You’re recovering. When you unzip your pants to take a leak, confetti still falls out. Everything feels new and exciting, and you still have a mean case of the yays … minor triumphs like seeing the traffic light change and eating a sandwich elicit a small celebration. Channel that power for good. There’s plenty of great news to toast, from snow days to a burgeoning marijuana industry, and 2014 is still young. Study hard here and see how many times you can shout “yay!”
With weather enthusiasts expecting over a foot of snow, the great Nor’easter of ’14 leads to widespread school and work cancellations. We get to overuse the word “Nor’easter,” probably the most hardy, New England word in existence. Also: snow day. Yay!
With only four arrests, Boston was surprisingly reserved on Wednesday night, proving that Red Sox victories are a worse influence than the ceaseless march of time. But one of the New Year’s Eve offenders was a man who got drunk by 6:20 p.m., and claimed he’d brought bombs into an Uno’s, so points for originality (I guess). Yay?
Singer, writer, and all around badass Patti Smith rang in the New Year in Boston, performing “Because The Night” at First Night, thus starting your “Yay!” marathon.
James Avery, beloved patriarch of “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” fame, has died at the age of 65. Celebrate his (fictional) life at the bar this weekend, by sharing your favorite Uncle Phil memories, Irish funeral-style.
Tokers in the Mile High City are stoked and stoned thanks to the opening of new recreational marijuana shops there. With the industry’s already booming high-end “marijuana concierges” (there’s one for the résumé), tax revenues are expected to spike, as are sales of Visine, apples, and cookies, delicious cookies. Yay!
On New Year’s Day, Times Square wasn’t the only thing dropping the ball. The Supreme Court delayed a provision of Obamacare that would have forced religious organizations to offer health insurance that covers birth control for their employees. The stay, written by Sonia Sotomayor, was issued after a group of Colorado nuns (who know a thing or two about birth control) argued the provision violates religious freedom.
Vermont maple syrup farmers are still trying to determine whether last week’s storm damaged their supply of sweet, sweet nectar. An excuse to stockpile syrup! Yay!
Hundreds of warm-blooded swimmers rang in the New Year by running into the frigid Boston Harbor in speedos and bikinis, bringing new meaning to the term “blue balls,” and hopefully spurring the pick-up line, “Is this water ice cold or are you just unhappy to see me?”
[Photo credit: Matthew Staver/The Washington Post]
