New Year's Eve madness.

My New Year's Eve weekend was a complete whirlwind.

Jenn, Mr. Koenig, and I left for Memphis late on Friday night.

We started Saturday early with a pre-game party for the Liberty Bowl. There was a band (that played good classic rock and tons of Elvis), a delicious BBQ buffet, an open bar, and the UC band and cheerleaders came in to pump everyone up.

The game itself was incredible. The weather was perfect (around 65º) and we had front row seats in the end zone. Much to my surprise, tons of UC fans made the trip down to Memphis. UC ended up beating Vanderbilt, 31-24, in a back-and-forth, mostly defensive battle. I also got to try out my new camera.







Oh yeah - KC & the Sunshine Band played at halftime, too.



...and Jenn loves mascots almost as much as she loves Welsh Corgis and glitter.



After the game, we recuperated in the hotel room before heading out to Beale Street. As you'd expect, Beale Street was crowded and insane. We walked up and down the street a few times, people-watched (the crowd was mostly made up of UC and Vanderbilt fans), listened to all kinds of live music, and did the Cupid Shuffle in the street.





We also ate dinner at Dyer's. I make it a point to go everywhere that Adam Richman from Man vs. Food has been, so we braved the line for some pretty delicious deep-fried burgers. Apparently, they've been using the same grease for their burgers since 1912 and lock it in a vault at night to keep it safe. Whatever they do, it works. Bring on the yummy heart attack.



I also took part in another Memphis tradition. Every year, visitors to Beale Street "bury their blues" on New Year's Eve. People write down the things that went wrong for them in the last year on a piece of paper, throw it in a coffin, and Beale Street buries it. So, I wrote a short novel and threw my no good, awful year away. Good riddance.



At midnight, the Hard Rock Cafe dropped a guitar (instead of a ball) and showered the crowd with confetti during a fireworks display. Not bad, Memphis. Not bad.



Since I had no one to kiss at midnight, I kissed the year goodbye. I'm more than ready for what's next...and with the Bengals making the playoffs yesterday, this year already looks more promising.