rappy poo near

i had the best new years ever.

the past few years i've stayed in with my parents, watched the ball drop, and hit the hay at 12:01.
this year i was in vermont with matt and his family. it was sooo wonderful. first off, his family is SO GREAT and i felt at home the instant i arrived. second, vermont is just one of the best states out there. despite the below zero degress temperatures, i wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else.

i arrived at matt's on tuesday evening, where i was immediately thrown into family dinner. it was delicious, and after a few beers and over 2 hours of apples to apples [ha.], i felt completely at home. the family dog, bela, and i had a love affair with one another. if i ever get myself a dog, it will be one of bela's kind. talk about love. the kitten, fight club, was hilarious and had neverending energy, which is great, because i can play with cats til the cows come home.

after waking up late the next morning [sidenote: i don't believe i got out of bed before noon the entire time i was home] to a delicious breakfast, matt and i got bundled up and went outside to work on the snowfort. once 11 feet high, the rain and warm days had melted it to about 5 feet. it was time to bring it back to life. we [i say we. i stood around playing with the dog and complaining about the cold.] sawed out [and i mean sawed. with a saw.] enormous bricks of ice that required not only myself and matt, but at times even his father, to hoist up on top of our snow structure. before long, i was colder than i could ever remember being, so i stayed outside with matt for just a little bit longer. because that's what you do when you love somebody. you suffer for them.
so what could be better than spending a vermont afternoon building a snowfort?
well let me tell you!
hot apple cider and SANDWICHES FROM PUTNAM are better than spending a vermont afternoon building a snowfort!!!
what a treat we had waiting inside for us. on my way up the day before i stopped in saratoga [i couldn't help myself] and picked up some sammiches from putnam. MM MM GOOD. i mean they better be flippin delicious. goddamn $9.00 sandwich.

we spent the rest of the day hanging out around the house, and after a dinner of tasty hors d'oeuvres [sp?] matt, his sister julianne, their parents and myself headed out to montpelier's First Night. there we froze through a creepy bread & puppet parade and a nice fireworks display at the capitol building. i would freeze through montpelier's nye celebration before times square's any day.

from there we went inside and warmed up a bit before matt, julianne and i headed over to langdon st. cafe for their new year's eve festivities. $10 entry to see two bands included one free drink! woo! what a deal!
the first band we saw was called primate fiasco. a mix of dixieland, new orleans jazz, funk...you get the point - they were sooo fantastic. we danced the night away beside the sweaty group of smelly [read: reallysmelly.] hippies. we fit right in. finally, a public gathering in which i felt 100% completely comfortable [except for the man in only a vest. my nose was not comfortable when i was within a 5 foot radius of him]. i dare you to find me a place like that in LA. i triple dog dare you.
[please? will you?]

sean showed up after work, and it was great to see him. we did the ol' slip-a-wristband-off-and-bring-it-outside-so-that-sean-can-put-it-on-his-wrist-and-get-in move. it worked. i had to pee a lot, and the line for the bathroom was always a bit of a wait. it reminded me of waiting in DAs. always feeling like i'm in someone else's way, and always waiting until the last possible moment before getting in line. i guess the latter problem is my own. matt and i went into the bathroom together a couple times, at the suggestion of a girl behind us, and came out to stares. even though it annoys me when i see other people doing it, it really does save time.

after primate fiasco finished their set, they came down into the crowd while Rusty Belle [skidmore band!!!] took the stage, and together they both rang in the new year with a fantastic rendition of After Midnight. my first midnight sans dick clark came and went, i finally had a boy to kiss, and after julianne and sean left, matt and i stayed on and danced allllll night long. the music MUST be good if I'M dancing. and the beer. the beer must be good, too.

rusty belle played on until past 2, when matt and i were getting ready to leave. what a partay! and cheap, local beers! unheard of in my new life. what a great time. it's been so long since i've been at a place like that. a nice little cafe filled with music and fun and love and free spirits who don't give two shits about anything except having a good time. smelly and sweaty as it was, i wouldn't have traded it for anything else.

as soon as we got home, matt and i dove into the remainders of our putnam delicacies and leftovers from dinner. it was a late night. but that's what new years is for.