Dec 31, 2016

I slept in again and it was really nice. Once I got myself up I picked up Erynne and went to Silver Run for the closest thing Millville has to hiking. It was nice weather and we had a good walk while we caught up. She had never been there and I hadn't been there in some time.

We went to Wildflower for lunch and split a black bean burger wrap that was soooo good. It's been a couple months at least since I've been there but this is one of the best things I've had from them. We took a little trip to the mall trying to find out of the Viet place had a vegan version of their Vietnamese coffee with heavy cream. They did not, so we went to Target and got Starbucks to walk around with while I went to find the expansion pack to Settler of Catan.

Later it was time for the big New Year's Eve Party to begin. So when Ryan, Shannon and Alex got to Becca's we set up Catan and proceeded to explain the directions to everyone, confusing even those of us who had played many times I think. It was fun though once we got started and Ryan went on to destroy us all.

We spent the next couple of hours playing Catchphrase "Decades" which has categories from the '70s to the present. I prefer the other one, but this one ended up being fun. Becca's friend Lauren and her boyfriend Tony brought it so we could all play. The time passed quickly, lots of jokes were made, good and bad guesses had by all. Someone said as a clue: "He's in Genesis." My guess was Jesus. It was really Phil Collins.

At midnight most of us were uninterested in the dropping ball or turning of the calendar in general, but the festivities sort of came to an end there and people started leaving. After a brief cleanup and some stronger hints for people to leave, we got to bed in preparation to get up for the first sunrise of the new year tomorrow.

Dec 31, 2013

I spent the last day of the year mostly in bed, feeling lazy and bored. I went to the gym with Ryan in the afternoon, but I soon returned home and felt like lying in bed some more. I debated for a while if I wanted to go out for the night even though I knew I did. So I got up and went to Darcy and Chris's party at their house. I was not aware it was outside. Good thing I dressed warmly.

I brought my Rumspringa beers, which were all really good. They did a Pollyanna where everyone regifts something so I brought my second pair of slippers I got and I ended up leaving with some kind of wine preservation spray that I still don't really understand. It was fun to watch though.

We all gathered around the the TV for the countdown. People clapped. Then we resumed drinking and hanging out around the fire. It was so damn cold outside. Converse are not made for cold nights. I hung out with Johanna most of the night and took her home so she didn't have to worry about driving (read: so I didn't have to worry that she might drive.) It was a fun time though, and I'm glad I went out. Happy new year!

Dec 31, 2011

I went to Kate's early and it was a beautiful day out. No way we could pass it up to be outside. We took a walk on the trails behind her house that led to a dirt road and eventually brought us back out to Carmel Rd. It was a nice, long walk.

We were both really hungry after that so we went to Peking Tokyo for lunch and got a few rolls to share. The Crunchy Roll was great. That was filling. And we had an exuberant waiter that kept us entertained.

My dad invited us down to hang out and play pool for a while so we went down there. I didn't beat him at all. I am not that good. I played a few games with Kate and I don't even think I won any of those.

Later, Kate, Chuck, Marsha, and I went up to Jeff and Sam's place to have a New Year's Eve party. There were plenty of veggies and snacks out and Sam was making vegan pizzas so all was good. We stood around in the kitchen talking for a while drinking the variety of beers we brought.

After a while we got down to business playing Telestrations. It got weird during a lot of the rounds. I don't even know what was being attempted here. As always, there was a lot of laughing and looks of astonishment when we found out what was being drawn.

We scrambled to get outside to the fire around midnight. I never really cared for the countdown so much. I don't think we even did one, but we did light sparklers and run around the yard for a while.

We stayed out in the cold for a while until the fire was dying down and we decided we'd like to be warm again and play more games.

We stayed around for a while longer, had another slice of pizza and another drink. This was the lineup of empty bottles when I left. We did pretty well. And quite an array of craft beers at that.

The drive home wasn't bad at all. The roads were clear somehow. Maybe we were too soon after midnight for people to have left their parties yet. Either way, happy 2012!

Dec 31, 2010

I didn't do a lot during the day. I worked on some ideas for photos and sculptures I want to get done soon and then went out to take some shots around town. I think I've been shooting in the park a lot lately but I've been finding new things each time I go. I came home and exercised and ran on the treadmill for a while before getting ready to go out.

I picked up Chuck and we went to Ocean City and met Jeff, Sam, Jordan and family on the boards, which were still covered with snow on one side. There were a lot of people out there, including a giant line at Mack and Manco's.

We went to Three Brothers' for pizza instead and I got this monster slice of mushroom pizza.

We all met back at Jeff's family's beach house to hang out, have some drinks and watch the bad New Year's Eve programming on TV.

We had plenty of snacks and good conversation to make up for the random hosts and musical acts in Times Square.

We all gathered on the roof for the countdown to midnight as they were setting off fireworks in the distance. We only saw the last few though. Everyone donned their silly hats and counted down.

I can't get too excited about it but I was there alone anyway so I just capture the people who were celebrating. They seem happy.

We went back inside and got back into the game of poker we started shortly before midnight. It had been a long time since I played poker last but I was doing really well.

Everyone mingled, snacked and hung around for a while longer as we played on.

Everyone besides Jeff, Sam, Chuck and I went to bed as we finished our game. Jeff was out next so that left Chuck and I alone to battle heads up. We played until about 5am, when I finally went all in and lost. It was a lot of fun playing though. Chuck and I stayed up talking, went for a walk around the neighborhood and then came back.. never sleeping.. to be continued.

Dec 31, 2008

For New Years Eve we had a Mortal Kombat Martini party. Sub Zero was there.

Kano vs Johnny Cage.. Toasty!

Friendship? Again?

We hung out in the basement playing Mortal Kombat for quite a while.

Kitana was also present.

The games were good. We played while we ate stuffed mushrooms and chips.

When it was time we went upstairs to sort of countdown to the new year.

Happy New Year from Sub Zero.

We posed for a family photo in the basement.

We look good.

We were all drinking a good amount.

Especially Jeff.

Is that a camera?

We broke out the karaoke game after a while and sang for a few hours. There weren't a lot of great songs but it was still good fun.

I was ready for sleep after I stopped drinking so I pulled out the futon and tried to sleep for a few hours.