New Year's Daze

I sacrificed my right to mock New Year's Eve partiers several years ago, but now I really have to swear off any such teasing whatsoever. See, this year, I had trouble staying awake till 11:00, let alone midnight, and while I could blame this on my baby daughter...what does it matter? I'm a lightweight.

I think the only thing that kept me awake to ring in 2009 was WGN America's "Honeymooners" marathon. Even then, I struggled to keep my eyes open while watching episodes of my favorite TV show of all time. Somehow I made it till we could switch over to see Dick Clark count us out of 2008.

There were a lot of great TV options this year for us non-First-Nighters. Besides the Mooners, Sci-Fi had its traditional "Twilight Zone" marathon and a Boston station played a bunch of Three Stooges shorts. Great stuff if you don't feel like sharing the road with the drunks.

It's a good thing those options existed, too, because the networks' New Year's Eve specials get worse each year as they pander to a younger and younger audience. Oh, how happy I was to see Lionel Richie on ABC, not because 2008 felt incomplete without one more "Dancing on the Ceiling," but because, well, I just wanted to see an old guy standing alongside the Jonas Brothers and the like.

These countdown shows consist of teases of what we WILL see, with the lame stuff we actually do see sprinkled throughout the night in small doses until the ball drops. Then the specials reward us for our patience by presenting more lame stuff.
Me, I was in bed at about 12:05 A.M., and then my New Year's Day experience consisted mainly of eating and watching football. Penn State was terrible, but the bacon wrapped beef was delicious.

My only resolution this year is to keep on keepin' on. Know what I mean?

Well, I don't know, either, so why don't I refrain from making any kind of resolution. I can only say I'll try to make it to 12:10 when the next holiday rolls around. Martin Luther King Day, get ready!