New Year's Plans?

No times square for us! We're probably going to have an early bird dinner, then settle in with Wii until midnight

I'll working the overnight shift for the next two weeks starting tonight, so I'll be working New years eve! In at 11pm & done at 7am.

You'll only have 10 days then to get back on schedule before your WDW trip!

We're going out to dinner with friends for New Year's Eve, then back to our place for some board games probably. It will be quiet, but fun

Yes Admin and those 10 days will not go buy fast enough!

We are spenind the evening with my parents in Ohio. I think we will go to a show at 5 pm and then...no idea!

We are going to do our usual New Year's Eve celebrating...in bed by about 9:30 and wake up tomorrow and say 'Happy New Year!!!'

Our neighborhood gets a little wild...we much prefer to stay out of harms way. Boring...I know!

Ha Tell us more about the wild neighborhood!

That sounds a bit like ours. We don't want to deal with traffic and other trouble so we just stay in bed and watch some TV!

We had a few friends round for a party.

If you could spend NYE in a Disney park, which would it be? I'm torn between MK and Epcot.

Wild neighborhood? Lessee...apparently a lot of people got new guns for Christmas this year. Lots of shots being fired all around. More than the usual sighting in before hunting season starts.

The fireworks (which are illegal) are always fun. I manage to find at least 5 bottle rockets (the big one) that have landed in my yard. In the 10 years I have lived here, there have been 3 fireworks fires. Fortunately, we have had a lot of rain over the last month, so no fires this year.

Yes...another beautiful day in the neighborhood!

Oh the joys of living in a big city!!

The sheer crowds would deter me, but I would have to choose MK. I'm a sucker for that park!!

Have you made your decision as to which it would be for you, Tony?

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you don't mind the details of the local flavor of how I spent my New Year's Eve.

On December 31, 2009 I went to work, but the IRS shut down most of our computer system so that we couldn't look up local databases or change anything; we could only look at the masterfile account for each caller. The IRS does this every year so that it can load all the tax changes (new forms; changes in tax laws; tax tables; exemption and standard deduction amounts; etc.). Yesterday I took the two hours of administrative leave that IRS Commisioner Doug Shulman gave every IRS employee, so I got to leave at 4:00 pm instead of at 6:00 pm.

I took the Speedline to Haddonfield, NJ, which has had a nonalcoholic New Years Eve party called First Night, patterned after the First Night Boston, since 1999. Getting there at 4:30 pm, I ate a chicken cheesesteak at a pizza place around the corner from the station called Villa Rosa, then walked down to the information center to get the First Night 2010 button that I'd purchased online for $US12.00. Pinned to my coat, the button allowed me into the various entertainment venues. I then went to a cafe in a minimall at 116 Kings Highway East called Crepes and Things where I had a slice of Jewish apple cake, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and a mug of hot chocolate. I saw a magic show at 6:00 pm; then my friend Dave joined me and we went to the historical tour of the Indian King Tavern. Downtown Haddonfield is along a road called Kings Highway, named after King George II of England, which in the mid-18th century was the main north-south road in New Jersey and one of the most heavily trafficked roads in America at that time. The tour of the tavern, originally built in 1750, took less than 45 minutes, where we saw the main and private dining areas, sleeping quarters, and the meeting room.

The highlight of the evening, in the auditorium of the Haddonfield Middle School at the corner of Chestnut and Lincoln Avenues, where the magic show was held, was the performance of the Orlando, FL-based Celtic band Seven Nations, a quintet (three guitars, drums, and electric violin; the second rhythm guitarist also plays the bagpipes) who is said (by the lead singer's daughter Skye) to have taught Off Kilter a thing or two.

We also saw the singer Brett Speezer, a Cherry Hill, NJ native who sang several Broadway musical songs in the Episcopal church sanctuary; and we met Dave's parents in the Masonic Temple at 16 Kings Highway East for a performance of the Haddonfield Cello Society, where we heard firsthand the versatility of that instrument.

My decision to wear sneakers on this snowy and rainy day and night was not a good one as I slipped and fell on the way to the temple from the Seven Nations performance, in walking around people coming the other way. After the cello performance, Dave, his parents, and I left, they dropping me off at home, where I watched TV for an hour, going to bed at 12:30 am today, the first day of the 21st century's second decade.

Today I replaced the 2009 calendar on the wall in the foyer with a 2010 calendar I got from Disabled American Veterans as a thank you for giving them money. I have taken the Christmas ornaments off the tree but have not taken down the tree itself as I have misplaced the box in which it came. Though I watched Penn State beat LSU in the Capital One Bowl 19-17 and the end of the Outback Bowl in which Auburn beat Northwestern 38-35 in overtime, I spent most of the day playing Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook and wishing friends Happy New Year.

This evening I went to a local diner for prime rib, a side of spaghetti, three glasses of unsweetened iced tea with lemon, three glasses of water, a cup of Manhattan clam chowder, and a bowl of chocolate pudding with whipped cream.

I hope to have paid off my credit card debt in time to run it up again with my first trip to WDW in more than two years.

Jim

Your night sounds MUCH more interesting than mine, Jim! I love the Seven Nations info -- were they good?

Also, do you have the WDW trip planned for this year, or is the goal to pay off the debt this year and plan the trip once that's done?

Good morning, bali!

Seven Nations was excellent--think Dave Matthews Band meets the Celtic roots it never knew it had. The fiddle (electric violin) player was phenomenal.

I think I'll try to wipe out that credit card debt before planning another WDW trip.

Jim

That sounds great -- I like both Dave Matthews and Off Kilter, so I'm sold! Thanks for the suggestion!