Back to the 'burbs

Yesterday someone at work asked me if I went away for Christmas. I said I did - to Palmetto Bay. That's not going away, he said. Sure it is, I replied. It's an hour away from where I live, and continents away from the world I live in daily.

Not that I'm some kind of baller, partying at my table in the VIP section every night, taking my Bentley to buy $45 cheese at Epicure and passing off philanthropic lunches as "my job."

However, I do go out for a drink or dinner most nights, occasionally take in brunch poolside at the Raleigh and go to concerts whenever someone worthwhile rolls into town.

Win NYE party tix!

You say you want a resolution?

Ooh, ooh, I've got one! How about not spending your life savings on another inevitably lame SoBe New Year's Eve party?

Few holidays are hyped, only to turn out to be a complete let down, more than New Year's Eve. People spend big money to party with d-list celebrities and get completely trashed (don't we do that every night here anyway?), only to realize that at 12:01, the only thing that's changed is your opinion of that girl you didn't think was so hot before that fifth glass of champagne.

I usually avoid going out like the plague, not only because of all the drunkards relying on liquid courage when they get behind the wheel, but because, well, why would I want to ring in the New Year with the same people I try to avoid every other night of the year? So where will I be when the ball drops? In a condo a taxi ride-distance from my place with 20 or so of my closest friends, sipping a few glasses of bubbly, dancing to good music and anticipating a countdown smooch.

Win BCS National Championship Tix

First, full disclosure. I'm a 'Cane. Growing up I was taught to despise the Gators (and the 'Noles, and Ohio State). I even refused to go to UF on the sole basis that doing so would be utter sacrilege.

Okay, now that that's out of the way, we have what even I recognize as a kick-arse contest: 2 tix to the BCS National Championship game. And, as a 'Cane, I know a thing or two about National Championships. Rumors are these tix are going for like two grand (400 smackers for the cheap seats), not that you would win and then sell them to some desperate fan.

You want these tickets. You want them so bad you're going to play our little game, the rules for which you can find here.

Congrats to our winners!

Congrats to our Miami Monopoly winners! If your name is below, check your email (if you haven't already) -- I've got a question for ya:

tommyparke
vianna
PYTpassions
glitterati
marvingt
cklamarre
JosephQ86
MiamiAngel

Remember those marathon Monopoly games you used to play during the holidays with the fam? You'd all go to bed, swearing not to touch the board during the night lest someone would be coming after you with the yule tide log. Inevitably, in the morning the top hat would be on Baltic instead of Marvin Gardens, your anger management-challenged brother would dramatically throw everyone's paper money in the air and mom would say something mom-ish like, "It's so nice to have everyone home. Who wants pancakes?"

Miami.com wants you to re-live those grand holiday memories. That's why we're giving away 10 Monopoly Miami game boards. In this version, locales like Ocean Drive, Fairchild Tropical Garden and the Freedom Tower replace Boardwalk, Marvin Gardens and Connecticut, and Miami-themed game pieces such as an alligator, flamingo and Art Deco hotel replace the thimble, the car and the coveted top hat.

So what do you have to do to score a free board? Simple - build your Miami.com profile. Add your favorite restaurants, nightspots, beaches, museums, 'hoods and sports teams, and, most importantly, don't forget to add a pic. It doesn't have to be you - it could be your favorite shot from a night out on South Beach, your dog, those guys from Flight of the Conchords. Leave a comment on this blog entry that says, "Check me out, Miami.com!" and at the end of next week, we'll pick our ten favorite profiles. If yours is one of them, you get a Miami Monopoly board.

Now if only holidays with the fam were that easy.

-- miaeditor

WIN DAVID BYRNE TIX!

This ain't no party. This ain't no disco. Surely David Byrne (as in the Talking Heads) wasn't talking about Miami in that song. Nevertheless, he'll be gracing us with his indie pop rock god presence December 13 at The Fillmore. There are two reasons you should go see this show.

1. My friend Alex loves this guy so much he named his cat after him. That's right: Kitty Byrne. Kitty Byrne, the few times I've met him, is an awesome cat. And so is David Byrne.

