I Spent The Last Day Of 2022 By Myself. It Was Great!

There's a lot of pressure on most people for how they spend December 31st, better known as New Year's Eve. If you're a family person, you're guaranteed to spend quality time with your family as the bare minimum, maybe with some close relatives, or with another friend who also has a family. If you're with a partner, the least you might do is plan a nice dinner together with some drinks, maybe invite some close friends who are also coupled up, or at least one single person of each sex in case they might find each other's loneliness/availability attractive for the night. If you're just a person who is social, you try to organise a New Year party with friends of all sorts, or at least get invited to one. And if you've got no one to spend time with, you probably spent it in a desperate search for some sort of social gathering or event that would make you feel like you were part of something. A good chunk of New Year's Eve celebrations are for the last category and you know where you fit. Then there are the niche ones, the ones who don't fit into any of the categories I just described. Like me. 

I have a loving partner, live with my family, and have an open invitation to hang out with a close friend of mine on pretty much any major calendar-based occassion. However, the challenge for me each year is to find a way to enjoy New Year's Eve with myself, given that I don't presently have the option to celebrate it with my partner. The family point is too obvious to discuss, and my close friend is too social and spontaneous to suit my measured approach to attending group events. So, as 2022 drew to a close, I mapped out the ideal way I could spend December 31 while having a good time, and this is how it went.

Morning Drive

It has become a bit of a personal ritual of mine in recent months to go for a drive every Sunday morning, to be on the road by 8AM. This time I adjusted it slightly and headed out on Saturday, at 8AM. I was going to leave at 7:30 but I couldn't find my car keys. Taking a very long route to cover a lot of expressway kilometres, I eventually made it to my usual destination: Khan Market. 

I could have gone for something new, but that would risk the day not going to plan, so I planned to do things I was somewhat familiar with. At 8:45AM, I took my usual spot at the Colocal Cafe and ordered a hot coffee and a breakfast platter. Over the next couple of hours, I enjoyed my meal, made notes of what to post on my Instagram handles and a list of my favourite diecast models I had collected during 2022. The place was expectedly empty when I'd arrived but it was starting to get a bit crowded by 11ish, indicating it was time to head out.

 I also treated my car to a full tank of fuel before leaving Delhi.

At The Mall

With the morning nailed, it was time for the most complicated part of the day - the day. I had some pending shopping errands and so headed to the main mall nearest my home. Given that it was only a bit past 11AM, I was there relatively early. This meant I had time to find a parking spot of my convenience and shop without much delay. After the basic errands were run, I even had some time to check out a few more stores for things that I should buy, but have decided not to buy yet. All the walking and window shopping must have also helped me burn a few calories to offset the breakfast.

The next big conundrum was lunch. It was still a bit early for a Sunday, given that the clock had only just struck 1PM. I settled on a franchise I do not frequent - Chili's. Contradictory to previous experiences, the service was friendly and prompt, so I asked for a nice blue mocktail, and a platter of chicken starters. It doesn't sound like much, but it was a pretty satisfying New Year's Eve lunch. I even got seated near their Christmas tree, so the solo meal had a festive aura to it. Of course, it was getting quite crowded during my relaxed meal and by then I got the usual Chili's experience - waiting 10 minutes to get my bill.

Picking The Drink Of The Night

The final task at the mall, was to purchase an alcoholic beverage to be consumed later that night. It's been a good year with a couple of bottles of nice vodka and wine, but I had to budget myself for the adventures ahead. After much deliberation in the relatively classy liquor store in the basement of the mall, I settled on a small bottle of good ol' Jack Daniels. It's a drink I've maybe had five times before in my life but I was recently listening to the song "Jack" by Talia Mar so it was fresh in my mind. Also, wanted something that would warm me up nicely.

A Productive Afternoon

I was back at base by around 3PM, leaving me with still some hours to fill before the night-time plan. While there was a guest at home, a close family friend, I was able to spend most of the afternoon working on a video edit to post on my automotive blog's Instagram account (@autoloons, go follow if you like cars) and the final result came out pretty good. I then spent some quality time with family and the guest before making the final arrangements for 2022.

Closing The Distance

Since my partner lives in a different city, I was mulling over an idea to try and make the distance feel a little less this New Year's Eve. So, I suggested that we could both order the same cuisine for dinner, and watch something together while on video call like we sometimes do. In a somewhat surprisingly brief amount of time, we settled on ordering Chinese food and watching the new Netflix movie, 'The Glass Onion' (review coming soon). 

While waiting for dinner, we started with our drinks. A glass of red for her, and a bit of JD for me. It was almost 9PM by the time we began with the foods, but the rest of the night went by pretty smoothly. Dining, drinking, and glancing at her on video call while watching the movie to make "aahhh" or "whaaat?" faces, is always a good way to spend time while apart. 

Including the occasional interruptions, we were done with The Glass Onion by around 11:15PM, and she was fast asleep by 11:30. That gave me half an hour to myself before waking her up at midnight to wish her a happy new year. 

And that's how I had a great time by spending the last day of 2022 by myself, in my room, warm with whiskey, my love's face on my phone, and a bit of cheer in my soul.

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