Happy New Year!

No matter how far I've roamed, I have always been in Pacific Standard Time in California when the clock struck twelve on December 31st. I'm so used to being among the last in the world to enter a new year. But not this New Year, baby! I'm firmly among the first on this planet to be able to say I come from the year 2012, and from what I've seen so far, it's spectacular!

Happy New Year, friends far and wide! And Happy Birthday to my little brother! I'll wait till midnight in his time zone to make the annual call to wish him many happy returns.

For now I leave you with a pic of the great fireworks view from our guest room, which is occupied tonight by some local friends. So technically we've already had our first guests in 2012. Here's to many more!