Ah, New Years…a time for fresh starts and optimism. I wish that were so in my case.

I’ve heard people say that whatever you were doing, at the stroke of midnight on New Years Eve, will set the pace for the year to come. For my sake, I hope that this isn’t true.

Most people, on New Years Eve, spend the time with family and friends. They have drinks and crazy parties, where they tell people their “new years resolutions,” and say empty phrases like, “things are going to be different this year,” or “I’m going to quit smoking and lose 60 pounds!”

Are things going to be different?

Can things really change for the better?

Can people quit smoking and lose those 60 vanity pounds?

My New Years was spent “working” at the Hard Rock Cafe, in Memphis. I was surrounded by hundreds of people bringing in the new year, with a beer in each hand spouting complaint after complaint about the admission price or this or that, all the wile wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

I just wanted to be somewhere else.

Here. Look at me.

Fake smile. Stupid hat. Need I say more? Okay then, I will…

Working on New Years sucks. Its like when you were a kid and you got in trouble.

For example:

You’re ten years old and you just got the new Zelda game, that you’ve wanted ever since the last one came out.

You’ve stuck it in your well used SNES and are about to play it for the first time. The anticipation is too much to handle.

All the while, your 8 year old brother is begging, “let me have a turn!” You ignore him, trying concentrate on the opening of the game.

He continues to pester you, trying to snatch the controller out of your hand.

You’ve had enough.

With one quick motion, you let go of the controller and push him down yelling, “its mine! Now leave me alone!”

He hits the ground hard and starts to cry.

Little do you know, your mom saw the whole thing and she sends you to your room; leaving your little brother to play your game before you do.

That little bastard!

So, you’re stuck in your room and you want nothing more than to be anywhere else. Everything sucks. You’re mad and time is at a stand still.

So yeah, working on New Years is kinda like that.

Anyways, we all know that my night sucked because I was at work, but I wasn’t working at midnight.

If I were, I would be okay with that. That would mean that the next year would be spent making money, but I wasn’t working.

At the stroke of midnight, I was standing on top of the Hard Rock Cafe, alone and freezing to death.

I was asked to go up there to take some shots of the crowd below and the guitar, that was hanging from a crane.

Confused?

Here are some pictures that I took with my iPhone…

These are shots of Beale street, on New Years Eve 2008. (Right before midnight)

This is a shot of the guitar, that Hard Rock dropped like the ball in New York City.

So, there I was with a video camera shooting footage of everything that was going on.

People were screaming and having a good time.

I was freezing.

So, midnight came followed by fireworks and cheers.

I laid down on the roof of the Hard Rock and watched the fireworks.

All I could see was the black sky and bright bursts of colorful light. Not too bad.

I didn’t get a New Years kiss. I didn’t get to have champaign. I didn’t even get to turn to someone and say, “Happy New Year!”

I just laid there and watched the fireworks.

Does this mean that I will spend this next year alone and cold?

I hope not.

Heres to a Happy New Year! I hope that yours was better than mine and I hope that you get whatever you want throughout the next year.

- Jared