Yes, I’m a day late and a dollar short, but *meh.

I’m not sure whether it’s that we’re getting older, that our usual party hosts are, like everyone else in the free world, feeling the pinch of a hard economy, or that we were just feeling less celebratory than usual, but the New Year’s gathering – which was nice, don’t get me wrong – came to an early end.  And I’ll be honest—I didn’t mind so much.

I was annoyed, however, that we weren’t able to watch the ball drop in Times Square live.  Apparently, the networks have finally caught on to the fact that we’re not all on the east coast and started tape-delaying the NYE celebrations, which meant that at midnight in New York, which is 11 pm here, we were almost unable to do our usual “one hour left” countdown—until, that is, that I discovered we could watch the proceedings en directo por Univision.

Anyway.  New Year’s Day was a slow affair: I took down the Christmas decorations, discovering in the process that I’d left most of the good ones off the tree this year (Ray acquired a new, ornament specific container, which I may have slightly mocked but did turn out to be cursed useful).  I made chili, not because it’s a tradition (the traditional Tex Mex foods for New Year’s are either menudo or pozole), but because it’s cursed cold down here and it seemed appropriate.  Elliot went home with his mother, and, as predicted, Mocha started moping even though she spent the entire time we were dogsitting pretending she was annoyed by his presence.

And I posted my first picture to my 365 project.

What does 2010 bring to the table?  Well, here’s what I’ve got penciled in so far:

• I’m going to Egypt in March with yet another group in tow—my parents are coming this time.
• I’m taking fourth year Arabic again in the spring semester, in large part because I will need a recommendation letter come fall when…
• … I apply to the doctoral program in History.  Which also necessitates…
• … taking the bloody bollocky GRE exam at some point in late spring or summer because apparently my 12 year old scores from 1998 have “expired.”
• I have business trips lined up to San Angelo, Kilgore, Mount Pleasant, Edinburg, and Laredo, Texas.  You know you’re jealous.
• I also have business trips on the horizon to either Savannah or Denver (probably Denver) and San Diego.
• There is the potential—in my own mind, if not reality—for a visit to Brazil in summer.
• And the potential for a trip to New York City in late spring.
• And, of course, my 365 photo project.

So much to do!  But first … I’m going to have another cup of coffee.

Happy New Year, everyone!