Wednesday, December 31, 2014

New Year's Eve Nightmares

                                                                       
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As 2015 approaches, I can't help but reflect on some of my worst New Year's Eve moments. One year during winter break from college, I went to a New Year's Eve party on a first date. The party was at my friend's house, so I spent most of the night introducing him to everyone. All of this talking made me quite thirsty, so he generously offered to refill my punch glass.

At the end of the evening, he kissed me goodnight at the door, and I raced to the bathroom. To this day, I don't know if it was because he was a terrible kisser, I drank too much, or if it was a combination of the two. I was just happy I made it to the bathroom in time, and didn't wreak havoc on my mom's rust shag carpeting.

I didn't have to worry about letting him down gently, as his family packed up and left shortly afterward. My mom met his parents through a mutual friend who bought insurance from them. They gave them such a good deal that my mom also became a client. They left my mom and her friends with no insurance, and me with a bad taste in my mouth. 

Years later we went on a ski trip with our boys to Snowbird, Utah during winter break. On the cab ride to the airport, I sat in the backseat with the kids, while my husband sat up front. The Russian cab driver was such an animated conversationalist, that he gestured with both hands while he was driving. He also didn't want to be impolite, so he engaged in frequent eye contact with my husband. Somehow he got us to the airport in one piece without keeping his hands on the wheel or his eyes on the road. My husband was so impressed that he asked him to pick us up from our return flight on December 31. Before I could strangle him with his seat belt, he politely declined. He said New Year's Eve was his busiest night, and he wouldn't have time. He gave us his friend's number to call instead.

After risking my life in freezing temperatures without a bunny hill in sight, I couldn't wait to go home to sub zero temperatures where I wasn't rolling down Death Mountain on my raw flesh sled. Fortunately, my boys were much better sports and skiers than I was.

I didn't want to spend New Year's Eve flying home, but our flight was early enough that we weren't worried about being caught in all the chaos. As fate would have it, our flight was delayed a few hours. When we finally arrived in Chicago, our cab driver's friend was nowhere to be found. We tried calling other cab companies, and had to wait almost two hours for a ride.

When we finally made it home, all of the nearby restaurants had closed early for the holiday, so I quickly threw some eggs or pasta together for my starving children. We were too exhausted to take out our party hats, and noise makers. It was hard ringing in the New Year, when I just wanted to wring my husband's neck. He promised that this wouldn't happen again, and agreed to plan a warmer winter destination. It only took him about twelve years to make good on his promise, but at least he didn't kiss our insurance goodbye.

Wishing everyone a very happy, and healthy New Year!


33 comments:

  1. Oh my good golly. Hope you don't have any more of those kinds of New Years.

    Here's to 2015 :-)

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  2. I laughed… but not at your expense. My, my, what an experience.

    Happy New Year. I send wishes of good health, happiness and lots of warm destinations for you in 2015. Cheers, Jenny :)

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  3. I can relate to both those stories. Nothing new under the sun, apparently. Happy new year to all in you house.

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  4. Happy Whisk - Things have calmed down quite a bit since then. Thanks and all the best to you, and yours in 2015!

    Jenny - I wouldn't have held it against you if you had laughed a little at my expense! We went on some warm weather family destinations a few years ago, which was a nice change of pace. Thanks for all the good wishes Jenny, and I wish you the same for 2015! It's great to see you!

    Joanne - I guess that bad kisser was pretty busy making the rounds! Thank you, and happy New Year to you, Joanne!

    Julie

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    1. That's good to know for sure.

      Happy 2015. I don't know about you, but it's already flying by so flippin' fast.

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  5. I like how (whether it was because of him or not) that kiss with the boy was was triggered your run to the bathroom :P

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  6. Well these 2 sound horrible! Now one knows why it's fun to stay home and have a drink and watch movies. Happy New Year!

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  7. LOL - two good stories to look back on. I am impressed you found anyone to drive you home on New Year's Eve, but maybe I have been away from Chicago for too long. I hope this one is good for you, and the year brings fun and laughter (and maybe a visit to New Zealand?)

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  8. Michael - For some reason, I didn't appreciate it as much at the time! Happy New Year!

    Birgit - It's always fun to watch good movies, and avoid the crowds! Gosh I feel old! Happy New Year, Birgit!

    Rhonda - It is always a madhouse at the airport on New Year's Eve. I would love to visit New Zealand, though I think you're due for a Chicago visit! It would be so much fun to see you, and meet your family! All the best to you, and your family in 2015,
    Rhonda!

    Julie

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  9. I would call those character-building experiences, especially the first one. A girl does not become a woman until she's been kissed badly. And you don't really appreciate Florida until you've visited Utah. Happy New Year to you, ma'am!

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  10. Happy New Year to you and your family, Julie!!

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  11. I suppose you could look at it as you've got to experience the bad to appreciate the good! Hope this years was a good one :) Happy New Year Julie! xx

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  12. Who knew at the time it was going to be fodder for a blog post? Happy New Year.

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  13. great stories. I think as we get older, we realize that it's okay to go to sleep before midnight. The best part of Texas is Central time - I can watch the ball drop at 11 pm (midnight in NY), go to bed, and not feel guilty. Happy 2015 - let's have a fun blog year

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  14. Great reading through this story! Happy New Year and wishing you all the best for 2015!

