Happy New Year!

And what a year it's been so far! It's 6:00 PM, I've been up for entirely too long on entirely too little sleep, I have successfully made it back to Washington, and I started the year off right with an excellent New Year's celebration (hence the little sleep).

I really did not think I would have a good New Year's. As I drove into Portland wearing the super-smokin' dress I bought for Superman's office party, I was pretty sure that my night was going to suck. I'm driving 45 minutes into the city at 10:30 at night, I have to leave home at 4:30 the next morning to make my flight, which means I'm going to have about an hour and a half to ring in the new year BY MYSELF. Because I'm in Portland, and everyone I know in Portland is OVER 60.

So, I drove into Portland listening to iTunes top 10 Metallica purchases (okay, that was kind of cool--I love Metallica), got lost on the East Side because I'm not FROM the East Side, and finally managed to get downtown. I parked my car and checked my phone, where my night was immediately brightened by the news that the one friend I have in Portland that's my age (a byproduct of my American Idol tryouts) was going to be able to join me with her sister for the evening.

So, I headed over to my destination, Dante's, where the band Karaoke from Hell was planning to perform for 28 straight hours. Karaoke from Hell is, predictably, a karaoke band--and they're AWESOME. I signed up for a song ("Don't Stop Believin' by Journey), tipped $5 (the larger the tip, the faster your song will come up), and waited for Hannah and Emma's arrival.

They came, we had a great time, and apparently, my dress inspires more than just Superman. When I was finally called up to sing, the band's backup singer commented on my dress several times (and my shoes!), and informed everyone that I looked hot. Several men approached me, although one was the most--well, determined isn't the word, although his friends were very determined to match him up with me for some reason. He and I chatted for an hour or so--he's from Idaho Falls and lives in LA (doesn't like LA, although he mentioned several times that the weather's really nice) and is a database manager (read: big geek. Have I mentioned I like big geeks?).

Unfortunately, due to my flight, I couldn't stay that late, but it was okay because Emma started to feel a little sick around 12:45 (she's 8 months pregnant and thus is prone to these things). I stayed for a little while longer and talked to the boy, and then it was time for me to go home, myself. As I waited for my coat to be returned to me, the boy informed me that his friends (who had been physically pushing us together all night) had informed me that he must walk me home. I pointed out that he wouldn't have a lot of luck there, but he was welcome to walk me to my car, which he did. We chatted a bit more, and when we finally approached my car, I gave him a hug and a kiss for the new year. It was only 1:15, after all, and I hadn't yet gotten a New Year's kiss.

It was pretty g-rated, though. Poor boy is, after all, from Idaho Falls and painfully shy. I didn't want to harm him only a couple hours after meeting him.