Thursday, 20 January 2005
"New" Just Isn't What It Used to Be
Happy New Year!
As odd as that may sound now, three full weeks into January, it's actually a French custom to wish people a happy new year after the start of the year. They actually consider it odd when people (Americans, usually) wish each other a happy new year early - even if "early" means saying it to your coworkers as you leave the office on 31 December. It's a very Cartesian thing: either it's the new year, or it isn't.
Following that logic, you have until the end of the month to give people your new-year greetings. Admittedly, though, even by French custom I'm pushing things a bit.
On the other hand, today marks the exact point halfway between the Gregorian new year (1 January) and the Chinese new year (which is 9 February this year, the Year of the Rooster). So we could consider this a whole "new year season," if we were so inclined.
In any case, a new year has started, and I hope it's a good one for you.
It's been some time since I last wrote anything here, for various reasons justifiable and not. But just because I've been silent, doesn't mean that nothing has happened in my life.
I'm planning to catch up, writing new entries about recent events as well as looks back at 2004 (through new entries and links to previous ones). In the meantime, a brief summary of my holidays:
I spent the week immediately before Christmas in Minnesota, briefly visiting friends in the Twin Cities and spending the rest of the time with my family in Rochester. Christmas was low-key, just like I like it (working retail for several years turned me off to the hustle-and-bustle aspects of the holiday).
Heather and I spent New Year's Eve in Paris, hosting a few friends to ring in midnight. The group included my Twin Cities friends Colin and Alison, who were in Paris on their honeymoon - which seems to me like a pretty cool way to celebrate getting hitched. The whole bunch of us headed to the Arc de Triomphe - bottle of champagne in tow - for the actual stroke of midnight. We - and the thousands of others out that night - had a great time. Paris is truly a city made for the night.
As our friend Lauren put it so well, "Here's to celebrating New Year's in Paris! And living here!"
I apparently have been a very good boy, judging from a few events. Heather treated me to a delicious birthday dinner at an Indian-Pakistani restaurant. Normally, spicy food is toned down for the restaurant-going Parisian. Not at this place; I'll definitely be returning.
But lo, to my surprise, another dinner the following night, this time a full-on birthday gathering of friends. I hadn't expected anything after the night before, especially since Heather was insanely busy with her company's year-end account closing. Instead, a group of us had a great meal at my favorite Italian restaurant. (Which - before I found other favorites - was the favorite place to go.)
Amerigo and Nicole, the couple who own the restaurant, are always excellent hosts and love to see me (and vice versa). From the way we all remember it, I've been going there since the place first opened some four years ago. I've literally seen their kids grow up. The restaurant, a homey and unassuming place, is named the Sandalia and is in the 9th. I highly recommend it.
So, a great way to spend my birthday - twice.
And the cherry on the cake (the French variant of "the icing on the cake") is my newest toy that Heather gave me for Christmas: an iPod. Not just any iPod, mind you, but an iPod photo. Very cool. You can be sure I'll be writing about that again sometime soon.
So, welcome to the second half of the first decade of the third millennium. (At least, by some people's reckoning.)
Or, more simply: Happy New Year!
Comments
The 20th is also my dad's birthday, he is 61. And for all of us Americans outside/inside it was the inauguration. It was also the Eid (not sure of spelling) but the feast day after the Hajj. So it was an important day. Maybe better timed than you thought.