1. MY BOYFRIEND DUMPED ME WITHOUT A WARNING

“Every year I throw a big dinner party on December 31st. I was really excited last year because I had been dating a guy for a few months and was glad to have someone to kiss when the ball dropped. We hadn’t talked much between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, but I figured he was busy with the holidays. I cooked all day and made a great meal. My guy showed up late and the party was in full swing. When everyone sat down for dinner we went around the table and said what we hoped for next year. I said I wanted to take more trips with my boyfriend. Then it was his turn. He sat there silently for a minute. Then he muttered that he couldn’t date me anymore and got up and left. I was devastated. He hadn’t given me any clues that he was unhappy. I spent the rest of the night crying in my room.”

—Vanessa, 29

2. A STRANGER BLEEDING ON THE CURB

“Well, first I lost my phone. That sucked. Then on my way home I noticed a stranger bleeding on the curb. I used his phone to call 911 and waited for the ambulance to arrive, while holding his bleeding head in my hand. Rough start to the New Year.”

—Lana, 26

3. BLACKOUT AT THE ATM MACHINE

“It was the last day of the century, and I was looking forward to celebrating this night in a big tent with several bands entertaining the guests. The admission charge was a little on the expensive side, but this was a special day and I didn’t mind. I was dressed for the occasion, ready to rock-and-roll, and ready for a trip to the bank to get a couple of hundred bucks. It’s nice, when you can get your money 24/7 from an ATM machine, I thought. Happily, I put my card into the machine, selected $200, pushed the button, and within a second everything around me was dark. The ATM machine took my card and didn’t return it. We had a blackout. A few seconds later the light came on again and my card was still inside the ATM machine. I was banging and yelling at the machine, but no answer. A minute later a young man, also in need of money, put his card into the ATM machine next to mine, took his money, and left. I was standing there waiting for a miracle to happen. I had to wait until Monday to get my card back.”

—Erich

4. I STARTED CRYING HYSTERICALLY

“I had gone through a very bad breakup and got incredibly drunk at a stranger’s rooftop party in Brooklyn. When the countdown began, I for some reason started crying hysterically. I had to go hide in the stairwell and bawl to myself for a solid five minutes.”

—Jenny, 28

5. TRAPPED IN AN ELEVATOR

“A bunch of my friends and I went to the rooftop bar of a hotel. About a half-hour before midnight, I ran down to my car because I had forgotten my camera. I figured I would have plenty of time to get back up there and find my friends. I grabbed my camera and got into an elevator all by myself. About halfway up, the elevator started shaking and stopped completely. I was trapped. A guy came on over the loudspeaker and told me there was an electrical short but he would have me out soon. A few minutes later, I could hear people outside counting down and celebrating. I didn’t get out until almost one in the morning. The worst part was, my friends hadn’t even missed me!”

—Elena, 25

6. RUINED MY SISTER’S NEW SILVER SILK DRESS

“I live with my sister and she went out of town over New Year’s. I had been dying to borrow this new silver silk dress she’d recently bought, but she wouldn’t lend it to me. She hadn’t worn it yet, and had spent a ton of money on it. I decided to sneak the dress out of her closet to wear to a party. I figured I would just be careful and she would never know. I got so many compliments on the dress and had a great time. I was careful to only drink clear liquids, so there’d be no chance of staining it. At midnight the party went crazy, everyone was hugging and cheering. One guy came up to kiss my cheek and accidentally tripped. His cranberry drink went flying down the whole front of the dress. I immediately ran to the sink to wash it off, but it wouldn’t come out. I spent the rest of the night stressing out telling my sis. I ended up calling her to confess and she really let me have it.”

—Ann, 23

7. SHE SAW IT, EVEN THOUGH SHE PRETENDED SHE DIDN’T

“My friend threw a New Year’s party at her apartment. Her former friend-with-benefits was there. We were talking for a bit, and for some reason, when she was in the kitchen, he had the balls to kiss me. Sure enough, she saw it, even though she pretended she didn’t. I felt really awkward for the rest of the night.”

—Tiffany, 26

8. FIGHTING FOR THE TOILET AS WE BOTH PROJECTILE-VOMITED

“I was the sober driver ’til 11 pm for some friends before showing up to a midnight party. I realized I needed to catch up and immediately began pounding Red Bull vodkas. By the time midnight rolled around, I had 14 Red Bull vodkas and several pulls from God knows what fifth. As the clock struck midnight, I grabbed the girl next to me, and we had our midnight kiss….which turned into her and I fighting for the toilet as we both projectile-vomited all over the bathroom. She wanted to make out afterward…I declined.”

—Jack, 22

9. MY MELON WAS PERIOD-ING ALL OVER THE PLACE

“Twenty-two. Jungle juice. New Year’s Eve party. Guy on crutches. Told him, “Watch this!” Stole his ‘legs’ and proceeded to regress into my favorite childhood activity: Turn those puppies upside down, and you got yourself a sweet pair of stilts. I was maneuvering my way through the crowd, and looking damn good doing it, until I hit a puddle of booze on the wooden floor. I watched myself in slow motion, as though I were astroplaning, legs flying toward the heavens. Gracefully landed back-of-head first into a hallway wall corner jutting out into the open space like it was holding up a roof or something. I jumped up, “I’m okay, muthafuckas!” Things were going great until, unbeknownst to me, the back of my melon was period-ing all over the place….I got 26 stitches down the back-a-me-noggin….”

—Chelle

10. I TRIED NOT TO GET SICK ON HER

“I went to a house party in deep Brooklyn. The girl who lived there was pretty tipsy and asked me if I wanted to kiss at midnight. I said sure. Midnight comes, and she drunkenly pukes on my shoulder, and it runs down my shirt. I then tried not to get sick on her. I failed.”

—Mark, 30