I have to be honest; I was definitely questioning all the gimmicks for New Year’s Eve this year. I mean, it’s New Year’s Eve. Save that stuff for the Friday and Saturday after, you know? Sure, shopping for all white clothing or preparing to get wet in four feet of foam, or watching a show in 3D or even just being in a giant circus makes it more fun, but do we really need all that going in to a whole new decade?

That I was even thinking that for a minute is why I do not run a nightclub, because yes, yes, yes we really need that. If we didn’t have all of that, we’d just be kind of standing around in glitter looking at our watches. Instead, we were jumping, playing in foam on the dance floor, laughing at each other’s costumes (“Woah, where did you find a real lion suit?”) and realizing that even things that weren’t meant to look 3D look totally awesome with 3D glasses. It made for the best night ever in my opinion. If I ran a nightclub, I would have blown it.

New Year’s Eve is such a tricky night out in the first place. I always feel like I’m constantly chasing the fun, that I better hurry up and get here or there or see so-and-so before midnight. God forbid I get stuck in a cab or outside in line somewhere. It’s like this non-stop build-up the entire night, with the fireworks being like the climax. After that, it’s like, whatever. There’s no more feeling like you need to be where everyone you know is, because it’s a new year, and wherever the hell you are, that’s where you are.

I wouldn’t trade this year for anything though; it was my first time ever watching the fireworks from the lanai at thirtyninehotel and the most people I’ve ever been around at midnight since the millennium. The place was at capacity by 11pm, and I’m pretty sure all 200 of them were on the lanai with me, shoulder-to-shoulder, watching the fireworks and shouting and clinking classes and hugging. It might have been the best year ever for RumFire too, with hundreds upon hundreds of people piling in over there to celebrate their Studio 54 party poolside with a perfect view of the midnight blast, and even more people piling in to Level 4 to watch the aerialists back in action and get an up-close look at Fast and the Furious hottie Paul Walker. Way to go, Waikiki.

By all means, a night out like that on a Thursday is surely going to make some people tap out for the weekend. I was almost one of them, finally getting home at 8am on New Year’s Day. Instead, I decided to drag myself down to The Manifest to drink even more champagne and see if anyone could make it to the first First Friday of the year. It was a slow start but sure enough, all the spots downtown were packed solid by 11pm for the second night in a row. Way to go, us. I knew we could do it. Saturday was even better, solidifying any doubt that Ward Center is back in action with Ka, Paparazzi and even the brand new illustrious after-hours spot Ginza all completely packed with clubbers not even a little bit tired from Thursday.

Twenty ten. I think it would be cool to just start counting from the beginning now. Ten, eleven, twelve. We’ll be like, “Remember when we thought the economy was done for back in nine? Haw! Those were some crazy days.”