For Auld Lang Syne, My Dear

Happy 2009! We're four days into the new year and, just as I'm sure we all are, I'm very excited to have that clean slate feeling of a whole twelve months before me.

2008 certainly ended memorably though...yes indeed, with a story that is certainly blog-worthy in my opinion. I am notorious for getting things all nicely and neatly planned out in my head - imagining everything falling perfectly into place - and being very upset when those plans are, inevitably, muddled as painstakingly precise plans often are. And I wanted this December 31 to be very special so of course I had a game plan in mind. Shane and I were planning on going out to a nice dinner so I'd gone out and gotten something fun to wear complete with a new pair of four-inch heals (How cool is it that I can wear four-inch heals and still not be anywhere close to taller than my boyfriend? But I digress...) and a fancy new purse to match. My sister had given me a gift certificate for a manicure and pedicure at my favorite nail salon in my home town of East Hampton so I made my appointment for mid-morning on the 31st and my hairdresser even made time in her schedule for me to come in and have my hair done. How cool! I, admittedly, can be a bit of a girly girl at times and enjoy getting dressed up so I was looking forward to it all very much. Then after I was all done up Shane and I were going to go see the early fireworks in Bushnell Park, go to dinner at Dish, and then drink champagne and count down to the new year. Who could possibly ask for more?

And then the weather hit.

4-8 inches of lovely, fluffy New England snow all falling within the mid-morning to early afternoon time window in which I was going to be doing my running around and getting pretty. Damn.

Did I give up and cancel my appointments you ask? Don't be silly...of course not!

So in whiteout conditions I made the journey to East Hampton to get all prettied up. And I made it there and back without even hitting a single car or guardrail! But then I was faced with a unique dilemma...my roommates were both gone for the day and the driveway needed to be shoveled. Double damn. Upon explaining my plight to my hairdresser she provided me with a plastic shower cap to protect my perfectly coiffured do. Stylish.

Once I got home I set to work clearing the driveway...with only about an hour and a half to go until Shane's scheduled arrival time to pick me up. Diligently I began shoveling away the snow all the while with the plastic shower cap sliding down on my forehead and over my eyes until it got to the point where I had to stop and fix it because I couldn't see (this happened repeatedly). Meanwhile my various neighbors' driveways were being cleared by folks with plow trucks and snow blowers...and me in the midst of it all with my measly little snow shovel. Needless to say I felt a bit foolish. And while I toiled I secretly hoped to myself "Wow...I really wish one of the guys in those trucks would see how pathetic I am and offer to give me a hand."

And my patheticness paid off! Low and behold a pick-up with a plow on the front pulled up to the bottom of my driveway and inside there where three guys who offered to help me finish clearing my driveway. Oh providence! $20 later the job was done and I was happily getting ready for my night out. Seriously...sometimes being a sad, puny little girl really does pay off.

The rest of the night proved to be truly lovely (although minus the fireworks...even I'm not such a hopeless romatic that I'll brave freezing temperature and snow drifts just for one of those "awwww" moments)...although the 4-inch heals proved to be a bit of a nuisance. They're not really very good for walking on ice in. Oops. Luckily Shane was able to half-drag me from my house to the car and then from the car to the restaurant. As clumsy as I may have wound up looking I think the first impression was still pretty good! I looked kinda sexy...as long as I was holding still. :-p