Happy New Year

I have to say, 2006 is shaping up to be a pretty darn good year so far.

Chris and I started the last day of the new year by driving up to exit 3 on the New Jersey Turnpike where we met a Senegal Parrot breeder from which Chris had arranged to buy a bird. New Jersey was horrible as always but this particular spot was chosen only as a geographic half-way point. The exchange took place in the parking lot of a run-down Howard Johnsons. After an extended conversation, Chris hands this woman a large sum of cash in exchange for a shoebox. Unwitting observers were probably waiting for the DEA to jump out of the bushes at any moment. Once in the car, we opened the box to get our first real look at Sydney, the newest member of our family.



We made the trip back home without incident, and in time to get a good nap before Joe and Robin came over for dinner. Robin cooked this amazing apple-cider chicken dish which we all enjoyed. After dinner I got the chance to give Joe a gift I found for him on eBay. Before I go into the gift itself, I need to give you a few disparate facts about my buddy Joe. He's about as white as a caucasian can get and perhaps as a consequence, he has a serious envy of black people. For example, he's said he wishes he were Lawrence Fishburn. For unrelated reasons, he uses the name Septimus for several internet accounts. Lastly, his girlfriend Robin is Jewish, and so I thought that on this 7th night of Hanukkah, I would give Joe the gift of gelt in the form of a Septimus Severus Provincial coin, minted sometime around 200 AD. For those of you who don't know, Septimus Severus happened to be the only black Roman Emperor (originally a General from the conquered lands of North Africa). The multiple irony and significance of giving Joe this gift, in this particular week, made my head swim. Think of it, a coin minted by a black Roman emperor which will appreciate in value, given as gelt on Jewish holiday of Hanukkah to a man with a Jewish girlfriend who also coincientally adopted the same name as the emperor featured on the coin. How cool is that?



PS: I will give a dollar to anyone who can tell me who is featured on the "tails" side of this coin (click on the image to follow the link)

Ok. After dinner it was time to head out to the New Year's Eve Party.

Tom's traditional New Year's Eve party was really fun, in fact, it may have been the best one I can remember. Everyone was drinking the communal spirits and nobody said or did anything regretable, yet the atmosphere stayed edgy and energetic. Chris and I made two new friends, David and Amy, with whom we made a date to go Salsa dancing. Anyway, we left at around 2 AM with Joe and Robin, who crashed in our guest room. I made a big corned beef hash and eggs breakfast for myself and Joe, while Robin made something lighter for herself and Chris. Chatting about the night before, the consensus was that indeed, the party was a hit. The rest of the day has been all about Chris and I playing with our new bird, chatting with friends and family and just relaxing.

Good Times.