It's 11:57

Can you remember what you did every year for New Year's? I think I have a pretty good memory for it:

2007 I went to Matt's brother's party and then Mara's house. I took the F train home at 6 AM.

2006 I had dinner at Anna's but left before the cops came to go to the party Charlie was having at his old apartment, and we went to Happy Endings afterwards and then Charlie blacked out and lost his cell phone in a cab and I took the 1 train home at 5 AM.

2005 I was sick, I had to fly to San Francisco to stay with my sister N. in the W San Francisco and as soon as I landed I found out that my grandmother had died. I had to start taking antibiotics the next day because the plane had caused a sinus infection.

2004 Mike came to Los Angeles to help me move to Santa Cruz, and then he got a ride back down to L.A. with my new housemate and my parents, brother and I went to Monterey and ate Italian food.

2003 I was going to San Francisco to visit Kelly but my car broke down on the Grapevine and my brother had to come pick me up in Valencia. He drove me back to Los Angeles, and we ate at the Poquito Mas in Studio City (which he thought was the only Poquito Mas -- it was on that day I told him it was a chain) and then he dropped me off at home and went to a party. I stayed home and watched a "Sex and the City" marathon.

2002 I finally passed my driving test that afternoon, and then I watched "Darren's Dance Grooves" with some of my Christian girl neighbors in Walnut Creek, and then we had a slumber party.

2001 For my first post-age 21 NYE, my sisters and I played Scrabble and went to see "O Brother Where Art Thou" at BAM. I slept over at N's house afterwards.

2000 Brian and I went to a party at Lesa and Josh's house, except Lesa and Josh were away, and Jeremy and Robby were housesitting. At the time we knew lots of people who had just moved to New York from Santa Fe and they were all there, being annoying arty southwesterners. Robby and I were worried that the world would end at midnight but when it didn't, he passed out in the closet. The party got out of bounds, aka it was a night of bad behavior and disillusionment.

1999 [I just remembered this] I was on a train, going from Chicago to San Francisco, with Brian. The train stopped for an hour in Denver and we walked through Historical Downtown Denver to find a wine store that would sell us some champagne. I remember being like, "I'll do the talking" because I was nervous that Brian would somehow louse up the whole deal and they'd ask us for ID if he got too involved. It worked out! Hmm... maybe that one was actually kind of magical.

Anyway, this year my mom is in the hospital and I have tons of work to do and it doesn't even feel wintery outside. But I'm convinced that New Year's Eve is not as downward spirally as it seems. I am flying to Buffalo on Sunday and then driving to Canada and I hope that there are more restaurants open in Toronto on New Year's Day than there were on Canadian Thanksgiving! But in case there aren't, I will be bringing Our Mutual Friend with me. Let me tell you, I'm engrossed, and I have 732 pages to go.