Glass and a half of champers makes Ali a hungover girl.

Greetings on the first day of the newest year! Can't say it feels a whole lot different from the last day of the former year, except for the piles of the leftover confetti. Living in the "most exciting city in the entire world!" on the night of "the biggest party in the world!" (according to an overcaffeinated and underteleprompted Seacrest) can wear a bit thin. I've never understood the whole Times Square At Midnight thing. People line up behind police barracades for hours on end, usually in the freezing cold, no food, no booze and NO ACCESS TO PUBLIC TOILETS, just to watch a ball drop. I guess it's like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade; it sounds like fun until you actually go. Then you discover that the floats only come along every twenty minutes, leaving you with nothing to do but pick your nose and hope the Snoopy balloon takes down a tourist.

Matt and I kept it low-key last night, which will come as a shock to absolutely nobody. We popped open a bottle of expensive bubbly (thanks, Kathy and Bob!) and opened the Christmas presents we didn't have time to give each other before leaving town. We thought about hitting the East Village for some cheap curry but quickly nixed it once we remembered that it was New Years Eve. (Or as I like to call it, "amateur night".) Instead, we went around the corner to our favorite restaurant and splurged on actual appetizers. (So small! So fancy!) We managed to make it to midnight and celebrated the countdown on our balcony, gazing fondly on the celebrating crowds. (Okay, we didn't actually see anybody, aside from some guy wheeling a rental table down the street, but we heard a lot of shouting and merriment which is almost the same.) Generally I feel a little let down on New Years', like no matter where I am someone else is having a lot more fun, but this one felt pretty solid. Hope you all had a good one too.