December 31, 2006

It is 10:30pm on New Year’s Eve, and right now I’m just waiting to ring in the new year. This phrase takes on new meaning in Japan; tonight we will literally ring in 2007 at the nearby temples, where it is custom to ring the bell 108 times, once for each of our 108 sins (for lack of a better word). Apparently this will send us into the new year with clean slates. I suppose this makes resolutions unnecessary? I’m looking forward to this. It sounds a lot more entertaining than watching the ball drop in Times Square, which will happen fourteen hours too late anyways.