Time Marches On
January 01, 2005
I opted out of the hassle of going with friends to Sinai (either Sharm el Sheikh or Gouna) for New Years Eve, and stayed in Cairo. Initially, I was possibly going to go clubbing with my brother and his friends and a couple of Penn friends that are here now, but I decided I�m getting too old for that shit. I ended up having a nice homemade dinner with three girlfriends, and then going to a house party at a local reporter�s house. It turned out to be a costume party, though none of us knew. Everyone was supposed to come as their hero�it�s probably better that I didn�t know. I don�t think I could pull off the whole bald Lex Luthor thing. Heh. Really, just kidding.
It was an interesting blend of people. I saw my old Egyptology professor there�A sarcastic, Bryn Mawr grad who was perhaps the only person who could begin to open my eyes to the importance of the ancient. It didn�t hurt that me and a (cute) Georgetown modernist snob (like myself) had the two highest grades in that course, while all the intense Egyptology students puzzled over their less-than-satisfactory grades. Newly famous Egyptian author Alaa al-Aswany was also there. (His book is pictured a few entries back as one that I am currently reading.) And then there was an eclectic mix of young, cute, German, Eurotrash artists, aging Egyptian communists, a few drag-queen looking older women. It was a very artsy-fartsy (arty-farty to my colonized readers) crowd. It was a nice way to spend the evening I suppose, though at the end I just wanted to be home snuggled up with a book. Though I only had three drinks over the span of five hours I ended up feeling nauseous. I actually still feel nauseous. This only further confirms my theory that there is something wrong in the drink in Egypt. It may just be time to quit drinking entirely. Not that that will be that big a deal.
A year ago I was in Philadelphia�the first and only New Years I spent there, and I got to spend it with three of my dearest�Jing, Mr. Inkwell, BK. And on New Years Day I finally got to see the Mummers parade. There is nothing like a bunch of South Philadelphia homophobes dressing like flaming drag queens to warm the heart. Eight days later I left Philadelphia. I can�t believe it has been a year.
I don�t do New Years resolutions. I never have. There is no real reason for this other than I know I won�t keep them. Why disappoint myself?
It has been a mad year, both personally and on a global scale, ending on the sad tsunami note. I have a strong belief in the connectedness of everything. While it is true that sometimes my life is great though the state of the world is crap, I do believe that the butterfly effect eventually comes and hits us all in the ass, and I think that this applies on a personal and social scale.
So I hope everyone is well, and I hope that you all had the type of New Years Eve you wanted to have.
Peace and Love.