Ho Ho Ho-ly Hell The Holidays Are Over.

It is a widespread and agreed upon relief that the holiday season is over, is it not?


I want to go on record and state that I did have an extraordinary time over the past few weeks. It was brilliant to gather with friends whom, for the most part, I have not seen since the hot hot heat of summer, and others whom I have not seen for a more extended period of time. I thoroughly enjoyed getting my hands on delicacies that simply cannot be found in this city of mine; hot wings from Big A's and Lion's Choice roast beef sandwiches are just a few of the tasty-treats that made their way into my belly. Overall, the holiday/birthday season started off quite well. To be honest, it was quite a memorable experience committing myself to nights that I cannot remember.


Unfortunately, you've got to come down sometime. Case in point: New Year's Eve 2009.


Many of my peers around the office in which I work, myself included, have adopted a common NYE philosophy. Do not put it on a pedestal. The only way to tame this colossus of nights is to refrain from hype. Afterall, by allotting less hype, you claim less of a chance for disappointment as well. It's a fool-proof system. For me, expectations were set at an all-time low and it pains me to disclose that on that night, reality matched apprehensions.

No one wants to start the new year, or new decade for that matter, by shlepping glasses of champagne to the amateur diner who crawls out from their shanty on one of two nights a year, December 31st and February 14th. Alas, this was my fate. Spending a new years waiting on strangers in a restaurant that isn't as crowded as it should be on a day of such magnitude really has an effective way of taking the pep out of a man's step.
Another pitfall of the evening was that as the night slowly drew to a close, management informed the staff that an extensive amount of furniture was to be moved/rearranged before anyone could vacate the premesis. It was their belief that the restaurant and adjacent hotel needed to look its best at the arrival of 2010, regardless of the fact that 80% of the city was intoxicated beyond comprehension and no one would cross into this threshold of hell during the course of the following day. Still, rules are rules and from midnight to 1a.m. on new years day I enjoyed hoisting the heaviest of couches, tables and chairs to and fro the most miserable of stairwells.
However, the icing on this cake-o-shit is the fact that my manager, for reasons unknown, gave my girlfriend the boot with ten minutes to spare in 2009. She, arriving in the highest of spirits, left in the loneliest of moods. Whatever minuscule amount of respect I had for the guy diminished there on the spot. Suffice to say, Allison will never step foot in my place of employment, that one at least, ever again.*

That was New Years Eve 2009, one for the record books to say the least. The beginning of the end seemed so great; the end of the end-ugh.

I'm glad that the official "holiday season" is over. After all, now that it's over, I am better abled to focus on a different holiday season that is more dear to my heart. A holiday season that includes such greats as the 16th of February, the 17th of March and finally, a favorite of mine, the 5th of May.

*A subsequent apology was issued, one in which I cannot question the validity of its sincerity, and respect was rightfully restored. Though a part of me would like to remove this posting, I simply cannot; to do so would negate the fact that this incident did in fact transpire.