For you math savvy folks (or theatre savvy folks) 525,600 minutes are the number of minutes in a year. It’s also the main line of the most famous song from RENT (“Seasons of Love”), sung at the beginning of Act II–New Year’s Eve. How fitting. 2007 has been a great year for me: I graduated from college, worked with some pretty famous people, moved to New York, and started on my career! On this day when we say goodbye to the old and prepare to say hello to the new, I am proud of my achievements this year and look forward to even better ones in the year to come!
To think, a year ago on this day I was in Bangkok with my entire immediate family. That very day was awfully exciting, mainly because my parents were married at a Buddhist temple (a Wat) by a group of Thai monks. It was very exciting, particularly since they sprung the news on us the night before! Today, in fact, they are celebrating their first anniversary (of marriage…their 25th anniversary of being together will be in February) in Costa Rica!
This day one year ago was also notable because we were in Bangkok for New Year’s Eve, though we didn’t quite get the celebrations we planned. That night there were 7 simultaneous bombings (two of which occurred places in which we had been by an hour before the bombs went off) so the authorities canceled all celebrations (which was smart, as another bomb went off right after midnight where the celebrations were to have happened).
We did walk down to Khao San Rd where the tourists were living it up as usual. There was this group that was jumping onto each other right next to this dancing Chinese-style dragon! It was great, and we wouldn’t have even known that there was any trouble in the city had I not checked my e-mail and seen the e-mail notification from the U.S. State Dept. that I’d gotten!
Come to think of it, the past 3 New Year’s Eve’s have been interesting. As noted, last year I was in Bangkok. In 2005, I was in Mexico with my Father and Grandmother. We’d just visited the Palenque ruins and I believe were back at my Grandmother’s house in this little town called Ajijic, an hour or so outside Guadalajara. And in 2004, my brother, his soon-to-be wife, and I went to the Las Vegas Strip to witness their New Year’s Eve fireworks extravaganza first hand.
Tonight I am once again in a different city (heck even a different country compared to the last couple of years) and I’m planning on experiencing something I’ve always wanted to try: New Year’s Eve in Times Square. Everything I’ve read on the internet is that it isn’t a fantastic experience, particularly since you need to get there by 6pm or so to get remotely close. Apparently they back people up from 43rd St all the way to 59th St! Also, there is no food or bathrooms available, and you can’t leave your spot and return to it. But dammit, it’s the experience that counts and I’ve got to try it once!
So, check back tomorrow for a full report. And, Happy New Year! Here’s to 2008 being the best year yet!
