New Year's Eve In A Pandemic: Plans & Solace

we're dressing up fancy, then settling onto the couch with pizza and cocktails for a godfather marathon. a big step up from our usual plans of bickering about where to go, not going anywhere, then falling asleep before 10.

It's almost 4 pm. Might as well crack open a cold one.

Getting jackshit done is my sole motivator today.

This morning I preemptively celebrated by donating blood. We rarely do much if anything for the New Year Eve, but this year my kids have plans, one hanging with her quarantine buddy, the other hanging on a front porch with her school pod people. My wife and I are going to our friends' backyard to freeze our asses off and eat pizza, in that order. We were there for their Feast of the Seven Fishes last week (the "seven" fishes being shrimp cocktail and oysters). Both literally froze. Tonight I assume we'll be done by 8 or so, with my wife ridiculously committing to picking up the kids at their respective hangs a hair after midnight.

Decided on Fear of Fear as a suitable film for this evening. I've seen it before but the boyfriend hasn't, heh.

fucking joggers, what a bunch of wankers!
― calzino, Thursday, December 31, 2020 8:47 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

otm

Changed the sheets, so I can at least leave this shit year feeling fresh. Generally cleaning the flat, preparing dinner stuff, will have a few large cocktails from sunset and maybe an edible in time for the Optimo livestream Hogmanay / TVOD Party:

https://www.mixcloud.com/live/Optimo_Espacio/OptimoHogmanayNYE/

(on now 22:30-01:00 on UK time, replaying at 22:30 US west coast time)

everyone here has now gone to bed / doing games. might go for a drunk jog instead

wanker :p

Bloke in the flat opposite was bellowing along to some "Jeremy Clarkson Drivetime Classics"-type CD earlier, now all is quiet other than the odd muffled detonation echoing across the rooftops of north London. Ta-ra 2020, I have a good feeling about 2021 though*.

*not really

Might watch the new Liam Neeson movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUIEOMOxIDo

I'm watching another ep of Alistair Cooke's America before I go out for a midnight walk with the dog cause i'm a sad bastard!

Earlier today I was thinking at least I won’t start the new year hungover, now 2 empty bottles of Malbec are all “you were saying?”

quite relatable tbf!

Cant get drunk on empties mayne

just watching bollocks on YT. Supping ale. munching on crisps and chocs. same as last year really.

Wishing all the best to ye all ilxors!

watched Phantom Thread with a big espresso martini and some turkish delight.
might go to bed in a minute

Heading over to a friend's house for an early distanced indoor thing (a member of each couple is a health care worker who gets tested all the time, and the other member basically doesn't leave the house). Then the possibilities are limitless...Trivial Pursuit, an early bedtime???

Love to all the Joggers and dog walkers! Cheers to the people who reliably won't really care if you're taking drugs in the park

We have unspeakable amounts of booze, so this should be fun.

Happy New Year to the Brits btw. And anyone else who's already made it past the midnight hurdle.

Already posted this in another thread but Charles Dodge nailed it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYvSfCvXhNM

I'm not doing owt different to usual cos years are just made up bollox.

I absolutely agree with this, am a big proponent of time being an arbitrary piece of bullshit that humans inflict on themselves, and I know 2021 is going to be shit too, but still...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu3k2PJumfI

Happy new year you ppl! 🍾🥂

Emily otm

Happy New Year to the Brits btw. And anyone else who's already made it past the midnight hurdle.

Right, better set up "Thread connections 2011"

is greenland in europe

happy new year, SVALBARD

Watched mank and the was thoroughly underwhelmed by jools

Happy new year James Redd and the Blecchs everyone else can fuck off

busted open the doritos, posting pingu gifs in the nts chat. bit pissed tbh

Fuck off, I’m going to bed,,, but blessings to ilxors trying to ring in this thing in future time zones

<3 Nick. I know we didn't hang out *all* that much in the South, but I still miss it. Yr the best.

Europe’s most westernmost country tyvm!

It’s afternoon in Australia tbf

(nearly)

aw emil.y i miss you too and hope that things are going better for you oop there in thee east midlands! seriously!

cooking bolognese sauce for lasagna dinner
& listening to Nick Cave

i think we might be watching Godfather pt3 w the new ending tonight

i have a weird pain in my eye

hate u 2020

am not welcoming 2021 until such time as I see some kind of discernible improvement on current state of affairs

Love a good bolognese.

Just finished doing my round of hogmanay WhatsApp messages to my people back in Scotland.

I bought my wife a couple of bottles of pet-nat. Going to watch king of the hill, play some backgammon. We might end up doing some sort of video chat thing or watching a stream, although that wouldn't be my preference. I dont mind a quiet new year's eve and have had many disastrous nights out in the past. I remember ending up a party where the host was very against drugs and spending the evening in the kitchen hiding lines of cocaine under the toaster.

Last new year's eve we ended up not going out as the party we were going to got cancelled last minute, so we got high on acid and watched movies and listened to records at home. That was quite enjoyable.

wallowing in heartbreak this week, familial and not...

tying one on at home alone and wishing every last one of you a happy and much improved new year

happy new year to all itt <3

Alistair Cooke's America

Ah, yes! I remember this series, by that well-known expert on America. Why, he actually knew several real Americans and had bearded several others in their lairs, which was qualification enough back then. It was shown here in the US, too, because Americans always are eager to hear what foreigners think of their exceptional nation, so long as the ratio of compliments to mild criticisms is roughly 5:1.

