happy new year!

Hope everybody found a great way to ring in 2009. I partied at The Loft until midnight, and then hit up Belloo's for a quick cosmo before going to bed.

I've heard all the arguments from the new year's haters. Maybe a little part of me even fits in their camp. After all, Jan. 1 is just an arbitrary calendar date, and the average person's will to change only goes so far.

And for all its emphasis on resolutions, the new year also seems to sometimes put your optimism in jeopardy if you're actually happy with the status quo.

So yes, haters, it's 2009 and all you've received is a hangover and a new digit you'll forget to attach to paperwork for another month.

Still, maybe a temporary emphasis on transformation isn't that bad after all. Call it a fantasy, call it a false hope, call it a reflection of naivete.

But it's tough to fault someone for devoting one day to believing that things can, and will, get better.

Even if it takes a whole year.