Tomorroow night is New Year’s Eve. If you’re thinking about spending midnight in Times Square in NYC, I have one bit of advice for you.

Don’t do it.

I have, and let me tell you, it’s not as much fun as it looks on TV.  First of all,  remember, it’s December in New York.  It can be really really cold. Second, there are a lot of really drunk people in a very small area. Which means there’s a high probabilty on at least one of these things happening to you:

1) Someone vomits so close to you that you can smell it all night. 2) Someone vomits on you and you have to smell it all night. 3) Someone warns you they’re going to kick your ass for no reason other than their drunk and cold and you’re the closest person to them.

I actually had someone hit me in the head with an empty beer bottle. Yes, in their excitement, they tossed an empty beer bottle in the air, not thinking that the law of physics will come into play, and that this bottle will eventually come down.

Oh, and there are so many people in Times Square, that my friend and I were afraid that we were going to get separated by all the people pushing and shoving. So we ties are arms together with a scarf. Of course, this made perfect sense to us at the time. But have you ever been in a three legged race? You know how much stability you have? Well, it’s about the same when you tied yourself together with a scarf. Which means, we were an inch away from falling and getting trampled at any given moment. We untied quickly.

Then there’s the fun part. Getting out of Times Square. Yes, when a million people try to leave somewhere at the exact same time it’s a little difficult to get anywhere. Plan on at least an hour to go 2 – 3 blocks. And remember, one of your friends will be drunk, or has just puked or just got in a fight. So moving around NYC isn’t going to be easy.

So my advice to anyone considering going to Times Square. Don’t. Watch it on TV. Walk around anywhere in NYC that isn’t Times Square. Go skating in Central Park. Have a drink at the outside bar on top of the Pennisula Hotel (if you want to be outside). Do anything. But don’t go see the big ball drop in person.

You’ll thank me later.