I remember from a very young age of being involved in fancy celebrations for the turn of the year and the hugs and kisses exchanged between friends and family wishing for a happy new year, followed by wishes of joy, happiness and success. What i also remember is that could not understand what difference did any of it make? I mean, was something going to dramatically change from today to tomorrow? I clearly remember not feeling any difference whatsoever, i mean, apart from the holiday everyone seemed to have, everything else remained the same. Everything.
After i gained some age and freedom, the celebration of the new year also meant being free from the shackles of the family festivities and venturing out with my friends in our own adventures through creative or exotic locations; or sometimes merely someone else's living room, with no grown up presence to say what we should or shouldn't do. In reality, what that was, was another opportunity to drink all night long until the morning came or someone passed out flat on the floor. Either way, that meant we were growing up, and we were in charge and independent, we didn't need anyone to tell us what and how to do anything, we knew better. Or so we thought.
Over the years i've grown to dislike the new year's eve celebrations just as much as everything else that surrounded the holiday season. That one night carried so much anxiety and expectations that at the end it seemed more like a task rather than a fun night out with friends. Most of the times it meant having some grand party plan or a very interesting travel destination combined with a mind-blowing party night. Well, needless to say that none of that EVER turned out as planned, hence the title above mentioned, and what i have been recently calling the curse of the new year's eve.
It is always a mess, you end up stranded at some weirdo's party in a distant location, or the party you spent a fortune on turns out to be hilariously disappointing - and i mean hilarious because you can't help but laugh at your own foolishness - or you start the evening in love to only finish heart-broken, or - which in my case is usually what happens and is far worse - everything seems to be going smoothly and you're heading towards a very successful evening in an incredible location with great company and then something really unexpected and fucked up happens.
Crap, don't you just hate that? Isn't that just a downer? Not in a simplistic perspective, but in fact in a disastrous, Donald Duck kind of proportion. I mean, you're in the zone, working the party, everything in harmony, you are finally making all the right connections that could contribute to something in the year ahead of you and then someone taps you in the shoulder: "have you seen Daniel?" and you go blank for a second - "no, i thought he was with you?!?". Well, dear friends, there you have it, the beginning of the end, you know that from that moment on your night will turn into hell.
Daniel, for that matter ends up resurfacing four hours later out of a ditch four blocks down the road where he went to look for "entertainment" - whatever the hell that means.
Well, the curse is very simple, because it never fails me, it always turns up at some point on my new year's eve and ruins my night, even if i decide to lock myself at home and watch movies, something WILL happen. The good side though is that this curse is the one thing that i can solemnly count on every single year. I know that for some part of that day i will be having a blast and i know that all of that will come crashing down on me as if the skies were falling on my head like in an Asterix comic book.
The thing is, who cares anyway? New year's eve is after all just another pointless holiday night that people use as an excuse to get sloshed and act irresponsibly, and there is nothing wrong with that, i mean i would have absolutely NOTHING against it if people didn't put so much expectation in it and on top of that added all that cheering and fake emotions and commotion that everyone knows is bullshit. I mean, what's the deal with all the hugging and the kissing just because a number is changing in the calendar? And why do we have a need for the year to change to only then start that long awaited diet or stop acting like a douche? Why not take action right now and get back the control of your life instead of just waiting for other people and holidays to dictate your future? I have nothing against new year`s eve, as long as it doesn't cause me traumas.
It seems pretty odd to me that we would have the discernment to decide to change things because the year is changing digits and not do anything about it throughout the year anyway!!?! Come on people, get off those fashionable bony asses and start acting on it NOW, before it's too late; and i know i sound a bit harsh, but it is what it is - i'd rather spend my energy on having a great birthday celebration rather then waiting for the clock to turn midnight, if you ask me where i was when the clocks turned, i will probably tell you: asleep.
