...And fuck you!

No, no. I'm not trying to be insulting or any nonsense like that. It's just that it seems to be the new tradition amongst some friends that (and this is 50% my fault, and Mark's) to say that this is the way we now ring in the new year.

"Fuck you!"

"And fuck you!"

Glasses clink, people laugh and the next round begins.

Because, truthfully, most of the people I know and respect can't really be arsed about new year's. An excuse to drink, eat and behave obnoxiously. And I'm OK with that.

But upon arriving home, I received a more sobering greeting. There was a stabbing at the end of my block. The first of the year, I believe. The area had been roped off as a crime scene.

And while my chums and I had been chuckling and toasting a year none of us expected to improve overmuch, someone else was either dead or in hospital.

And so, Happy New Year.

...And people wonder why I'm such a cynic.