could have done more and been more awesome, you're lying to yourself.  

So yea, oops. I have a mental list of things I want to do this year, but I'm not sharing it with anyone in hopes that I will maybe actually do it all. This will be (unless I win the lottery) my last summer without a job for the time being. The money is running out quickly and I have September as a theoretical end to my life of freedom. So, I don't really need to talk about the things I want to accomplish before it all ends. It's a lot. The most important one is to record an album this year (probably 6-7 long songs), and I've already been working on the songs way more than naysayers who know my laziness would expect. Let's hope this spring and summer will be a perfect endcap to my "summer off" that has lasted almost 2 years now. 

Anyway, 

Happy New Year!  (a month later)

currently listening to: Enemies- "We've Been Talking"