New Year's Eve.

I'm back.
Not usually up for much on NYE these day- it's an amateur drinker's fest. The competition is poor, but the field is large.
Went over to Richmond early in the evening and ate way too much excellent Vietnamese food. A bit later, I watched through a taxi window as a swarm of fruit bats came across town to feed, just as the 9.00pm fireworks were starting along the river bank.
Then fireworks on the beach- I'm sure someone in a boat out on the bay tried to hit the police helicopter with a flare gun at 11.55- and home. The fireworks were pretty corporate and all, and there was a crappy dance party going on too. But on the way home we ran into a local homeless guy sitting on a bench. He had an open stubbie of Coopers Pale Ale clutched in one hand, and three more in a plastic bag between his feet, and seemed to have the right spirit going on.