Isn’t it weird how so many people make a big thing of New Year’s? I don’t believe any of the stuff that goes along with it – the whole “TIME Person of the Year” or the top ten stories from 2013, or the making of resolutions, or the predictions for 2014…

…side note: are aren’t predictions by the so-called “experts” so lame? I mean, aren’t most of them basically saying that the more things change they will stay the same? For once I’d like to see someone go out on a limb with some really, REALLY bold prediction, like 200,000 in [name your location] to be killed by a undetected meteor, or [enter celebrity name here] was going to be killed by his/her jealous lover, or that some terrorist was going to detonate themselves in [enter airport name] terminal. Or Barack Obama resigning his presidency, or China forgiving 80% of our loans, or that Congress will kiss and make up and make the real hard decisions needed to save Social Security and put us on a road to a balanced budget?

But I digress.

Isn’t it funny how in late December folks get sentimental or sad about the year being over and happy or fearful about the new year rolling in, and then come January 2 or 3, or once the Christmas decorations are all down it’s like the old year never left and the new year never came in – you think of just a few days prior when it was December and wonder the big fuss was all about. Like I was saying to my sister-in-law the other day, what’s the difference beween August 31 and September 1 vs. December 31 and January 1? The fact that the last number in the year is different? Is that all? I mean, there are 365 other ways to measure the same passage of time from the previous year, right?

I’m not even sure what the meaning of this post is, except that to me New Year’s Day is just the biggest waste of a day in the entire year if you let it be that way. And it’s OK even if you don’t, because it’s just another day.

Anyways, here are my ten wishes for 2014:

10. Stay alive and healthy
9. Lose ten pounds (starts next week)
8. Not lose any rabbits (you’re on notice, Cosmo!)
7. Keep the two Saturns running for another year
6. Take my wife to New Orleans for char-grilled oysters and see Rob again (see #1 first)
5. Discover more classic Cuban music for my “Tropical Breezes mix”
4. Get my two new Queen Palms going healthy and strong before the heat comes in
3. Break 90 on some sun-splashed golf course
2. Win the 2014 Goodboys Invitational
1. Eliminate our credit card debt once and for all

Guess next December 31st I’ll be able to look back and see how well we did, but then I’d be falling into the same trap of that whole old year/new year thing!