Single In The City: Cheers to a Glorious 2012

New Years Eve in New York is Exhilarating. The lights, the confetti, the parties, the debauchery. Still, the City that never sleeps can and does have quiet existential experiences, even on New Year’s Eve. Mine was a surreal mix of both.

It all began with a cheerful family dinner in Soho, a wonderful celebration of family, life and love. While I enjoyed the musings, I aptly made a dash for the door, as this party of married friends and twin-toddlers was not exactly where I wanted to be when the clock struck midnight.

I arrived at my home to slip into a lovely black and gold dress, put on some spiky heels and a generous dose of perfume. My next stop? – A private New Years Eve party for the “grown and sexy”, at a swank hotel bar in mid-town. I arrived around 10:15 p.m., over an hour late, but well in accordance with my modus operandi of being FLaFF – fashionably late and fashionably fresh. After all, who wants to be the girl with the stale makeup?

The room was beautifully decorated with lights, garlands, candles and flowers. Music was loud and thumping, finger food passed around generously and champagne flowed in abundance. As I reached out to a server for a glass, luck smiled on me with a gorgeous gentleman, who simply extended me a champagne flute. With that, I flashed him a welcoming smile. He shut back with a friendly nod, a warm hello, and asked my name. He then invited me to walk with him to the rooftop glass gazebo, overlooking an endless stream of lights that filled the City.

I was quite intrigued by Sean – a pilot for a major U.S. airline. Besides being fascinated by his jet setting lifestyle (truth be told, never dated a pilot), he turned out to be warm and personable. We shared our fast dance – slow, intimate and indeed, we connected. As we counted down to 2012, my heart raced with incredible hope for what the New Year could bring.

As the evening drew to an end, I began to feel jitters run through me. Will he ask for my number? Will I ever see him again? After all, who knows how it works with these pilot types – they are never in a city long enough to see the sunset, much less take a lady out on a dinner date. Sean did ask for my number, and we have spoken every day since New Year’s Day (okay so it’s only been a few days, but I’m so tickled).

This morning, I received an amazing photo of the sun setting somewhere over the Atlantic, and a note that read, “the next time the sunrises, it will be with you my love”. So this 2012, I am taking off to the skies, flying high with Sean, my new found beau.

Happy New Year and Cheers to a glorious 12!