New Year's Eve 2005 was one of the crazier days we've had in a while. First of all, it was raining cats and dogs (and freaking giraffes!) that afternoon, when we headed over to the park. We got pretty soaked in the short time it took us to get to the store and buy ponchos. We got lunch, which was delicious, but it was insane in there, since no one was eating outside. We walked around a bit in the ponchos that kept us much warmer than we needed to be, as fat, wet, rain droplets slapped us in the face. At one point, Joe turned to me and said, "What's wrong?"

"I'm really uncomfortable," I said, "and I don't know how we're going to make it to midnight."

"Where's your sense of adventure?" he asked me. At first, that annoyed me, but then I noticed the little kids who were smiling and the teenagers who were running around giggling, and I didn't want to be the only one who doesn't know how to have fun in the rain! So I remembered all the times I played in the rain when I was younger, which made me smile, and I decided to relax and see if it got any better.

It didn't. At least not for a while. Which is why we kept having the "should we just go?" conversation. But neither of us seemed inclined to leave, at least not at the same time. Right when I felt I had had enough, and that there was no possible way to make it to midnight without totally melting down into despair, Joe pointed out, "But it stopped raining!"

And so it had. But that didn't mean everything wasn't soaking wet. But, people were dealing. And we thought maybe we could deal with it, too.

Disneyland was insanely crowded, even with the inclement weather. And people were staking out seats for the midnight show extremely early. So we joined in, laying our ponchos down as something to sit on, as was everyone else. We had our own little square of sitting space. And that's where we stayed for the next six hours!

Well, I took some breaks. The first was to get some gear to help us survive the evening's festivities. I bought socks and gloves for each of us. Sadly, the only men's socks they sold were dress socks, and since the inside of Joe's shoes were wet, he said those wouldn't help. So Joe's socks stayed wet. At least I got to change into dry socks, which helped raise my comfort level considerably. And the gloves helped, as did our hats. And later, I got some pastries and hot chocolate, which boosted morale for both of us.

We were in it for the long haul!

Crazy shenanigans that ensued include...

Joe was testing out the video capabilities of my camera. He took a few test movies, then deleted them... along with all of my pictures! It was quite a sad moment. Joe was afraid I was furious with him, but I wasn't. It is absurdly easy to accidentally delete all the pics from that camera, as I've nearly done it to myself. But damn, I hate losing pictures so very much, hence the momentary sadness.

Later, beach balls were released. They were flying around like crazy, and everyone wanted to hit them. One landed right at my feet, and I was so excited. I picked it up, got ready to toss it up for a serve, and Joe turned, and reacted instantly. Thinking it was flying at him, he whacked it with all his might, right into my face and up, over my head! He realized what happened right away, and gasped, and said, "Oh my god, I'm sorry!" as we both started laughing, while I grasped my stinging nose. That crazy man!

Even later, we turned and saw a wall of giant beach balls, and the people launched them toward us all at once. It was awesome seeing them scatter across the crowd! Soon after, blue glow sticks were being thrown back and forth across the crowded street, as people jumped up and down, snatching them out of the air while those who watched on laughed at the craziness of it all.

At one point, after alternating sitting and standing for a good long while, I had to make the tough call to just stand. I chose foot pain over shivering! What a crazy night.

When it got to the last hour, Joe was making sure the camera was ready to go. It was all set with the new 1 GB memory card we bought for it. And that's when Joe said, "It needs new batteries."

"WHAT?" I said.

"It says to change the batteries. It won't let me film."

"Well, I don't have any other batteries!" I said.

Joe just sighed. I had just put those in that day! They should have lasted! But no. Alas, taping the countdown was not to be. But I did audioblog it. So that's something.

The new year's eve show at Disneyland is always amazingly corny. I love it so much! And I love all the re-mixed Disney songs they play in the form of rock and rap songs. It's so funny. Again, super cheesey, and super fun! I love Disneyland so much, and am so glad we stuck it out, because to start off the new year watching Mickey and Minnie dance, as Auld Lang Syne plays, and fireworks decorate the night sky is amazing. Especially when I get to share all that with the love of my life, my awesome Joe. It was, as it always is, so much fun!

After things calmed down a bit, Joe and I wandered over to the Mexican restaurant and got some dinner. I was so glad they were open - we were starving! Then I made a few phone calls to wish people a happy new year, before we finally headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep. It was a beautiful way to start off the year, and I am very excited about all the wonderful things I'm sure are to come in 2006.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!!!

more pictures here

Windows Movie here! (2MB; 41 sec)