New Year's Eve

Posted on 2007/01/03 14:30:27 (January 2007).

[Sunday 31st December]
Me and Chie woke in our pleasant (yet over priced) hotel room around 8:30, and after a passable (yet over priced) breakfast we checked out and got on the very convenient (yet over priced) Heathrow Express. The airport wasn't really all that busy - I guess not that many people fly on New Year's Eve.

Chie and I have known each other for almost seven years now, and given that we hail from different sides of the planet we've naturally been through this ritual of waving one or the other off at the airport (or sometimes the station) many times. Still, it was a bit of a downer, given that I'll be off to California for three weeks soon after starting the new job, it means we probably won't see each other for about five weeks. Especially having just got married and everything this seems a bit crap, but I suppose it's just one of those things. Hopefully after that initial trip there won't be too much traveling in the new job, and so from February onwards we might actually have a chance to get a bit settled.

So anyway, after waving Chie off I got on a coach to Reading, of all places, as I was going to be spending New Year's Eve with my friend Simon (the one I used to work with, not the other one). We went back to his nice new house somewhere on the outskirts, and spent most of the afternoon having a good old chinwag, and generally catching up on everything.

We did the standard British thing of dashing out to the supermarket just before it closed at 4 (well actually we got there about an hour before, but anyway...) and bought booze and things for dinner. I'd decided to cook a vegetarian chili. As a bit of a disappointment Sainsbury's had run out of Veuve Cliquot, so we had to slum it with Bollinger instead, which I didn't really like at all.

Anyway, the evening then passed quietly but very pleasantly. We had dinner and then a steady stream of beers, chatted and listened to music, and then towards midnight watched Jools Holland on the telly, as well as the big fireworks display thing in London.

Chie landed sometime around 1AM UK time which worked out rather well - given that it was New Year's Eve she could guarantee I'd still be up at that time, and so we were able at least to wish each other a happy new year over the phone. It must have been strange for Chie flying over the new year. Apparently on the plane they announced when it was new year in Japan, and then later on announced new year in the UK (and all the passengers got free champagne which sounds quite nice). Technically though (and you'll have to forgive my time zone geekiness here) the transition between 2006 and 2007 would have happened for Chie somewhere over Siberia, in terms of the local time zone at that point, although given that the progression through different time zones is not all that linear it's hard to work out exactly where this would have occurred.

Or maybe time is like air - when they close the cabin doors before take off, they trap a load of UK time in the plane, which is carried with them the whole way, and it isn't until they open them again at the other end that the passengers become immersed in Japanese time.

I bet no-one else but me cares do they!?

Anyway, Happy New Year everybody, wherever you are!

She flew over New Year's Eve? Was it because it was cheap or because there weren't any other seats on the neighbouring days?

Posted by Lox at 2007/01/03 15:40:27.

I like the idea that time is like air. One can imagine a cracking good Isaac Asimov novel based on this concept.

Posted by Jimmy at 2007/01/04 08:43:29.

John! If you were in Sainsbury's at 1500-ish on Sunday, then we were probably in the store at the same time! It's a big store though..

Posted by tom at 2007/01/04 13:30:41.

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