Happy New Year’s everybody although it still 3 hours away here. Will report back later.

xp

I'm not saying it is good but I do have an inexplicable affection for it from the years of listening to his R4 bulletins in the 90's despite his politics being just as bad as yours and tbf I think he probably lived there just as long as you in the end!

happy new year ilx, and thank you for helping me get through the last one

xx etc

despite his politics being just as bad as yours

hmmm. remind me which bad policies I've advocated for and which bad politicians I backed. I can't improve until I know what needs improvement.

found a goth club DJ in Toronto taking video requests on Mixcloud while testing the Optimo stream-to-TV for later, 🖤🖤🖤🦇🦇🦇⚰️⚰️⚰️

happy new year aps! hope all is well with you! :) xps

xxp

just search posts by display name Aimless on I love Everything board from the last decade, no probs.

iow, you have no idea. it's just a vague impression based on nothing you can describe. thought so.

Bogus Journey is important for continuity btw!

Happy New Year to all -- usually out like a light at this point but I'm pushing through things as much as I can watching the New Years Queens thing at this point, basically waiting on Trixie and Katya to hit in about forty minutes. Glad to get this year finally out of the way, seventy minutes to go!

Happy New Year to you fools, each and every one of you. Even though I still kinda feel like I haven’t cracked into being a “real” ilxor yet, many of you have helped keep me slightly more sane during a really trying year - even when we were butting heads in the politics threads. Best wishes for all of you.

Here we are. Bless you all, eat the billionaires.

2021?!! Holy shit I guess we did it. When you were a kid your friend would say “well in the year 2021...” and you’d cut him off and say he was insane but probably feel bad about that now. Wishing you all the best and stay safe.

Xp - thanks sic! I figured it would be, but also that I couldn't stay awake through all 3 based on when we started the first one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSyB-OIRtR0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4UbWhtVCBE

Literally moments after midnight my wife noticed the diamond was missing from her engagement ring setting. Bad way to start the new year! Looked all over the house and then more or less gave up, figuring it could be anywhere but that we'd scour the (snow covered) back yard of our friends, fingers crossed. I woke up this morning and recalled she'd spent some time shuttling the kids around, so thought, hmm, maybe it's in the car? Grabbed a coat and flashlight, went out in my jammies and looked in all the car's nooks and crannies, and ... found it! (Also found about five masks). Good way to start the new year! It's a 2021 miracle!

That is awesome Josh. Hopefully a good sign for the year.

omg! a bit of good luck there.

Aw.

We had a very similar thing, found the gem, got it reset.

Makes you feel lucky, dunnit?

I went to bed at about 12:30, pretty tired, and then ... just didn't sleep. Not for any particular reason. Just one of those nights where it didn't happen. I eventually got up around 4:30 and made pistachio bread (which came out underbaked but still pretty good) and cleaned the kitchen. Maybe this will be the year that I free myself from the tyranny of sleep.

oh no, tipsy, that means bad sleep all year if you believe in that sort of thing.

I put on my bar playlist at work last night and it made the shift go much more pleasantly. A few minutes before closing time I hit the last call bell and startled the shit out of everyone, who stopped talking and turned to look at me -- and at that moment Can's "Moonshake" started, very satisfying.

Happy New Year! Spent yesterday evening cleaning my old apartment while listening to Flying Saucer Attack and half-watching mediocre old X-Files episodese. Slightly preferred last year when I got invited to a friend’s rich bf’s house at the last minute and hung out in a hot tub with strangers but this was definitely more productive.

Now that I’ve made it to the other side, I’d like to wish you all a proper happy New Year! Despite what misgivings we may have about this place sometimes, it’s the finest internet community I can think of and I genuinely love you all! <3

Wishing you the very best for 2021 and beyond.

Happy new year everyone!

I'm kinda peripheral and my posting tends to be governed by the vagaries of my job and family life but I read most days and get a huge amount from this place - solace, ludicrous amounts of good music and literature, my opinions are challenged, thought processes. It's a sane quadrant of the internet and I value it hugely. Happy new year to everyone.

I spent 6 hours the day before making posole rojo and served my building/neighbors a rooftop dinner from my slow-cooker!! That goddamned roof has been a sanity-saver and makes it feel almost like the before-times since I never went anywhere anyway.

We wrapped up in blankets to drink wine, froze, took a warm-up break, and came back out for the countdown and screaming. My roommate made a little paper effigy of el año viejo and burned it--a fun tradition I never knew about. We all jumped over it and yelled at 2020.

The posole was well received by people who know better, so I'm taking the win!

I was home by 12:03 p.m. The Lyft vehicle with me in it rounded the corner at midnight.

I'm not at a computer much and feel a bit distanced from ilx lately but thank you all for keeping this place going. Here's to all the real people behind the keyboards, let's have massive faps in 2021.

safer than massive FAPs in 2021, to be sure

Okay fine that was optimistic, it was too depressing to say "in 2022" in the literal "Happy 2021 let's find solace in something" thread.

I like both ideas tbf.

steady

went to a nice little gathering of 4 other people one I'd known since I came to town, an ex of mine , somebody I knew through her and somebody I hadn't met before.
So it was quite nice, an interesting night really, better than staying in again.
Had to walk across town to get there and interesting to see that on a big night be so empty. MOst of the people I saw were around Xi An a Chinese street food place I stopped in along the way. MIssed a bus into town and had to wait ages for another one. THought they might have stopped running early for a while.
Then got on the 2nd bus home in the morning which was really handy.