Thursday, January 1, 2009

Happy New Year

So we have another new year. 2009. My parents were right in that time does go faster and faster the older you get. What is it about a new year that gets everyone so excited? Is it just another reason to party? Is it just another reason to get a day or two off from work? Is it the rare opportunity to see family that we only see during this time of the year? I don’t think so. To me and through my observations it seems that it is the sense of new hope and a chance of a brighter future that leads everyone to celebrate the New Year so much.

You know, of course, that the New Year is not just celebrated here in the US but it is globally celebrated and embraced. I watched live footage of several countries as the New Year rang in. Australia where the fireworks and the celebration were on a very grand scale. Bejing where the lights flashed and people cheered (although I thought that the Chinese New Year took place in our January but what do I know I sell cutting tools for a living). And, of course, in New York where many of us love to watch a glowing ball drop down a poll as we count down the remaining seconds. Don’t get me wrong I feel the same joy and excitement of bringing in a new year. I just don’t understand why I feel this way.

If the current year was so bad and we just want to get rid of it and move on then I understand the joy of sending it packing into history. If there were something big coming in the New Year (world peace would be nice) I would understand it too. But we know nothing of the coming New Year. One thing for sure is that it brings us one year closer to the end of the Mayan Calendar which some say predicts the end of mankind in the year 2012. “Oh don’t be so negative and enjoy the moment” I can hear you now and I agree we should enjoy this moment. Perhaps this is exactly what I am getting at.

Why don’t we celebrate everyday as if it were the last day of the year and the dawn of a new one? Nobody was upset yesterday. I stood in line at a small convenience store at 8:30pm needing Tequila to make margaritas. No salt – shaken not stirred – a small slice of lime and pour it over a glass stuffed with ice please. So here was this line, a line that typically would consist of people moaning and griping and wondering why the lady in front is writing a check for $15.81 and holding up the line. But last night there was none of that. There was only patience and understanding. Sure, everyone there had someplace they were going even if it were just back home to make sour drinks with ice. Lots of ice – did I mention that yet? So why is everyone so kind and understanding on December 31st and how do we roll that into January 1 and so on?

So how can we get pumped up like this everyday? I’ve said before that I admit a lot of personal things on this blog - probably much more than I should. I chest pound. Yes, you read that correctly. I pound my own chest. I take right hand into a loose fist and I tap the left side of my upper chest two times. Just below the shoulder to be exact and only twice. No, not three times as I would after scoring any goal in air hockey but only two times. The air hockey thing I will tell you about at another time. At least one person knows that story and is shaking their head right now remembering it in utter dismay. Why do I chest pound? I don’t know for sure. My wife hates it. She says I look silly and a few other things but I do it anyway. It isn’t for her or anyone else. I do it only for myself. My daughters have not seen it yet but my wife still doesn’t feel special about being introduced to the chest pound. I wonder why?

The chest pound is a way of showing confidence in me. It pumps me up after a big sale or making a good decision. It is reserved and not used daily but only used for special situations. I know you are reading into that “special” and I do not blame you as I will admit it is a bit strange but I never was one to get in line and follow. Up until this Christmas I only chest pounded in the privacy of my own home. This holiday season I introduced my visiting from out of town family to the chest pound. Yea, nobody understood it.

Wouldn’t it be a great thing though if we all got fired up everyday like we do on New Years? So here is a toast, moderate on the sour mix, a bit heavy on the Tequila, a squirt of lime and packed with a bunch of ice for a new year filled with happiness, joy and peace. May we all carry with us each day the warmth we feel on New Years Eve. Happy 2009!