NYC NYE 2009/10

WOW.

Okay, it's now been two weeks since New Year's Eve weekend, so I've had some time to process (and sober up). Here's a brief recount (obviously, this is the online version of events - PG-13).

I've had a lot of fun with over the past several years. Awesome times like Ranch Party Weekends, Friendsgivings, Beer Golfs, Roadtrips in Costa, Night in Ecuador come to mind.

Ranch Party Weekend - circa 2006

And while each of those were absolutely amazing, and I mean AMAZING, New Year's Eve this year deserves to be on that list, and perhaps in a different list of its own.

You see, it's all about synergy. Yes, I used the word synergy there. Somehow there was a great collision on NYE of people from Oklahoma, from DC, from Virginia, from Jersey, and from New York. And with that collision came some sort of synergistic (yes, I used the word synergistic) explosion followed by a mass of such great density that it pulled in free-spirits from California, Indiana, Florida, Massachusetts, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Spain, and countless other communities from across the world. And what resulted was magical.

To add some quick highlights, it all started with, well, Doug. Maybe. And Brad. Doug and Brad were old friends - perhaps grew up together. And Doug at one point decided to visit Brad in DC, with the idea of going to visit Brad's cousin up in New York for NYE. Doug made the mistake of telling me, which was the final straw in my decision to move to DC in the first place. Doug was eventually joined by Jon, and the four of us embarked in the morning of the 31st to the Jersey Shore for Part 1: Awesome.

You see, by the time we even got to our hotel on NYE, before we had even had dinner or gone to a great club on the beach, we had had a successful NYE. In fact, we had already had an incredible NYE. Maybe the ride wasn't quite as awesome as the NYEs we used to spend in Aspen, but it definitely beat my last one with dengue in Costa. Just non-stop laughter, seat dancing, and roadside pee breaks. You see, we grabbed some 40's of Hurricane and some Mad Dog, and the fun began. And the laughter began. Oh, by the way, this is me before we even went out on NYE...

I just wrote a lot about that first night, and decided I was not going to do all this justice. I'll just enter some highlights for my own personal entertainment:

• Seven.
• Free entrance.
• No numbers.
• Five AM nachos with Doug and Brad in 7-11. IN 7-11.
• Doughnuts - in parking lot and as table in 7-11.
• Wake and run.
• Rally.

Skip skip skip. Brother Jimmy's on the East side, the start of Part 2: Awesomer: The Real Start. I'm showing this picture again, because this was the epitome. It leaves out three of the seven, but includes some of the most fun and loving people we had the pleasure of laughing with.

While we had met Danny the night before, it wasn't until Friday afternoon that the synergy really kicked in. With the introduction of Kevin, previously in the NFL, and Lauren, the coolest girl in NYC now that Alex has moved to Long Island, the crew was put together. Danny seemed to call the plays, Kevin led in running them, Jon ran in front wearing down the defense, Doug hammered the ball through the line, Lauren in the cheer section kept us all motivated, Brad took 'em by surprise with his sneak plays, and well, I just did my best to pick up fumbles and maybe fill in for one of the others on an as needed basis when he or she got lost in the cheers of the crowd. All time offense.

But somehow we were rockstars. Perhaps this perception is partially alcohol induced, but I've been inebriated before, and this was different. Something about the seven of us lit up the world around us. From the moment we walked in to a bar, people wanted to be part of us. Rooms full of immediate best friends. Everyone taking pictures, waitresses doing shots, guys raising glasses, barbacks working double-time to wash glasses, and bartenders celebrating. We were IT. From 30th and 3rd to Hoboken to Chelsea, we left in our wake a lasting image.

We could do anything. The amount of confidence grew and grew. And at no point did it become arrogance. There was never a better-than-thou attitude. No, instead, the more confidence we got, the more amazing everyone else seemed. We loved EVERYONE. Guys, girls, Americans, foreigners, outgoing, introverted, lovers, and even haters (I think there was only one, from Princeton, by the way).

It wasn't just about us, it was about EVERYONE.

Living on thousands of calories of alcohol, a couple hundred from the food we could stomach, and a few short hours of sleep a night, we ran the most inebriated weekend of my life. And it was glorious. And while Brother Jimmy's was incredible, it only picked up momentum from there. That place down the street from Danny's. That other place down the street from Danny's. That place that starts with Green. That place after the place that starts with Green.

That place in Chelsea near the Pink Elephant. The Pink Elephant. Flashes, shots, eyes, foggers, laughter, dancing, fist pumping, singing, hugging, more flashes, gloves, hair, plaid, tattoos, bouncers, credit cards, ATMs, more shots, phone numbers, a whirlwind of highs and highers, bottles, tables, thousands and thousands of dollars. More laughter. More laughter. And more laughter.

Love.

Part 3: Awesomeness. And in the end, more than just memories and amazing friends from coast to coast. More importantly, for me anyway, a change. A change in the way I view strangers. A change in the way I experience new friends. A new openness to people I've never had before. A new understanding of myself - an awareness of the love I can experience in any place in life, whether in a shack in Latin America or a club in New York City. So much of life exists, and I can love it all. I find myself chatting with the guy selling tickets for the IMax theatre. I find myself hugging a stranger at a bar, joining into groups that aren't mine in favor of the people I went with. I find myself - open. To the world.

Perhaps it seems superficial, and god knows it was. But in the end it left a deeper, meaningful impression. I feel like in spite of being a child for the weekend, I gained a little wisdom, a little maturity, and found just a little more of me. And for that, I am just thankful.

And I still can't stop laughing.