Back to work and New Year's Eve in Burlington

Thursday
I slept in later than I planned and really felt crappy, but got to work at around 9:30. As I had been out a few more days than originally planned, I felt I needed to go in and catch up. Good thing I came in, because there was lots of work to do. My co-workers patiently endured my coughing for the next few hours. I caught up a bit on my projects and clients and ended up going home in the late afternoon. I was really glad I came in. Carrie and I decided to meet Friday for the big New Year’s Eve spectacular in Burlington called First Night. First Night in Burlington is a big event for the city. It is where there are dance and music performances, comedy acts, dramatic readings, poetry readings and fireworks to celebrate the new year. I went home and coughed my way through a couple of DVDs and some TV.

Friday
After sleeping in and watching still more mindless television, I called Carrie and we arranged to get together in the early evening. After a good few hours of napping, I woke up and waited for Carrie to arrive. We decided to take the bus downtown, since a) I was sick; b) it was windy and cold and c) parking sucks downtown during big events. The bus ride was pleasant enough. There was a very chatty chick on the bus asking us all kinds of questions and sharing her life story. We were finally dropped of in downtown right off of Church Street. We strolled down the street towards the events. We had a whole calendar of events. Carrie and I thought it would be fun seeing some improv shows and live music. We headed towards the YMCA, where there were a few improv groups made up of high school kids. They were pretty good. Many of the types of improv acts they did were similar to what I learned when I took improv classes. It makes me want to look into taking another improv class. After a bit, we went to go check out another improv event. This one was with adults in a Who’s Line Is It Anyway style. I have to say that the pianist ain’t no Laura Hall and the comedians weren’t no Colin, Ryan, Wayne nor Greg and should not give up their day jobs. It was awful. The music numbers were too long and just not funny. The kids we had seen earlier were so much funnier. We tortured ourselves through about 20 minutes or so. After that we walked over to check out the music venues. There were three sections of the Flynn Center set up one had punk, one with DJs and the third with alternative. We checked them all out but nothing really clicked with us. Still, it was a lovely night out and there was plenty to check out. We ate dinner at some little Greekish restaurant, which was pretty good. We finally headed towards the lake’s shore for the fireworks show. The Lake Champlain shore looked really lovely and peaceful in the cool night air. I should point out that the entire evening we were out and about the weather was cool, but not freezing. So, we planted ourselves on a pair of big boulders and waited for the show. I have seen some pretty great fireworks shows, and the Burlington 2005 show was pretty darn good. It lasted just about 10-15 minutes. There was a nice crowd. Not many people oohed and aahed like I am accustomed to, but nevertheless, it was a good time. It did make me a little sad abut not being with my old friends in California. I really miss seeing them, talking to them and just being there. I am feeling better about being here in Vermont and am getting to like Burlington. But it’s just not home for me yet. I had a great time with Carrie and am glad she suggested we go to this First Night experience. We had a brisk walk back to my house and then I managed to call some West Coasters and stay up until 4am. Happy New Year! Here’s to a really exciting and amazing 2005!