Why 2012 Smells Like Roses and Velveeta

January 3, 2012

Why 2012 Smells like Roses and Velveeta

2012 smells like a rose garden I can’t wait to step in, or a bowl of Velveeta mac n’ cheese I can’t wait to dive into. I awoke this morning feeling golden, in my best friend Melody’s bed. We had more than a few glasses of champagne on New Year’s day at the Library Bar in downtown, and after discussing everything from reincarnation to being buried alive, we realized how great we felt about 2012, and how much we learned in 2011. Clink!

On New Year’s eve I had a wonderful dinner with the family, and my uncle brought all of us girls roses. Mine is sitting next to me now. Afterward, I drove back to my apartment to partake in a party my roommate Mario and I were throwing, and one of the best New Year’s Eve’s of my life.

When I was younger, my dad, stepmom, sister and I used to hang out until midnight on New Years Eve playing board games and watching Dick Clark on NBC. ABC? One of those channels. Since I turned 21, I haven’t spent an evening like those old ones, hanging around with the ones you love in the safety and comfort of your own living room, chanting 10, 9, 8…in unison until the ball drops and everybody cheers. This party was like that. There were only about 22 people there, just enough to have a good time without worrying about anyone goingoverboard. We started at 30 seconds, and when we reached 2012 the cheering could have been heard a mile away. My best friend Melody was the first to hug me, and as she did she said in my ear “Your dad would be so proud of you.” It reminded me why we are friends, and made me feel all warm inside like a kid tucked into an electric blanket after drinking a big mug of hot chocolate. With marshmallows.

Needless to say, a wonderful New Year’s bash was the perfect way to celebrate the new year. The past couple of days I’ve felt the tides turning a bit, in a more sparkly direction. I feel a rush of good change, coupled with a wave of sunshine and good friends. This year I am buckling down as I shuffle along the path to grad school like an old lady. Three things I’m focusing on this month are studying for the GMAT, finding an accounting class to take, and joining SMARTY. Membership with SMARTY is a little pricey, but I think it will be worth it in the long run.

And yes, I’m writing. I haven’t been working on my novel, but I’ve just about wrapped up a short story, and I have 3 poems that are solid enough to submit. This week I will submit the poems, and share the short story with a couple of friends before I have the courage to submit it. It’s about boobs and cats. You’d like it.

Overall I feel especially blessed to have made it to another year with wonderful people in my life from all angles. My dad always used to say how important it was to surround yourself with good people, and I can say with certainty that there isn’t a single person in my life that is bringing me down. Even casual acquaintances have been so inspiring to me, and fill me up with good feeling, like a good glass of bubbly.

I hope you have a good feeling about the new year too. Every single day is another chance to start over, but the new year is a great way of compartmentalizing a section of your life into a large plastic tub and labeling it with a word, looking forward to the spitballs and lemon squirts 2012 is likely to chuck your way. And rest assured, there will be lemon squirts. The question is whether or not you’ll let them sting.

Below is a video of Melody and I proclaiming our friendship, and taking our last tequila shot of 2011. Let’s get this party started.