Among the 1 million onlookers at Times Square who watched the Waterford Crystal Philips-lighted New Year's Eve ball slide down its mast stood Lori Raimondo, Chicago native and New York transplant. She reflected briefly on the culmination of a year's work as it expired at midnight - in an explosion of confetti, cheers, whistles, and ceremonial kissing. Her first thought after that: What to do next year.

Ringing in the New Year in New York's Times Square is a ...