Hello Rocky,

What should I do for New Year's Eve?

Lazlo Bock
Mountain View, CA


Rocky Responds:

A good trick for not botching the night is to ask yourself, "Would I be doing this if it were not New Year's Eve?"

For example:

If it were not New Year's Eve, would I stand in the freezing cold, squeezed into a crowd of drunken thugs watching a ball drop?  Probably not.

Would I pay $450/night for a tattered Vegas hotel room?  Doubt it.

Would I drop serious cash to see [insert name of cheesy band/decrepit singer here]?  Not likely.

Drink cheap booze in large quantities until I barf?  No way.

Have sex with a donkey?  Maybe you want to see the donkey first, but most likely no.


So what does The HelloRocky Team advise?  We've got two scenarios, Lazlo, depending on if you have a date or not.

Scenario #1 (you have a date):  Take her to a nice dinner.  Many of your finer restaurants have two seatings that night.  You want the early one so that you're home at midnight.  At home, after dinner, you surprise her with a late holiday gift, earrings or shit, and you snuggle up on the couch and watch something classy with Cary Grant.

Scenario #2 (no date):  Get a bottle of bourbon, the good stuff.  New Year's Eve is a fine time to drink it on the rocks (use the clean, clear ice they sell at Ralph's, not that nasty homemade ice that smells like Omaha).  Settle in front of your computer and log onto one of the poker sites (we prefer PokerStars) and play in some tournaments that have a buy-in you are comfortable with.   Have college football on TV with the volume down and play some of your old stuff on the stereo.  Get out your vinyl if you can - ELO, Fleetwood Mac, Peter Gabriel...even Kraftwerk.  You'll go to bed happy and wake up with a good attitude towards 2008. 

Happy New Year.