New Year’s Eve for me has always been an entirely random occurrence, and this year was definitely no exception. I remember ringing in 2006 with Dance Dance Revolution and Midnight Ice Blocking with three close friends… Then there was 2007: a beautifully crafted get-together of Catch-Phrase, some unspecified movie (most likely “You’ve Got Mail”), and some Italian exchange student boy in an argyle sweater whose name I have surprisingly forgotten.

Delightfully surpassing my expectations this year was the first annual New Year’s Classic (NYC): a no-holds-bar octathlon of unrivaled intellectual and physical proportions.

In short, the ’08 festivities involved Sean and I constructing an elaborate plan to coordinate an epic competition that spiraled into two teams of three engaging in extreme Cranium (where all team members’ hands were lashed together with abrasive twine), Wise & Otherwise, and naturally, a laser-sight NERF gun death-match. After the traditional opening ceremonies of the Tiki-torch lighting (in sub-freezing outside temperatures) and the usual burning of the sacred scroll, it became apparent that “Clan O’Reilly Factor National Olympics Squad” would emerge victorious over team “*click*click-naAH-naAH-caw-caw-THE-AVALANCHE-IS-COMIN!” with a convincing 120,000 point margin. (Unfortunately, due to poor planning, we only completed three of the six specified events; however, there are talks about finishing out the remaining NYC contests: “Iron-Chef-style” baking, Canasta, and Karaoke).

Otherwise, I had originally planned to recap a few prime moments from 2007, but I think they’d be better served as singular ramblings down the road. I have a few resolutions in mind that involve making quicker decisions as well as no longer saying “Uh” on the phone, but as always we’ll see. It’s just past midnight now meaning New Year’s Day has come to a close, and I think I’ll turn in. Happy New Year and I hope your following 365 are filled with good fortune, love, money, power, knowledge, messenger bags, large three-dimensional national monument replica puzzles, treasured American Indian relics, and whatever else your little heart desires.

Oh, and his name was Nicolo. The argyle-sweater-wearing Italian stallion was definitely named Nicolo.

Labels: celebration, Cranium, NERF, New Years

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 2, 2008 at 12:18 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.