New Year's Eve came and went and what did we do? Everyone, no doubt, got ready for a "big night" out.  Guys and girls alike tried on new Christmas sweaters and slacks to see if colors and sizes still fit, and everyone spent a little extra time at the mirror making sure figures and fingernails were just right.  Men shaved their faces, women shaved their pits, bartenders trimmed their nose hairs, and everyone brushed their teeth with anticipation for one of the biggest nights of the year.

            But why is New Year's Eve such a grand event?  Quite frankly, I think most people simply enjoy the idea of doing away with the old year and starting fresh with the new.  I think that people, both genders and all ages, "love" the idea of putting to rest the past year's miscues and screw-ups for the notion that "this year it'll be different" and that we're all "starting over with a clean slate." Things look upbeat and positive for the new year... but... but... we still have one more night left of last year and all its heartache, so we might as well live it up, raise hell, dance the night away, puke, spend all our money, blackout, piss our pants, and deal with January 1^st and all of its consequences when that time comes!

            Sure, great!  Woo-Hoo! Awesome!  Happy New Year!  Unfortunately, the pathetic truth is that 99 out of 100 out us will settle for not finding true love on this eve of the new year, but rather we'll get way too drunk on the fizz of champagne and as soon as we open our eyes the following afternoon we'll hate ourselves for letting ourselves get so intoxicated. Or we'll be super embarrassed because we'll have to call our closest friends to find out what the hell we did and why we have a black eye?  Some of us will wake up next to strangers. Some of us will wish we never wore that color sweater. Some of us will regret not shaving.  Some of us will wish to forget, and yet, others will wish it were still last year.

The long and the short of my little New Year's Eve rant has to do with the fact that too many of us do things on New Year's Eve that we end up regretting, so most of our unresolved "resolutions" for the upcoming year have to do with "not doing that again!"  Now the unfortunate part of  "not doing that again" means that many of you will boycott drinking and the pursuit of finding true love for an extended period of time-- which ultimately means that my life as a bartender usually sucks for the month of January because nobody comes to visit me for drinks or romance! 

            So yes, New Year's Eve is a grand event!  It's a once a year fiasco and everyone's expectations are way too high. 

We all watch the ball drop and only some of us remember it.  We all realize that we've made mistakes, but we all have hope for the future, for our country, for our wallet, for our kids, and most importantly for our love life!  We all still have that fairy-tale notion for what it must be like to find true love in a bar on New Year's Eve as we kiss them while the ball drops.  So I guess as long as we all have our fairy-tale notions in check then we'll be good for another 365 days.  Until then.... 

By Jay Cole

Jay Cole is the owner of Riva restaurant in Scituate harbor and has an M.A. in creative writing. As Wink's Male Muse, he entertains us with stories about the women and men who enter his bar.