Celebrating the New Year IN the New Year

I was asked to go to Times Square on New Year's Eve. I can picture it now -- a little cartoon version of myself with spiking blonde hair shoved under a hat that looks like Hello Kitty's face, unable to move because I've stuffed myself in ten sweaters, bouncing up and down because I'm freezing and I need to pee but if I move I won't ever get back to the spot I'm at now, and really, utterly miserable. Of course, there is the romantic flip-side of celebrating New Year's with the person I care about, who would have also been there with me. I could have gotten a New Year's Eve kiss under an exploding, ball-dropping, wind-surging, star-spangled sky. But I didn't. I just stayed home with my family, watched a movie, and played some Rockband. And maybe it wasn't mind-blowing and exciting, but I was content. And tomorrow, on January 5th, I'm throwing a New Year party at my house with my friend, and we've invited a decent number of guests. It's time to celebrate the New Year in the New Year! After all, shouldn't we spend every day of the year celebrating new beginnings and possibilities? I think so. And anyway, I've had bad luck with New Year's Eve kisses in the past. Time to start a new trend for a new year -- no kiss on New Year's Eve, but plenty of kisses throughout the rest of the year. And not only kisses, but also plenty of celebrations, new revelations, and chance-taking. Time to start really living again, instead of just managing to survive.