a new years eve to remember

like christmas, new years eve (nye), didn't feel like what it was. there was no hype, no days of planning, looking through 'the mirror' to figure out where we should go... no pre-going out drinks at my place... come to think of it, it was the first new years eve that i haven't done that in about eight years... usually people come over to mine and we get ready to go out... my first nye not in my apartment on addington. usually people all came back with me after the bars closed and we would finish off the night at my house sometime around 5 am. sorry, just getting a little nostalgic... but this was a nye to remember anyway!

a bunch of the gimhae-ites met at the bus station at 6 pm: kim, bill, james, rob, fliss, meili, steve, and me. we took the 6:30 express bus to dongnae subway station in busan.

Bill and I on the bus

then we all hopped on the subway to Seomyeon where we were meeting Kat and then going for dinner at VIP's. it's a western style restaurant... i can't think of an equivalant, but it's basically like a steakhouse. the best part though is the salad bar - over 90 items! (as the promo goes) the best part of the salad bar was the tacos and fajitas that i have sorely been missing since coming to Korea. they also had about 25 different salads, soup, shrimp, smoked salmon, pizza, fresh fruit pastries, ice cream... and on and on. it was delicious... next time i'll have to get a steak... i didn't this time just because of the tacos and fajitas... i was stuffed after an hour of eating!

after dinner we headed back to the subway to go to the Busan National University area of town. a lot of young people hang out around there and there are a couple of "foreigner" bars and a few people we knew were already there. we ended up at Moe's Lounge - which is where we spent midnight.

Kat, Rob, Fliss, Chris, Me @ Moes

James, Bill, Kim, Charlotte, MeiLi, Steve

at midnight there were no noise makers, confetti, or balloons (like i'm used to) but we did our own countdown and then sang Auld Lang Syne.

Me and Kim

after a few hours at Moe's we went down three flights to the basement of the building to a club. - the name of which is eluding me at the moment... sorry. we stayed there dancing and playing pool until around 4 AM. then we all went for a bite to eat and then cabbed it back to gimhae.

it was a night to remember, not only because i managed to stay out so long, but because i realized (again) what great friends i have found here in korea... without them, my stay here would be unbearable. it's nice to know that there really are such great people in the world, and that i am lucky enough to have found them! thanks for a great night guys! (Abbey, you were missed... but i'm sure taiwan was great!)

Moe's - we pretty much had the place to ourselves!

Kim and Chris - they went to the SAME high school and know the same people... what a small world!

Chris, Kat, and Me - self portrait

Self portrait (kat loves 'em) they're always so much fun!

really, it was a great night... and one i know i'll never forget! happy new year to everyone!