2. I saw him (David, not Kitty) at Austin City Limits this past September at a venue similar to The Fillmore and he rocked. I was a little wary, and almost didn't go because the tickets were so expensive and me and my beaux were like, eh, David Byrne without the Talking Heads? Let's just sell our tickets and go eat tacos. But in the end we went and were so glad we did. Even with a chick running her yapper behind me (despite my evil looks), and even with interpretive dancers, it was a great show. He played mostly new stuff and a few classics which, of course, were crowd pleasers. This guy is the real deal. And my real deal I mean awesome.

Take survey, win something

Take our survey -- don't worry, it's not the SAT, or even the FCAT, just questions about how you found out about Miami.com, what you you like best/least about us, yadda yadda -- and you could win a $100 gift certificate to Circuit City! Just kidding. It's for Best Buy. That's like a third of a Sirius Stiletto 2, two Wii video games or six copies of Beyonce's new CD. Or, you could just re-gift. Really, it's okay, you won't break our feelings.

R.I.P. Cup Holder

I'll miss you. My beverages will miss you. And blue bunny will miss you.

In case you were worried, she's not mad that you fell on top of her when you careened to your death (suicide?). She loved sitting in the vacant hole (perhaps it reminded of the one she grew up in?), my floppy-eared co-captain on this road called life. Wherever you are, I hope you're happy, reminiscing about the good times with Side Mirror Adjuster and Driver's Seat Door Handle. You could always hold the biggest Big Gulp, the warmest Starbucks pumpkin spice latte, the sweatiest Damiani water bottle, without spilling a drop (except for that one time I pulled the top off my smoothie and it sprayed everywhere -- but that was totally my fault).

Prose, not *****

5 reasons why you should go to the book fair this weekend instead of cry about not getting into the Victoria's Secret fashion show at the Fontainebleau.

1. There's no way you're getting a ticket. Not even the gazillion dollar invitation guaranteed that when you actually went to pick up your ticket, thanks to a giant PR clusterf**ck, you would get one. In other words, why go to a party where the host doesn't really want you there in the first place?

2. You can take home what you see. While you don't have enough money for that VS supermodel, or the diamond-encrusted bra she's flaunting, books are affordable and actually tell interesting stories.

WIN COLDPLAY TIX!

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED

If you're like me, you've got a bone to pick with Ticketmaster. "Convenience" charges (which aren't waived if you physically go to the box office, fyi)? And for each ticket? Is it really so much harder to stuff two into an envelope instead of one? Point is, even before economical hard times, I stopped going to concerts unless a) Ticketmaster wasn't involved, b) I would kick myself really hard for the rest of my life if I didn't see X band/musician or c) I get to go for free.

If you'll kick yourself if you don't go to this Sunday's Coldplay concert at the BankAtlantic Center, but don't want to sell your plasma for tix, Miami.com and BankAtlantic (did you know they're open 7 days a week?) might have a solution. All you have to do is tune into The Link tomorrow (that would be Thursday), during which Toni and J.R. will ask a Coldplay trivia question. Email editor@miami.com with the answer, along with your name, age, email address and phone number -- if you're one of the first six to reply, you've got yourself two tix.

Vote Today!

So I voted already. Judy Blume made me do it.

Fired up for this election, the children's author decided to speak at various locations around Miami on the importance of voting. I really just went to see her because her books made getting through adolescence a whole lot easier [insert Are You There God, It's Me Margaret? joke here]. I didn't know she was going to scare me into voting early - car accident that puts me in a 24-hour coma, my name mysteriously not on my precinct's list, time warp. So last week I stood in line for an hour and 45 minutes in the freezing cold (ok, it was in the upper '60s, but that's the story I'm telling my grandchildren and you can't stop me) to cast it. On a paper ballot, which totally freaked me out. I'm a fan of computer-style, now more than ever, as I didn't get so much as a receipt at the end telling me who I voted for. Just a "scan successful" screenshot. Flashbacks to grade school scantron tests, arguing with my teacher that the scanner must have made a mistake because there's no way I got a 45 percent.