Happy New Year

I have not been blogging much in the last week or so, as I have been occupied with the Holidays, all the Bowl games, and prepping for next semester, but I did want to take a moment ant wish everyone a very happy New Year.

A couple of quick New Year’s Eve notes:

1.) Tomorrow at 12:30 is the biggest bowl game of the year for me, with my beloved West Virginia University Mountaineers taking on the University of Maryland in the Gator Bowl. Wvu started out weak this season, then almost beat Miami, and then won seven i a row, including one of the largest upsets in history when we THROTTLED Virginia Tech. Both teams are solid, and it should be a great game. Root for the Mountaineers if you watch, of course.

2.) Matt Stinson, who has one of the best blogs and also one of the most under-rated blogs in the blogosphere, is looking at a serious change of lifestyle in the New Year:

I’ve been coy about this for the last month or so, but if all goes as planned, sometime in February I’ll be living and working in a major city in the People’s Republic of China…

Like my friend, I’d be teaching English to Chinese college students. I’ve had experience tutoring ESL students before, but this would be the first time for me to deal with them as a group. You don’t teach in China to make money, however, and my primary goal will be to develop Chinese language proficiency and better familiarize myself with Chinese culture and politics. While I haven’t had time as a grad student to study Chinese — FSU’s political science program, unlike, say, Indiana University’s, promotes strong methods and general skills rather than area specialization — I was one of FSU’s top Chinese language students as an undergrad. (Thus begins and ends me tooting my own horn.)

At any rate, like all worthwhile endeavors, this is going to cost a great deal of money for him to get over there and get established. If you have any spare cash and wish to donate it to a worthy cause, hop on over to Matt’s site and donate so he can go fulfill this dream. If you had ever thought about giving a dollar to this site- forget about it- go give that dollar and anything else you can spare to Matt so he can do something really worthwhile.

3.) January 2nd, 2004, will mark the second anniversary of Balloon Juice. This last year has been an especially fulfilling year for me as a blogger, and I appreciate the fact that so many of you visit this site, link to this site, and I really enjoy the thoughtful comments left by most people. When I started this, I did not know how long it would last, but I see no end in sight- I really enjoy blogging and the exchanges from all the different people I have run into online since I started this site. Through this site and through ICQ and AOL IM, I have met a great number of really interesting people, and for that I am truly grateful.

With that- go pop some champagne and have a Happy New Year, and I am really looking forward to another great year. And remember- the best cure for a hangover is two aspirin and a bottle of Pedialyte.