For the last few years that I have worked in midtown, I make it a point, if I leave early on New Year's Eve (who doesn't?) to walk through Times Square and gawk at the gawkers. Unbelievably, today, with all the increased security they were talking about, I got all the way down to 42nd Street before I lost patience with all the jostling and people not looking where they are going because they are looking up to see where the heck the damn ball is.

I've only gone to Times Square for New Year's twice. Once was the first year that I moved to New York, and I wanted to see if because I had watched it on Johnny Carson since I was old enough to remember. I dragged my roommate (who is now my husband) along, and we only got to 38th Street. The walk home was surreal, with all the streets in the vicinity closed to traffic.

The other year was 1999-2000. Tyler (by then my husband) had to work (remember y2k?) and with nothing to do, I set out. Had to go to 59th Street on the subway and walk back to around 47th, and even there we could only see the crowd that could see the ball.

Anyway, today I saw the Naked Cowboy, and I'm taking that to be a good omen for 2004.