And So It Goes

So, maybe I spoke to soon. Shortly after the previous entry was posted, plans were formed, hair was curled and I left the house to celebrate New Years as any single girl should. Nothing too elaborate, only an intimate gathering of me, some friends, the guy I served on jury duty with a couple of months ago, one or two reality television celebrities and about 2,500 fellow Tamponians and Outback Bowl tourists. We all piled into the clubs and courtyards of the downtown waterfront district and anxiously awaited midnight's promise of a ball drop and fireworks. In the meantime, we entertained ourselves with over priced and watered down mixed drinks and an informal parade of New Year's attire, ranging from mullets and members only jackets to sequined ball gowns and purple pimp suits. As judging people based solely on their outwards appearance happens to be one of my favorite pastimes, the evening was ripe with enjoyment. Minutes to midnight, we found our way to the parking lot to watch the rockets' red and green and blue glare. 2004 passed away moments later, drowned out by party horns and noisemakers and the slow pop, pop, pop of the rather unimpressive fireworks display. Airwaves were jammed with the requisite celebratory calls from one party to another, making it all but impossible for me to reach out and touch the people who matter most. I mean, what is a New Year's party without a few drunken dials and slurring, "HAPPY NEW YEAR" in a voicemail for someone you hope is your sister.
We soon found our way back to the car and out into the streets crowded with taxi cabs and party buses. Someone from the charter coach in front of us threw a bottle onto the hood of the red Eclipse waiting to turn in the next lane. The unbelievably short and hot headed driver in the Eclipse took the next logical step to answer such an act and proceeded to ram his car into the side of the bus. He then got out of his car, screamed a few choice words in the direction of the bus's driver, got back in the car, ran the red light and sped off into the night. The poor bus driver could only amble onto his next destination as the drunken revelers aboard his coach would not stand to waste another second of their night with reporting the incident. They went on to party and I was soon topping off the night with a couple episodes of Cops and a restless nap on the couch of a friend.
All in all, an enjoyable evening, though not exactly the celebration that memories are made of. I may have broken the streak and only 364 more days to see if this change of New Year's luck continues.
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