Resolute


Ahh, a new year. And I already know what my first resolution for 2006 will be: skip the New Year’s Eve parties. I need to embrace the fact that I am not a loud rockin’ party gal. I think it’s my desire to actually hear what the person next to me is saying, instead of just smiling, nodding, and trying to time my laughter to the right moment when the person 8 inches from me, but whom I can not hear, has made an amusing remark. This aversion to loud mobs of people I do not know, and will not be able to get to know since I can’t hear a thing they say, could be blamed on middle age, except that I have never liked such environments, even when I was “supposed” to as a teenager. No wonder I smoked so much pot back then.

Speaking of smoking, last night I tried to smoke a cigar…listened to the instructions from a cigar-lover: draw it in toward the back of your throat, “taste” the complexities, do not inhale---but alas, the pleasure escaped me. Was I not doing it right? Or do I simply not appreciate the taste of fine Caribbean tobacco? My cigar expert tried to compare enjoying a fine cigar to appreciating the complexities of fine wine, but the complexity of a wine was never what I appreciated about it---the alcohol was, and if it was sweet, even better. Cigar mouth, which I later experienced, is not something I wish to repeat. Which translates into resolution number two: do not take up cigar smoking. This will likely please both my dentist and my husband.

Should I disobey myself and go to another hip New Year’s Eve party, my third resolution will kick in: do not spend X* (*a ridiculous number) amount of time obsessing over an outfit and getting ready. 97% of the people there will have thrown on a pair of jeans and T-shirt, and you will then look even more like their mother than you already do. Not that I’d rather be in the party set that wears elastic-waist pants, themed sweaters, or matching nascar jackets, so please keep those rockin’ invites coming!! Cuz even though I may not show up, I sure love being included.

And a fourth resolution…or is it just re-upping a prior resolution? I’ve been mind-altering-substance free for a while now, and think 2006 is a good year to remain so. It’s working for me, even though as an introvert it makes rockin’ dance parties a bit of a challenge—none of that loosening that comes with getting liquored up. So though I may not be the wild and fun one at the party, I can safely drive home (need a ride?). And I’d love to catch up and actually hear what’s going on with you, so let’s go for a cappucino in a nice quiet café, shall we?