At the end of each year, my friends pick a theme for the year to come.
Finding a few words to set a tone for the days ahead is tricky business. Add in the wish to balance humor with momentum and the need to come up with a single idea that will gain mass acceptance and you get an idea of the care that goes into each theme choice.
Despite our best efforts, some have been more successful than others.
The Year of The Hard Body: We gave ourselves latitude on this one. We could meet the goal by improving personal fitness or by dating a hot guy who already had a hard body. This was a spectacular failure on both counts.
The Year of Amore: I think this was the year I dated a guy with a cheese phobia. Amore? Not quite.
The Year of Giving: What I gave must have been brain cells because I really don’t remember how we followed through on the theme’s intention. I do recall an attempt to be giving of spirit. I gave a second, third and fourth chance to the guy I was dating and as a result, I have the distinction of being broken up with four times in four months.
The Year of the Bitch: This might have been an over-correction after The Year of Giving.
The Year of No Fear: Awesome because it rhymes, this theme was about going after dreams. I wrote a novel. I didn’t get it published before the theme expired so fear set in. Maybe this theme should be renewed.
The Year of Fun: It had been a while since we had a contagious giggle. You know, when it’s hard to say the exact funny thing that sets the laughter in motion but it starts to roll and if you stop, you can’t look your friends in the eye without starting again. We had so much fun in this year that I decided to replay it because the next year was …
The Year of Yes: I’ve come to believe all those childhood promises: Ask and ye shall receive; You reap what you sow; I’m rubber and you’re glue …. So it felt reckless for “yes” to be the standard for the year. There are a lot of things that nobody should say yes to and there’s no need to invite them around. So I went rogue and repeated our most successful theme, The Year of Fun.
The Year of Adventure: We defined “Adventure” as anything new. Anytime we were on the fence about a plan and wondered if we should bother with the first date or the museum exhibition or the out of the blue plans with new friends, we said, “Well, it is the year of adventure!” And we went. We also went to Turkey and Greece (and for the record, I was able to get excellent margaritas in both countries.)
This year is The Year of Well and Good. This suggests balance and every past theme rolls into this one. We need to be giving and bitchy, have fun and adventure, be fit in body and mind and be all around good citizens. I think we’re off to a good start. I’m mentoring a 14-year old through IMentor and if all goes well, I will mentor her straight into college. We are lending our effort to Cycle for Survival to raise money for research into cures for “rare” cancers. Because Cycle for Survival requires getting on a bike, I’ve finally started to exercise. And, we’ve booked a trip to Iceland with hopes of seeing the Aurora Borealis.
And the year has only begun!
My adventure to find the perfect margarita continues.
I checked out Park Kitchen. It’s brand new in the lobby of newly renovated Park Central Hotel (NYC). The space is graciously designed though it’s impossible to forget, even for a moment, that you’re in the middle of a hotel lobby.
I didn’t have much hope for the margarita since lobby bars, even in New York City, often disappoint. When my drink appeared, the bright yellow hue made me think I was looking at high-end mix abuse.
Park Kitchen Marg – Well & Good!
But it was good and strong. The flavors well-balanced and the tequila was the clear star.
I left feeling both well and good.
margagogo 