AS IT IS 2013-12-31 The Clock Is Ticking to 2014 - It's New Year's Eve!

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A festive place to count down to the New Year - Times Square in New York City, where confetti flies over celebrating crowds,after the clock strikes midnight.

From VOA Learning English, welcome to As It Is for New Year’s Eve. I’m
Steve Ember.

Today, calendars – choosing the right one takes time – and New Year’s
Resolutions:  Making ones you can keep takes…well, we’ll talk about that,
and even share some of ours.

You'll need a new calendar - Got yours yet?

The New Year is the time for new beginnings. It is also the time to buy a
new calendar. Have you bought yours yet?

With so many choices, it can take a lot of time just to choose the right one.
There are small ones. Big ones. Calendars that sit on a desk. Calendars that
hang on the wall. Calendars you can carry around with you. Calendars that
show a whole month, or one day at a time.

Of course, in one way all calendars are the same. They all list the same days
of the year in exactly the same order. But people do not buy calendars just
to know what day it is. Calendars have become popular gifts because many
are filled with beautiful pictures.

You can even learn from calendars. They often give information about their
subject -- such as famous writers or American Indians or flower gardens.

There are calendars about food and about beautiful places in the world.

Trains are a popular subject for calendars (Steve Ember/VOA)

Would you rather look at pictures of cars? Or trains? Or airplanes? There are calendars with those, too.
        
Some people do not just look at their calendars. They use them to write down important things they must remember, like meetings or doctor’s
appointments. Busy people can buy small calendars to carry around to help them organize and plan their life. But what if they forget to look at their
calendar? No worries there - there are electronic organizers that make
sounds to remind people of things they must do. These days, if you forget
something, it is getting harder and harder to find a good excuse.
   
Then, there are some people do not like little calendars, or big ones, or noisy
electronic ones. They are happy just to write down notes to themselves on
small pieces of paper.        

Then, there’s the matter of New Year’s Resolutions….have you made yours?
More importantly, do you keep yours? We’ll talk about that next.

It’s As It Is, New Year’s Eve edition from VOA Learning English, I’m Steve
Ember.

New Year’s Resolutions – Plan to keep yours?
 
Now, depending on where in the world you are and when you’re joining us,
the start of the New Year is just hours, or maybe minutes, or even seconds
away.  
 
Yes, the clock is ticking toward 2014.  As far back in history as we can tell,
people have celebrated the start of a new year. The people of ancient Egypt
began their new year in summer.  That is when the Nile River flooded its
banks, bringing water and fertility to the land.
 
Today, most people celebrate New Year’s Day on January first.  People
observe the New Year’s holiday in many different ways, usually starting with
New Year’s Eve.
 
The ancient Babylonians celebrated the New Year by forcing their king to
give up his crown and royal clothing.  They made him get down on his knees
and admit all the mistakes he had made during the past year.  
 
That idea of admitting mistakes and finishing the business of the old year is
found in many cultures at New Year’s.   
 
So is the idea of making New Year’s resolutions.  A resolution is a promise to
change or do something different in the coming year.  
 
Making New Year’s resolutions is a common American tradition. Breaking
them is, too!
 
Today, popular resolutions might include the promise to lose weight, stop
smoking, or be more productive at work.
    
Some members of our Learning English group have offered New Year’s
resolutions of their own, and told me I could share them. So here goes.
 
One of our people promised to stop telling stories about others. That practice
is known as gossip. Another staff member promised to spend more time with
his family. Our boss resolved to be “the best Dad ever.”  
 
And one said about resolutions, “Oh, I gave that up years ago.”  
 
Here’s one we’ve all at least thought about:
 
[Sound of lottery terminal]

“I resolve to win the lottery.”

Another colleague wants to stop smoking.
Every year, she says, she makes that resolution…and every year it hasn’t
happened. Well, maybe in 2014. 
 
Another one of our group is resolving to lose some weight. Those resolutions
usually have to wait until after the holiday season. Lots of festive meals, you
know.
 
Here’s one I like: My resolution is to stop making resolutions, because I
never keep them. For example, this colleague told me, I have not given up
eating too many sweets, resolved on many a January first.  She says, she
will still work for chocolates! That’s good to know.

One person – that would be me - decided to get a new cat to replace a much loved one that had recently died. 

Mewer enjoys the sunshine in his bay window. (Steve Ember/VOA)

Now, that resolution was made at the end of 2002. It took me almost two years to keep it, but in October of 2004, at an animal shelter in Virginia, I was “adopted” by a very handsome, and very talkative, gray and white cat. Mewer and I have been together ever since. He even helped me out on a recent As It Is, all about cats. Perhaps you heard him? He’s the one that purrs like a diesel locomotive.
 
Other people use New Year’s resolutions to make changes in how they live their lives.  One such resolution might be to “stop and smell the roses.” That’s always a pleasant thing to do, but what the expression means to take
time to enjoy life’s simple pleasures…instead of always being too busy and in
a hurry. 
 
Another resolution might be “don’t sweat the small stuff.”  This means not to
worry or get angry about unimportant things.  Another resolution might be
to be happy now and to forget about bad things that happened in the past.
Or, to be thankful for the most important things in life, like family and
friends.   
 
Here’s a little musical resolution I made – to wrap up today’s program with a
musical question.

Maybe it’s much too early in the game
Ah, but I thought I’d ask you just the same
What’re you doing New Year’s Eve?

That’s Margaret Whiting’s classic recording of the Frank Loesser tune “What
Are You Doing New Year’s Eve”

As It Is is a production of VOA Learning English.
Steve Ember here, and no matter what you’re doing New Year’s Eve our
resolution is to wish you a happy, healthy and productive New Year!  See
you in 2014.

[Margaret Whiting continues]
Maybe I’m crazy to suppose
I’d ever be the one you chose
Out of a thousand invitations you’ll receive…