For New Year’s Eve, Andy and I met up with our former neighbors from Jersey. There were three apartments in our old place, and all three couples moved out at around the same time, so we decided to meet up for New Year’s. A brewery in Pennsylvania (which is conveniently located to a few parental residences) hosted a big New Year’s Eve-ent, complete with huge meal, open bar, and band.

So about the band. How do I say. . . . um. . . well, they were called Middle-Aged Mitch and the Moodswings.

Yup.

Mitch, sporting a grey, tightly-curled old-school (meaning pre-Achy Breaky Heart) mullet, burst energetically onto the stage and announced that, while many bands consider themselves to be oldies bands, be not confused. The MOODSwings, said Mitch, “prefer to think of ourselves as a ROCK ‘n ROLL band . . . that likes to play old music.” While perhaps not the most talented rock ‘n roll band that plays old music in the world, Mitch & Co. were also not the worst, and at the very least, they were tremendously entertaining.

The former residents of #134 (apartments 1, 2, and 3) and friends were some of the youngest folks at the Eve-ent, and we joined a large group of middle-aged, Central Pennsylvanians and shook our booties to Mitch’s killer tunes.

Incidentally, we attended the party with some folks in the beer industry and ended up having a nice chat with the owners of the brewery. We learned a lot about beer. Most of all, we learned that beers tasting of green apple have been rushed through the brewing process, which means the brewers didn’t leave enough time for the acetaldehyde to do. . . um. . . whatever it does when it goes away.

So about New Year’s Efforts. I think that New Year’s Resolutions are a bad idea. I won’t pretend that I’m the first person to think of this, but the thing is, most people don’t keep their resolutions, and then they feel bad about themselves. That is just silly. I shouldn’t have to feel guilty for deciding that an occasional M&M won’t kill me or that I don’t need to exercise 5 times in every single week. Nonsense, I tell ya. I do think, however, that setting goals and making concerted efforts toward self-improvement are generally positive steps toward a more fulfilling life, and the New Year is as good a time as any to think about the aspects of your life that might need re-evaluation. AND SO, I have decided that from now on I will have New Year’s Efforts. Down with resolutions.

Here’s my effort this year: I am going to try to be a more sincere person. I realised (or remembered, rather) that I am not quite funny enough to be a sarcastic person, so I tend to offend people. Therefore, sincere is probably a better way to go for me. We’ll see how it goes.

By the way, two days after our beerducation, Andy joined our friend Chris in a home-brewed beer that one of Chris’s buddies’ dads made. Green apple, all the way. That guy needs to brew his beer longer. That acetaldehydle’ll get you every time.

PS. We’ll try to post pictures soon. . .