The New Year

I cannot believe it is January 10 already! I know this for sure, because one of my many student loan payments is due tomorrow, January 11, 2006. That's right, I keep track of time with the bills that I have due every month.

Anyhow, I just finished my classes at Diller-Quaile for today, and am languishing in some down time before my next class at the E. Harlem center. And it occurred to me just how long it has been since I last posted on my blog. Let's see, Christmas came and went in California, I spent almost a week in the wintery plains of Michigan, and I rang in the New Year with the lovely Nathan, watching the glittering ball drop on TV.

I came back to a gradually de-Christmas-izing New York City on New Year's Day. No more aromatic tree stands to pass by on the streets, no more tourists standing in great clumps, shooting cameras at every corner...it's kind of sad, actually. I mean, I hate the slow, crowded holiday subway/bus commutes as much as the next New Yorker, but I really do revel in the cheery lights and pine-tree smells of the season. Just about the only reminder that Christmas was just here are the dead trees piled unceremoniously on the curbs of every street!

But, now it is indeed a new year, and I suppose this post should be more about the hopefulness of a fresh start than about trying to hold on to the past. Now there are many things to look forward to--weddings, baptisms, holidays off work, recitals (many, many recitals in the Spring) and the warm, balmy weather of early Summer. Specifically for me, there are a few key things that will be quite exciting to come upon: my dad being eligible for MediCare in March, Nathan's and my anniversary in April, Nathan graduating in May, Jennie T. getting married in June, and in September, the first anniversary of my teaching career. And, then, dear goodness, I'll be turning 28 in October.

For now, I'll just take things one day at a time. I don't believe in New Year's resolutions--or, rather, I don't believe people actually keep them--but I do believe in calling up old friends, making new ones, and taking time to have a good cup of coffee with them. Here's to another New Year!