Happy New Year!

Since I recently relocated from New York City to Richmond, I decided to give the "Dirty Rich" an opportunity to prove me wrong by attending the 2nd Annual Carytown New Year's Eve Ball Drop.

Even though I lived in NYC for longer than I will admit on a blog, I never had an interest to attend the Times Square ball drop. Primary reasons have always been too cold and too crowded. I figured Richmond would be different and it was.


Unlike NYC where you have to arrive in Times Square early afternoon to get a prime location for the evening festivities, I arrived to Carytown shortly after 11PM. There was still space in the streets and no one was bumping me. The temperature was cold, but I knew NYC was even colder.

A little after 11:30PM the crowd finally arrived. There was bumping and shoving, but nothing too bad especially since I once again found enough space in the crowd to call my own.

11:45PM: Okay...did I feel the energy in the air of the new year approaching? No. Luckily I was with Adcenter classmates who kept things entertained.

11:55PM: There is no musical performances, no one on stage talking (at least that I could tell), and no sign of the New Year's Eve Ball that was on top of the Byrd Theater.

Midnight: Oh, wow! A not completely round ball made of Christmas lights finally rose....yes rose to the top of a pole. There was no count down, no screaming, just confusion. Everyone in my group grabbed cellphones to confirm it was actually midnight. How can a city have a grandstand celebration for the new year, but not bother to do a countdown!!

12:05AM: First fight of the year broke out. Happy New Year!