i always get confused when I see the abbreviation for New Year's Eve because at first glance it looks like everyone is talking about the New York Stock Exchange

Tonight I hold in my glass, or bottle, every memory of 2011, and every hope for 2012, especially the hope that it is not my last year on Earth.

I mean to let every last drop--every last memory, good and bad alike, every wish and hope--slide down my gullet, before gazing up at the lights of this newest year with an alcohol-impaired attention span and childlike wonder.

Every last drop. Still no one to kiss tonight. But at least I have the rim of the glass.

To assure you that all is actually well, I wish 2012 to better than 2011. Whatever hardships and trials you've slogged through this year, know that you have made it this far, and you still have so much farther to go. "Miles to go before I sleep."

Bring it, Mayan calendar! I can feel it in my shaking bones, dancing across the top of the goosebumps on my skin: 2012 promises to be the most dynamic year yet! Hail Auld Lang Syne!