Happy New Year.

I knocked at Dex's door and waited.

This was the third time I tried to drop off his card for him at his apartment over the course of the holiday season, and for the first time I heard footsteps approach the door and it unlatched. At least this time he wore boxers instead of briefs, unlike the first time. He thanked me enthusiastically for the card while I caught myself staring at the eagle on his chest for an inappropriately long time. He invited me in, but this time I had the presence of mine to decline, telling him I had somewhere else to go. I wished him belated happy holidays and a good new year, and left him with the card containing some twenty dollar bills. It wasn't much, but it was what I could afford and probably fair for the service he offered as the building super.

I wasn't lying when I told him I had to go. I popped back down into my apartment and changed into running gear, checking the temperature and then my handy What-to-Wear chart. It was 24°F, and I hadn't run in weather like that since the Philly Marathon, nearly six weeks ago. Full gear - jacket, hat, pants, mid-layer, etc., for tonight. Off I went for the group run.

However, the group run turned out to be just me and PB&J, the group leader. We guessed most people were still recovering from New Year's Eve the night before, or just thought it too cold out. We ran and chatted, mostly about the night before.

On the 30th, PB&J had started an e-mail chain for people that had nothing to do on New Year's. He had collected a handful of Flyers and offered his apartment if anyone wanted to swing by for a beer to celebrate a very Low Key New Year. There ended up being about ten of us there and it was good to hang out, chat and reflect on what most agreed was a dreadful '08 and share our hopes and resolutions for the coming '09 over many drinks and tasty munchies. I was really tired and finally left right after watching the west coast celebrated at 3 AM, but I found myself back at the same apartment at 3:30, having forgotten my cell phone. I was chastised for leaving so quickly and forced to have another drink before leaving the group 45 minutes later. These are some good friends indeed.

Unfortunately, I paid for all those drinks with a mild hangover this morning. It was weird - I couldn't remember the last time I was hungover. I tried not to regret my decision to drink so much, as I usually would, but instead took it as a sign that I just lost track of time while enjoying myself among friends. I was suposed to head to Coney Island to celebrate a friend's birthday, but called him and bailed instead, promising him a dinner in the future. Even after my headache subsided, I stayed cozy in bed well into the afternoon on this cold first day of '09.

Hanging with friends, getting in some well-deserved rest, and running a few chilly miles. It was a good start to 2009. What more could I ask for?

An awarding - but more importantly, rewarding - event

The New York Flyers Awards Gala was a fun Saturday night, although a bit too much fun in some ways. Note to self: open bar does NOT mean "drink as much as you can". Yeesh.

I recall dancing badly: inebriation and coordination may rhyme, but they don't give you good rhythm. A fellow Flyer told me I was dancing like a Ukrainian. She's good at making those little comments that don't quite insult, but definitely don't come off as compliments, either. Oh, and she, like myself, is of Ukrainian ethnicity. No comment.

I did get an award though, and it capped off a very good year with the club. There were friends I wished could be there but weren't, and there were others I hadn't seen in awhile that were good to see again and share the event with. It was a fine night. I even bought a new tie for it.

I needed the break from work. It's been so busy at the office these last two weeks, and on top of having to assemble the monthly newsletter, I've suddenly been deluged with e-mails copying the exec board on everything from the weekly Flyers updates, to member surveys, to comments on meeting minutes. I never thought I'd hear the word "policy" so much in my life, especially when it comes to what basically amounts to an athletic hobby. It's a running club folks, not Parliament! We're here to run and have fun!

I am partly kidding with those comments, of course. I do realize the huge effort involved in running the largest local running club in New York City, and that there are a lot of members to make happy. Everyone involved put together a hell of an awards party, and they've done a hell of a job with the club in its twenty years of existence. As our esteemed lifetime achievement award recipient said last night, "Look how far you've come."

Indeed, and I hope to also contribute, so as to take us even farther, wherever that may be...