Happy New Year!

Cold weather hasn't been a problem since a couple of days before Christmas. In fact, we have had a record hot NYE at 42 C (113 F). It felt more like being in Las Vegas or Syria heat-wise.
We still managed to have a fun though low key New Years. We met up at this new really cool bar (Gerald's) with one of my students (Rod) and his girlfriend (Maria). In addition to writing a PhD in Classics, Rod is also a novelist and has written a very interesting novel called Prince of the Lillies, about the Minoans and about living in Sitia, Crete, where I used to dig.
Gerald let us get pizzas from La Porchetta next door and we stayed in his bar drinking and eating till about 10:30. Then we got Asta and a bottle of champagne, and miraculously found a cab and went to my student's friends apartment building in East Brunswick. The friend was from New York and has been here for 5 years. It was a little like Melrose Place with this big apartment building and everyone gathered around the pool partying. Our friends went out to the street to see the fireworks and we stayed at the pool. At midnight everyone jumped in the pool and Asta got really excited. She started running around the pool barking, then she finally jumped in and alternated between swimming in circles around the pool and riding around on a boogie board. It was really hilarious - unfortunately I left the camera at home that night. The pool was cold but refreshing. We finally walked home around 1:15. I think this was the first New Years since I had to march in the Rose Parade that I didn't have too much to drink.