Breaking The Kissing Tradition

Did you know that the New Year’s Eve tradition of kissing someone at midnight is rooted in the belief that if you don’t get a New Year’s kiss, you’ll be doomed to a year without love or affection?

I most certainly did not know that until January 2, when I started researching this silly New Year’s kiss tradition for this week’s article! And it must be true – Ryan Seacrest says so, as does Glamour magazine. While I was unable to find any additional research into this old time tradition, aside from the very reliable snopes.com report, I admittedly trust both Ryan Seacrest and Glamour.

Can you guess who did not get a midnight kiss on New Year’s Eve this year? This girl, right here!

If only I had done my research ahead of time, I would have kissed someone - ANYONE - when I was out this New Year’s Eve! And, while I try not to be too superstitious, I like to have all my bases covered; I throw salt over my shoulder when I spill it and I always knock on wood after talking about something I really don’t want to happen.

But the theme of this New Year is: wrong place, wrong time, wrong shoes.

I was on call New Year’s Eve, so I couldn’t stray too far from home; luckily Mohegan Sun Casino is not too far from home! Going there seemed like the perfect plan – diverse people and places grouped together in a toasty warm inside venue! What more could one ask for in the middle of winter in Connecticut? I anticipated lots of fun people in a warm and festive atmosphere.

I was wrong.

Mohegan was so crowded it was hard to have a good time. All of the restaurants were completely booked and we went to four of them before finding space at the bar of Big Bubba’s BBQ – luckily I have a weakness for pulled pork. It’s delicious.

After dinner, it was time to find a drink, a good crowd, and a kiss. Boss Lady and I found a crowd alright, and got stuck right in the middle of it! We were outside of Lucky’s when something important was happening. I’ve never been in such a confined area with so many bodies!

It took my breath away – literally, my breath was squeezed right out of my body as I was pushed back and forth between the sea of festive party-goers. The crowd outside Lucky’s was worse than standing at the starting line of this year’s Manchester Road Race with 14,999 other people, and no gentlemen at the road race took any liberties with the convenient proximity of their hands to my rear end.

Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about the “gentlemen” at the casino. For a moment, I panicked, thinking, “This is how people are crushed to death in Black Friday crowds.” Still, I kept my cool and a good hold of my wallet and somehow squeezed through. It only took about 45 minutes to walk 50 feet.

The first logical place to go after a near-death-by-crowd-crushing experience was the Martini Bar, but the line was too long and my shoes were too uncomfortable to take it. After walking around for another painful half hour, cursing my shoes, the lack of space, and the constant DING DING DING of slot machines, we stumbled into the bar at Sol Toro.  

It was the only place available for my much sought after glass of champagne and New Year countdown. We ordered pink bubbly and discussed – or in my case, the conscious decision not to resolve anything this year. By the two-minute to midnight warning, Boss Lady and I had scoped out the area for available bachelor looking types – there was a group of about six of them, but none of them made a move on us and we did not approach them.

Not approaching the all male-clique at midnight may have been my mistake, but it’s just not something I usually do. I subscribe to the theory that “the treasure doesn’t do the hunting” and very rarely make a move on a guy.

As my friend T once reminded me after ,  “You are the light, they are the moths, let them come to you! It’s nature!”

Of course, not everyone agrees with that – some people tell me it’s better to be the aggressor.

Still, I don’t buy it. I’m not much of a hunter.

To several of my other friends, that makes me “old fashioned.” But, I’ve seen too many men put the moves on women without concern for the lady’s marital status, apparent interest level or the overall appropriateness of the situation. To me, that says if a man wants you, he will pursue you, no matter what. So, I let them. I focus on looking nice and use the feminine wiles of smiling and eye contact to communicate that I’m approachable.

Sometimes it doesn’t work that well. OK, fine, most times it doesn’t work at all… It’s just a silly rule I try to follow, but I already .

Maybe it’s time I break free of rules and traditions! Shape my own destiny in 2012 and make people love me, whether they want to or not! Or maybe I should just focus on getting a New Year’s kiss sometime this month – better late than never, right?