If, like me, you live in a large city, you’ve been hearing about New Year’s Eve for almost as long as you’ve been hearing about Christmas. Giant parties in giant clubs, complete with open bars, fancy food, and “hot people!” have been pushing themselves into your email inbox and popping up in conversation; urging you to fork over $100-300 for a place on the guest list.

Even if you don’t happen to reside in a metropolitan area, you’ve undoubtedly heard about a house party here and there, polling your friends to find out where and how they’ll be saying goodbye to 2007.

The point I’m trying to make is—everyone always seems to have something to do on New Year’s. Some house to crash, some club with a bouncer who can get them in, some party of a friend of a friend’s, a First Night celebration out in the frigid cold…staying home just never seems to be an option.

But what if it is—at least for you? What if you don’t have any plans this year? What if the plans you do have don’t sound as appetizing as they usually do? What if spending a night sloshing in high-heels and trying to grab someone before midnight isn’t your idea of a good time?

If all your friends are out partying, and you’re staying in with the TV and a glass of champagne, all by your lonesome, does that make you a freak?

Even though I have a few options this year regarding a New Year’s celebration, I can’t say that I’ve always found myself partying like a crazy woman on Jan 31st. For one thing, I’ve been home for the last couple of years in a beautiful but quiet New England town where the only parties around are thrown by kids 18 and under who still think blush wine is an acceptable beverage. And those parties in Manhattan? $100 is too much for me to blow on one night, even if that night “is the biggest party EVER!”

Celebrating quietly by myself has been never a problem for me, although I often feel embarrassed when I explain to friends that I did not, in fact, get wasted and wear a silver party hat.

Am I continually missing out on the best celebration of the year?

What are your New Year’s plans? Are you one of the party-harders and proud of it, or are you planning on ushering in 2008 with a horribly tacky MTV special and some popcorn?

• Get Lauren Conrad a present! Because, you know, she needs one and all.

• Going to an Ugly Sweater Party this weekend? Check out some terrible ones…

• Have nothing to talk about when you’re home with the parents? Everyone loves a horrible, horrible joke!

• You’d think with the holidays around the corner mothers could give their kids a break…not so for this hard-ass mom!

• “Don’t tase me, bro!” is the top quote of 2007! Congrats?

• The internet is used for something positive! It’s a Christmas miracle!

• Nobody wants to see this picture anyway…

But I hate it. Especially when it’s combined with dating.

Way back in the day, it was common practice for people to speak on the phone after a first date—or not. Either a duo chatted a few days later or someone decided to just “forget” to call, making it pretty obvious what the future held. A call meant “I like you, let’s go out again” no call meant “eh. You lost me at hello.”

But now, with the increased popularity of texting, people can walk the line and make everything 100 times more confusing. Sort of like the person but not sure if you really feel like going out again? Send a random, friendly text message. Cover your ass in case you bump into them on the street.

“You’re pretty cool and we should talk soon.”

That’s the gist of a text I received a few days ago after going out on a first date last weekend. But no phone call followed the text. Not even an email. Just some random, noncommittal, rated G words typed into a phone in the middle of the day.

I mean, come on.

Using my powers of deduction, I’m going to assume something as benign “you’re cool, let’s talk someday in non-specific future” sort of means the person on the other end isn’t interested for whatever reason (which he certainly could have told me before we spent a good part of an hour making out), but adding a vague, friendly spin to a rejection doesn’t stop it from being a rejection.

I’m not a fan of using email during the dating process, but even that would have been better than a text message. Saying “thanks but no thanks” in a nice email is easy, and gets the point across much clearer than a sentence that could have been sent to either a lover or really friendly chiropractor.

When it comes to interpersonal relations, blurriness never works. Fuzzy intentions just waste time. Texting, with its simple sentences and lack of any discernable emotion, is all about those two things, championing a new type of annoyingly vague miscommunication.

Watching out for people’s feelings is good, being unclear because you just don’t feel like putting the effort into being direct is not good.

Seriously people. Just call me.

The VMA performances weren’t the only things that sucked last night – the fashion sucked, too!

Yes, there were some winners in my book – Rihanna and Alisha’s dresses were pretty kick-ass.

But seriously, guys and their trendy little shiny suits aside, the ladies showed up at the VMA’s looking like cheap, unintelliegent whores, The Statue of Libery, or some one’s super slutty grandmother.

“Edgy” award show or not, I don’t understand how women with so much money make such poor style choices.

I mean, if nothing else, stick a passifier in your mouth at least. At LEAST. Oh yea. Some one did that. Gorgeous.

See the red carpet looks after the jump.

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