Thursday, January 1, 2009

How Expectation Ruined New Year's

It is a commonly known fact that the higher one's expectations are for a particular thing, the greater the chance for dissapointment. I think this simple fact infiltrated the American celebration of the New Year long ago. The result is a doomed string of mediocre New Year's celebrations. I went to Nashville in search of an off the charts New Year's party. I thought that surely Nashville would have something great to lend toward my enjoyment of the evening. And yeah, I had a good time. If it had been any other weekend, I would have walked away saying, "Man, that was an awesome time!" However, because it was New Year's Eve, there was an unspoken expectation (and maybe it's just me) that things were going to be spectacular. In the early afternoon, Chandler and I went to one of my favorite Nashville establishments, the Flying Saucer. The fly has a bajillion beers on tap and a menu created to compliment their brews. We would have been intent on staying there all day and night, but after about five hours, we were ready to leave. We had dinner at a friend's apartment, and then headed to Broadway to ring in the New Year. We waited in line and went into Robert's Western World. Not my first choice... but I told myself I was going to simply go with the flow. Robert's Western World is the "Home of Traditional Country Music". As a music person, I am able to respect and enjoy almost any genre of music. Traditional Country music proved to be quite entertaining, however it was the proximity to other people that got me. There wasn't even room to shuffle your feet to the George Jones tunes. Drinks were too expensive and I didn't have any cash. We rang in the New Year right after the band finished "A Boy Named Sue". Merriment insued and about thirty minutes later we left. Happy New Year.
Like I said, it was a good time, but just not the blowout bash of a good time I was looking for. Thus, I have resigned to simply not care so much about New Year's next year. Festivities aside, it was really good to see some of my Nashville friends as well as some of my Auburn friends in Nashville. It was really good to eat at some of my favorite restaurants as well. I'll never forget my summer in Nashville, and it's good to go back every now and then and reconnect. I hope you had a good time, however you chose to celebrate.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I know what you mean. Not being a drinker, and since drinking seems to be the point of New Year's Eve parties, I'm not a big fan. In the last several years, I tend to want to stay home, watch football, eat good food, and --my favorite--shoot fireworks!! Old Fogey Fun for me!

chandler said...

I was glad to have you around to celebrate the new year and my b-day with even if it wasn't fun for you. Thanks for Genghis.

The Dyer Family said...

new years is always a let down - we quit making plans years ago. this year, i sent joe off to play poker while i cuddled with jacks for much longer than necessary. then i watched a ricky gervais stand up on hbo. good times!

JBFerguson said...

Dan, I totally agree. I always remember saying in high school, "I cannot wait until I'm 21 for New Years Eve so I can go out to awesome parties." Humm, well I am 24 and yes it does add something, but I had a pregnant new year and I think it was one of the most fun ones I've had in a while. See you bright and early on Monday!