OK. Let�s regroup. Everyone here and accounted for? No stragglers left behind in 1999? Good. That�s a relief. I�d hate to have forgotten anyone back there. The transition was pretty painless, but I did notice a few people who came kicking and screaming (or snoozing and snoring) across the threshold. I�m glad to see they�ve joined us now.

As the hype, hyperbole and excitement of the "rollover" subside, we look around and ask, "What�s next?" It�s like we�ve been picked up by a tornado in our sleep then set right back down, a foot or so away from where we started. We�re not very far along in terms of distance, but it�s been quite a ride. Between the local, national and global history lessons, a myriad of worst-case-scenario survival tips and uncountable "best of" lists, it�s a wonder we remember 1999 at all.

True, the process of changing to a new year wasn�t such a big deal, especially compared to the preparation and preambles. All the talk now is about how anticlimactic it was. Perhaps we were aching for a little more drama. A bit more flash. A little more evidence that the threat of chaos and confusion might have been real. Most of us wouldn�t really want to live through such an ordeal, of course, just a little taste would do. Maybe five or ten minutes of tense concern, akin to searching for your ID at the airport and finding it in your carry-on bag just in time to catch your plane.

Happily, we had a pleasant, uninterupted New Year�s Eve, with lots of extra fireworks displays from around the world thrown in--even from places where the official calendar was way past 1,999 years. The fact that everything went so smoothly is evidence that what needed to be done was done. Is our faith in humanity restored? Perhaps. At least until the next big boo-boo that needs to be fixed.

I salute those in the computer industry who worked day and night to make sure their workplaces were ready. Many forfeited or curtailed their celebrations to be on call in case something went buggy. It would have been worse, I guess, if after all they�d been through everything blew up and their jobs were on the line. As it stands now, they�ll probably be the ones celebrating longest and loudest next year, on the eve the "real" New Millennium. (Yes, I side with the 2001 purists on this one, even though I see nothing wrong with big celebrations on both dates.)

Here�s an odd observation about those two ubiquitous terms, Y2K and millennium: The K in Y2K refers to "kilo," the metric prefix for one thousand, which can be traced to the Greek word chilioi. The "mille" in millennium also indicates one thousand, this time in Latin. Coincidentally, "milli" means one one-thousandth in the metric system, yet is also based on the Latin root "mille."

Do you really think Americans will ever be truly ready for the metric system?

There are some people reduce the whole millenial madness to the human need to attach significance to numbers. As if that�s a bad thing. I�m not what anyone would call a numbers person, but I do applaud this human tendency. We commemorate ages and anniversaries, victories and defeats. Heck, we even get excited when we watch the car odometer turn from 49,999 to 50,000 miles. At the very least we should pay attention to something that happens only once every thousand years.

It�s a great time to be alive. I got a kick out of writing 1/1/00. And seeing 2000 at the top of the newspaper. And realizing that I have a few savings deposit slips that read 19__ for the date. It�s just a matter of time before a 20th century minted coin will seem as quaint as seeing a restored Model T.

Just a matter of time.