I Suck At New Year's

Happy New Year!

Too bad I suck at New Year's. In years past, Karen and I have spent New Year's Eve in the All-American city known as Lowell. ("All-American city" is another slogan provided by the propaganda machine known as the city of Lowell. There is, after all, a lot to like about Lowell.)

On the actual day of the new year, the four of us generally spend the day shopping. In keeping with tradition, this year was no different.

We headed off to the land of no taxes: New Hampshire. Live free or die! The infamous store known as the Christmas Tree Shop used to offer big savings on New Year's day. Sadly, those days are gone. Damn this economy. You know the economy must be bad when the Christmas Tree Shop can't even offer sales on its own stuff.

Anyway, our shopping excursion was rather lackluster. We did not have any big purchases. Nothing. I didn't even buy a brand new pair of running shoes like I usually do on New Year's day. The highlight of my shopping experience is purchasing a small belated Christmas present for Karen.

Following our lackluster shopping, the four of us had lunch at the Olive Garden. The Olive Garden was very enjoyable. Interestingly enough, I enjoyed the eggplant more at the Olive Garden than I did at the Chateau. (Cue Rachael Ray's "Yum-O" sound.)

Also interestingly enough, Karen noticed that on the stone wall of the Olive Garden were a set of five bricks... just randomly mixed in on the wall. Naturally, we had to inquire about the seemingly randomness of the five bricks. It turns out, the wall of that particular Olive Garden was created to match the look of the Olive Garden's Culinary Institute in Tuscany, Italy. So apparently the masons in Italy just ran out of stone at some point.

Regardless, the meal at the Olive Garden was delicious. It definitely made up for a lackluster shopping experience.