For this introvert who rarely ventures forth into polite company, or even impolite company, last night was especially uncommon: I had two New Year’s Eve parties to attend.
First was a soiree hosted by James Maxey, featuring many of our fellow Codex Writers who live in North Carolina. (Last year James convinced us all to go to breakfast together on New Year’s Day, and he’s hosted movie nights and other parties — he’s a great instigator of these get-togethers.) Terrific conversation, some truly excellent food, and of course some folks were just arriving when I was getting ready to leave for the next event. C’est la vie.
Driving at 10 p.m. on New Year’s Eve is quite pleasant, because hardly anyone else is on the road. So I made good time getting to the second party, a small gathering of folks from North Cary Baptist Church. I arrived too late for the games, but still found plenty of wonderful food to eat, and it was good to ring in the New Year with family and friends.
Which brings me to this morning. As usual, I was the first person awake in the house, so after feeding the dog and the cat I decided to start off 2011 by adding a few paragraphs to the short story I’ve been writing. I didn’t write much — maybe 150 words — so the gesture was more symbol than substance, but it feels good to have started the year doing what I think I’m supposed to be doing.
And with that, I wish for all of you a 2011 that starts off right, gets progressively better, and ends with spectacular success.
by 
