Gathering For New Years Eve 2015 (Page Two)
Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go. They merely determine where you start.
We Gather Together For Another Great Celebration (Page Two)
It is going to be a cold one! 40 degrees at midnight...
37 by 6am!
But it will be warm inside!
Observations:
Youth is when you are allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Middle age is when you are forced to. ~Bill Vaughn
An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves. ~Bill Vaughan
Many people look forward to the new year for a new start on old habits. ~Author Unknown
A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other. ~Author Unknown
We are coagulating together at the Long Beach Airport Marriott Hotel for an evening of cavorting with great dining and music!
Fun all evening
What Happens At The Marriott... Stays At The Marriott... We Hope!
Brian and Jan began celebrations at 4:00 PM
(Courtesy of Hans Thedens)
Did You Know? - Mesopotamia (Iraq) created the concept of new year celebration 2000 BC.
The Romans dedicated New Year's Day to Janus, the god of gates, doors, and beginnings for whom the first month of the year (January) is also named.
After Julius Caesar reformed the calendar in 46 BC and was subsequently murdered, the Roman Senate voted to deify him on the 1st January 42 BC in honor of his life and his institution of the new rationalized calendar.
The month originally owes its name to the deity Janus, who had two faces, one looking forward and the other looking backward. This suggests that New Year's celebrations are founded on pagan traditions.
We can rest up a while... We have seven hours until midnight
(Courtesy of Hans Thedens)
Paul will collect the evidence along with Hans
(Courtesy of Hans Thedens)
Sue says "OK... Y'all go get ready! It's almost party-time!"
(Courtesy of Hans Thedens)
Quotations To Consider: "Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account." ~Oscar Wilde
We Have Arrived At The Dance And Are Checking Things Out
We made three trips to the Marriott to make sure our group had great seats... All together, near the dance floor, and sitting with people everyone knows! It worked out pretty well.
We were the third people in and we ran to see our tables
The Marriott staff did wonderful! We were all together.
We placed our order early
The band equipment was ready to go...
The band will show up at 9:00
Serious texting underway... Getting her GPS coordinates so she
can find her way back later on this evening!
Paul checks the outside temperature
(Courtesy of Hans Thedens)
Nancy and Vince arrive... The part can get underway!
Ah ha... The mob has now arrived... The Roberts are dressed in theme!
Wine aerobics will begin at 10:00 sharp!
Vince has the "Bat Camera" at the ready
They apparently let anybody into the premises
Looks like Bob and Brian are here to perform a religious service
Artichoke dip appetizer was great... It disappeared quickly
Dressed to the nine's...
Checkout Paul's new vest courtesy of Karen Graham!
"P-s-s-s-s-s-s-t Is that your husband behind us??"
Bill always spoils the fun!
Paul is the official martini tester this evening
Remember... I have a camera... And I will use it!
Flappers everywhere
Did You Know? - Flappers were a "new breed" of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior. Flappers were seen as brash for wearing excessive makeup, drinking, treating sex in a casual manner, smoking, driving automobiles, and otherwise flouting social and sexual norms.
Flappers had their origins in the liberal period of the Roaring Twenties, the social, political turbulence and increased transatlantic cultural exchange that followed the end of World War I, as well as the export of American jazz culture to Europe.
Paul continues showing off the new vest!
Kerstin... Always a smile
Hans and Marion hit it off
All smiles this fine evening... Ready to partee
They look art-deco and ready for the roaring 20's
Hans is telling a great story
Did You Know? - Hans is a masculine given name. In German, Danish, Dutch, Faroese, Norwegian, Icelandic and Swedish, originally it is short for Johannes (John) but is also recognized in Sweden, Norway, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands as a name in its own right for official purposes.
Hans is pronounced with a long a (like the a in "harms"). The earliest documented usage was in 1356 in Sweden, 1360 in Norway, and the 14th century in Denmark.
"Hansel" (German Hänsel) is a variant, meaning "little Hans."
The Marriott Staff That Set Up The Event Were Fantastic
Thank you staff! It was a great evening!
