Most years, I don't do anything special on New Year's Eve, but this year I doubled up, and it was all pretty cool.
Back in October, my company had a massive reduction in force, and both my friends Cory and Kevin were let go. Kevin had been my manager for the last ten years, and had 23 years with the company. I'd been in the same group as Cory for all of my 24 years, and Cory himself had worked there for 31 years. Yes, sometimes my company makes poor decisions.
Anyway, we'd been talking about having lunch together for a few weeks, and the stars finally aligned for December 31st. I picked the Elephant Bar in Burbank, about halfway between Kevin and Cory's homes, and we met around 12:30pm. We talked for a couple of hours, and only about 25 minutes was work related. They're both doing well enough, and are in good spirits.
Most years, Carole and I stay in on New Year's Eve, but this year we wanted something more. At lunch, Cory had mentioned that some years he and Roxi go to a late movie on New Year's Eve, and it sounded like a great idea, and Carole thought so too. When she came home after work, we decided to head out early and grab dinner too.
On the way, we drove across Huntington Drive, and got stopped at the light at Sunset. They were moving a caravan of Rose Parade Floats up from the float builders on Lower Azusa. They had a few mechanical problems on some of the floats, so we were stuck there for about 25 minutes, but we had plenty of time so we just enjoyed the sites.
We were a little surprised by how busy the restaurants were. We doubled up, and put our name in at both Wood Ranch and Cheesecake Factory - we'd eat at whichever one called us first. Wood Ranch won by a nose (and yes, I turned in the pager and canceled our spot at Cheesecake Factory...), and we shared a combo meal, with two tri-tips and a roast chicken. Carole had fries, I had mashed potatoes, and we finished with a nice chocolatey dessert.
The movie was Up In The Air. Clooney at his best, and a great story too. There were more than few people with us who needed to learn some manners, but we didn't let them ruin the movie for us.
It was the best New Year's Eve I've had in forever.
