2011-01-01 - 3:48 p.m.
First of all, Happy New Year 2011 to all of you who have just celebrated it.:) I hope you had a great time that we will achieve better this year.
It's been almost three decades of my life and I still find myself amazed at how most of my people here celebrate New Year's Eve in Jakarta. Yesterday, I came across a guess-the-statistic kind of game on TV about how most people here celebrate New Year, and the highest answer goes to...book a fancy hotel room!
Perhaps it's just my personal opinion. I mean, I've been through different kinds of New Year's Eve celebrations for years. If I'm going out of town and have no close relatives nor friends there, I stay in hotels. Not exactly the five-star types, though. (Maybe only four or three - not below that standard.) I prefer going out more on such holidays.
But if I stick around in Jakarta (like now), why should I? Some people may give an excuse that they need a change of environment for holiday. For me, it's a waste of money, especially if I choose to go out all night long and stay up until dawn.
Okay, so what I normally do to spend New Year's Eve? I know I can always take my pick. Staying home is actually okay, as long as I know something interesting to do after the breaking dawn. I can also visit other relatives or friends, have drinks and eat until I feel guilty and start picturing 'the gym' in my head as the next place to go.:P
Or, if there's any interesting stage performance in town, I tag along with the same interested crowd of friends to go there. The best one I had was probably 2002, back when they still ran Senayan's Theme Park. I'd gone there with Pumpkin and friends, where we ate dinner from the food vendors and watched local bands perform on stage. Then we all danced to the DJ after midnight - until four in the morning...
Ah, good old days...:)
I didn't find any good crowds this time. Plus, I'm still flat broke, despite the pay-day. I can't be too selfish, can I? First things first.
Besides, the mood just wasn't right. Come to think of it, not everyday you get a really quiet time - when it's just you and some good reads. You can even finish your writings in peace.
And I know what I'm going to do next.;) It's always been part of the usual plan in January.
The Author/SBF/QB