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  15. Gorilla - "A girl does not become a woman until she's been kissed badly." Great line that really rings true! Though Utah has a lot to offer, I'd also prefer the warm weather in Florida. Happy New Year to my favorite Gorilla!

    Michelle - Thank you, and all the best in 2015, Michelle!

    Suzanne - You are absolutely right! It was a nice relaxing one. Thanks, and happy New Year Suzanne!

    Delores - Sooner or later, I turn almost everything into fodder for a blog post. I know this isn't necessarily a good thing! Happy New Year, Delores!

    Joanne - We're also on Central time which is very convenient, and I still get a kick out of watching the ball drop an hour early! Unfortunately, I'm still a night person, and I usually get my second wind after midnight. It's funny how most of my friends have an unspoken rule not to call after 9 pm, yet my mom likes to chat after 10:30! Joanne, you've made blogging fun this year, and I look forward to continuing in 2015! Happy New Year!

    Romance Reader - Thank you, and I wish you a happy and healthy 2015!

    Julie

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  16. Hi Julie - oh gosh .. disasters .. I wonder - but I think I'd rather not!!! Glad you made it to the bathroom too ... bad times can be forgotten about .. I struggle with staying up and being lively ... I was in Austria one year as a kid and we had a huge amount of fun - I probably hadn't found the booze bottle by then! Happy New Year Julie and please lots more stories to come ... cheers and a healthy year ahead- Hilary

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  17. Oh my goodness, Julie. Those sound like times that are better off in the past! :-)

    Happy New Year to you and yours!

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  18. Hilary - Just staying up late when we were kids was all the excitement we needed! Now getting to the bathroom in time has an all new meaning! Happy New Year, Hilary!

    Connie - I'm also glad those moments are behind me! Happy New Year to you, and yours, Connie!

    Julie

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  19. Travelling on New Year's Eve is brave whatever the time of the flight! Have a great new year.

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  20. I felt, with all those Facebook comments, that I had to comment here as well. If I didn't I felt like I would be cheating somehow.
    I hope that, even though you made it to the bathroom on time, your aim was true. Some things are BRUTAL to get out of shag carpet, you know.
    And I know shag carpet, you know.

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  21. Brave soul to be traveling on New Years Eve for any reason! Happy New Year! : )

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  22. Great stories! I'm thinking back, and I can only remember going on one New Year's Eve date, and that was with Smarticus. My standard procedure was to babysit on that night, because a lot of people were desperate to get a sitter. (I even charged some of them a few bucks, but mostly I did it as a "gift." Yeah, I know. What a goober.)

    HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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  23. Rosalind - I wouldn't call it "brave" as it really was more of a "not too bright" kind of thing. Thanks for trying to make me feel better though! Happy New Year, Rosalind!

    Susanne - At least we learned from our mistake! All the best in 2015. Susanne!

    Al - Speaking of "aim," I aim to take advantage of your wonderful deals on Shag Carpet Toilet and It's Not Just A Job! Both books are available for only $1! Now I can finally put that $2 bill I've been saving up to good use!

    Susan - How thoughtful of you to babysit on New Year's Eve for free! That was always the one night of the year when the sitters would really jack up their prices, because they knew they could get away with it. It's good to know you're still the same kind hearted person you've always been! Happy New Year to Goober from Gomer!

    Julie

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  24. GEM JULIE ~

    >>... and me with a bad taste in my mouth.

    He shoulda used Certs.
    (I just aged myself, huh? How long have Certs been gone?)

    Sounds to me like the Russian cab driver should have charged YOU for the ride! "That'll be one E Ticket, please."

    Coulda been worse. He coulda been driving Benny The Cab. Imagine those two working together! Boggles the mind, doesn't it?

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

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  25. Traveling on New Year? I didn't even take out the car till now! Don't want to be on the road!

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  26. Stephen - Certs is still around. I've always preferred Certs and Lifesavers to Tic-Tacs. Actually, the cab driver could have been a great character for "Toon Patrol," though he wasn't as cute as Benny The Cab! Happy New Year, Stephen!


    Nas - I also try to avoid driving more than a short distance on New Year's. I thought that our flight would be in early enough to avoid all the chaos, but it didn't work out that way. Happy New Year, Nas!

    Julie

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  27. We took an Uber ride on New Years and got picked up by a Hummer H2. The driver couldn't quite pull over so he just awkwardly blocked all traffic until we got in. Then he proceeded to bump Katy Perry at obnoxious levels while we blasted through the snow at ungodly speeds to our destination. In other words... not having both hands on the wheel and eyes on the road doesn't seem all that bad to me. Happy New Year!

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  28. Bryan & Brandon - Yikes! Sounds like half the danger was in serpentining through traffic just to get into his Hummer. Glad you made it safely! Hope you were able to get Teenage Dream out of your heads! Happy New Year, B & B!

    Nature Boy - Thank you, and Happy New Year to you!

    Julie

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  29. Unfortunately I can totally relate to the first story. New Year's Eve had never been my holiday LOL.
    Happy 2015, Julie!

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  30. Why is it always the frantic, rotten, miserable New Year's Eves we remember so vividly? What great one you have to share.

    Hope this one was memorable, too.

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  31. Julie - Oh no! I guess you had to kiss a few frogs along the way too! A very happy & healthy 2015 to you, Julie! Sending lots of good wishes to your mom too!

    Lee - I think it's because there's always so much hype around New Year's. Sometimes the simplest ones are the best. Happy New Year, Lee!

    Julie

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