Let me start off by saying that I'm not a party girl. I never have been, I never will be. I don't drink, I don't go clubbing, I don't go to bars (which kinda goes along with the no drinking thing) and in general I avoid large crowds of people. Gee, I sound like a good time, don't I? Well, I'm not above having a good time for your information. I enjoy being with my friends, my family. I enjoy doing things with them and sharing a laugh or making lasting memories of special times. I go to movies, museums, festivals, concerts (when I can afford them...), the zoo, the Renaissance Faire... see, good times. For none of those events do I feel the need to get plastered so I don't remember anything the next day... including the people I killed, or almost killed on my way home.

Don't EVER drink and drive.....

Ahem.... okay. So. New Year's Eve. The big tradition is to party and party hard. Since I do neither, New Year's doesn't mean much to me. It's just the turning of one year into the next from one day to another. Big deal. I've been through 39 of them now and the novelty wore off long ago. Most years, I'm in bed sound asleep at the turn of the year. Most years...

Last night, however, I decided to join my Spew sisters and some members of the PLB & GHG in an online New Year's Eve chat. We rang in the New Year in four time zones and we had the time of our lives. Some of had some "special" beverages... others of us drank soda. We had popcorn, cheese puffs... some of us watched Star Wars (my selection was ROTS) others watched Dick Clark ring in the year from Times Square. As varied as some of our celebratory observations were, the one thing we all had in common was the bond of friendship. Many miles separate most of us, but we could not think of anywhere we'd rather be than with each other on the internet in a Yahoo chatroom.

As each of us entered 2008 we "shouted" Happy New Year and blew cyber kisses and exchanged cyber hugs. The joy and affection we felt was real and it came from the heart. I had a big, goofy grin from ear to ear on my face all night. How did I get so lucky? From one little decision made a number of years ago... to join Hyperspace... to now counting people from all over the globe as some of my best friends. We came together for love of Star Wars, but now we come together for love of each other. What an incredible community we have here! I wonder if any other fandom experiences what we do here? To some extent, maybe... but I doubt it comes close to the family we have here. And we really are like family... we range in age from the teens up to some seniors, I'm sure. Some of us are motherly, some of us are like sisters, others of us are couples... we've got some big brothers in the mix, some younger cousins. I'm positive we have a crazy uncle somewhere.... I'll leave that to you guys to decide who that is....

We even have the family pets.... Joxer, Baxter, Obi-Wan Katnobi, Darth Furball, Sterling and Molly! (Any more pets? I'll add 'em!)

So now, I'd like to thank all those who made my New Year so very special... JediMelindaWolf, GalacticBabe (my Twink!), JediPrincess77, Gencrs, Sarlaac Pitt, Arwen Skywalker, M68 (Shelly Bean!), PadmeSkywalker77, EwanandHaydenFan5, Senator Soph-ia, Deej (albeit briefly... we loved it all the same!), Mina, my Queen, Granny-Wan, JediLily, Hansgirl, and honorable mention goes to Megatrends, your friendly Neighborhood Psycho, for digging himself out the snow to make a special appearance.

You all hold a special place in my heart. Thank you for being my friends... I don't deserve any of you... but, everyday, I will thank God for you.

To all the rest of you..... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! May 2008 be the year all of your dreams come true!!