The End of an Era

Well this feels like a pivotal New Year's Eve. More than any other since the first time I celebrated the holiday in Hong Kong in 2009. Yes, the 2010s are saying their farewells, with the 2020s ready to make a bold entrance. The end of one decade and a new age about to start. 

Many people have pointed out of late that this mindset is pretty arbitrary and more than a little silly. What law says 2010 and 2019—separated by nine long years—are henceforth joined together under an irrefutable canopy, while 2019 and 2020—split by a mere nanosecond—are conversely divided by some equally irrefutable barrier? What, that is, besides humanity and the way we've thought about the passage of time for God knows how long!

Let's face the music; it's just easy. Thanks to the look of our numbers and the way we've chosen to tally years over the last two millennia, 2010 and 2019—sharing the first three of their four digits—are destined to be linked. 2019 and 2020—sharing only the first two—are mismatched. (Maybe the reason the shift from 1999 to 2000 seemed like an even weightier jump was because those years don't share even a single digit.)

And it might seem trivial at first, but, like all things, once we've lent it significance, it becomes meaningful. And we've attached meaning to this convention for far too long to suddenly change course now.

For you can't really argue with history, can you? We like to break eras down into groupings of years that each share the same tens place. The Roaring Twenties. The Swinging Sixties. Even something as simple as the Eighties.

What was it exactly that made each year between 1960 and 1969 indelibly swinging that vanished at the stroke of midnight on 1 January 1970? I can't pretend to know. But I'm sure that when we evaluate the past, we talk about the Sixties and the Seventies as distinct decades. And so we will about the 2010s and the 2020s. So just embrace it. Today is the end of an era.

What I also know is that 2019 has been a phenomenal year for yours truly. It's closed off a most spectacular decade in a most spectacular fashion, with an amazing combination of momentous personal milestones, a ton of travel to new places, special time spent back home with family and friends, and, quite simply, a helluva lot of fun. 

And so here they are... the twelve photographs I've chosen to sum up the year that draws this wild decade to a close.

January

Due to our tiny flats, it's a rare event indeed when my friends host a dinner party here in Hong Kong. 

February

When Heidi invites you to be her plus one at a wedding in Tulum, Mexico, you don't think twice about accepting.

March

It was a short return to the Lion City in March. These guys ensured it was also a sweet one!

April

Of course we hit up Happy Valley Racetrack when Logan came to visit back in April.

May

Who doesn't love a little Cinco de Mayo action?


June

My squat is a tad awkward, but no other snap from our ten year 'Nova reunion has as many amazing people crammed in!

July

Impromptu boat days are one of the joys of a Hong Kong summer!

August

A once-in-a-generation celebration with a once-in-a-lifetime friend

September

Friends who get married in Bali are great friends indeed! Thanks—and congrats—Roger and Mabel! 

October

Out on the Upper West Side of Manhattan the Saturday night—well, technically, the Sunday morning—before Halloween!

November

Celebrating the decade that's passed since my move to Hong Kong at Sha Tin Racetrack!

December

'Twas the night before Christmas, when I discovered Fredric has a fondness for candy canes!