(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Adam Zacharias explains why New Years Eve may be the best night in youll have all year
Photo: Corbis
You may remember the mildly entertaining 2008 comedy film Yes Man in which Jim Carrey taught us all the power of saying “yes” to life and its myriad oddities and opportunities.
However on New Year’ Eve 2013 I learnt the beautiful power of saying “no” to welcoming the coming year in a frenzy.
On December 31 shattered in the office from celebrating my friend’s birthday the night before I made the bold some may say heroic choice of choosing a quiet night in.
I wouldn’t class myself as a New Year’s Eve cynic. In fact I’ve had plenty of enjoyable nights marking the beginning of a new calendar year. But on that fateful night I came to a realisation – namely that as I live in Dubai I can choose from visiting hundreds of restaurants nightclubs and other attractions on any night of the year and on my proverbial doorstep.
On New Year’s Eve however every man woman and child descends on the city’s nightlife scene – causing venues to skyrocket in price and taxis to plummet in availability.
What should be a hedonistic end to one year and glorious start to the next tends to become an arduous slog one which largely involves waiting around – for cabs valets servers and so on.
And so instead of braving a night out 12 months ago I went home did some exercise and watched a documentary on Swedish pop sensations ABBA.
Smugly sat by myself on the sofa I awaited both the New Year and my friends’ horror stories the next day of their nights out of which there were many.
That’s why last week I campaigned among my friends to celebrate with me on December 30 – a standard Tuesday night – where we could enjoy an evening out anywhere in the city without dealing with the endless logistical hassles the following day would guarantee.
We ended up with five of us at a regular JBR haunt admittedly without a midnight countdown but ultimately with more money and less stress.
And tonight as I write this I’m relishing the idea of going home and crashing on the couch while everyone else tries to wring some fun out of the year’s most saturated night out.
So that’s how I inadvertently inaugurated a fresh New Year tradition for myself one which I plan on sticking with for many years to come.
So who fancies a wild one next New Year’s Eve Eve