“Remoted” Workday 192 / Day 290 (Thursday)

A more social NYE - 12-31-19.

It’s the eve of the New Year, a night often invested in social gatherings and merriment. Last year, my friend Jane and I attended another friend’s birthday party at The Fay Club in Fitchburg. There were neckties and jackets, sequins and beads. There was Macallan Scotch Whiskey, which is wonderful stuff.  

Conversations with other guests often started with the fun ice breaker “How do you know Glenn?” The birthday celebrant has traveled the world and through work in audio production, met many celebrities, so the answers were literally all over the place. The travel friends enjoyed asking us old schoolmates about the young version of our host. A fun chat with a Brit in town for the party touched on British TV shows and which incarnation of Doctor Who was the best, among other things.

This pandemic New Year’s Eve dawned with no plans. Zip. Nada. During our regular Thursday afternoon team meeting, colleagues revealed plans for pizza, Chinese food, and seafood. I had no supper plan and was looking at the possibility of a ramen brick or spending quality time reviewing recipes for the bunch of vegetables that arrived yesterday. After work, I snapped myself out of my lazy stupor and checked out my favorite delivery place. Seafood had been stuck in my head since the meeting and there was nary a fish stick in the house, just a can of tuna and a packet of salmon.

NYE Dinner for one, 12-31-20.

New Year’s Eve dinner for one evolved quickly from no plan to something slightly grander. There were “Cowboy Bites,” flagged on the menu as “NEW” and described as “Fried cheese, bacon, corn, jalapeno bites.” These are quite delicious. A fried seafood platter featured haddock, shrimp, scallops and clams plus French fries and cole slaw. Baklava was added, because, why not? Once dinner is bumping up on the cost of the usual grocery order, what’s another $3.50? Thanks to the wine club deliveries and Christmas gift baskets, there were several bottles to choose from, and it was chilled South African Chenin Blanc for the win. The plentiful platter means seafood leftovers to toss into meals for the next couple days. 

Entertainment options presented themselves as invitations to a live performance on Facebook by a Tennessee friend’s trio, and later, a Zoom cocktail party hosted by friends in Worcester. Online pandemic gatherings allow one to defy the challenges of distance and time and “attend” gatherings 1,200 miles apart. This could be a busy New Year’s Eve after all, without leaving the couch. That is pretty sweet.