New Canaanites Look for More Time, Travel in 2012

NEW CANAAN, Conn. – Diego Luna is looking forward to all that 2012 has to offer — especially time.

Luna, 24, could use a few more hours in the day: He currently works as manager of the Le Pain Quotidien restaurant on Elm Street, keeps parties jumping as a DJ on weekends and takes classes at Sacred Heart University.

“In 2011, I didn’t have enough time,” he said with a laugh while taking a quick break from work. “I think 2012 should be good. I’m looking forward to it.”

Whether it's time, more money, better luck or world peace, people in New Canaan are optimistic about the 12 months ahead.

Courtney Collins, 24, back in New Canaan while taking a break from Harvard Law School, is excited for 2012 with the prospect of more travel to cool locales. “I’m a student, and I need to make use of the time before I start working,” she said. “I feel excited that it will be a great year, and the economy will pick up and things will improve.”

Friend Kristin Bochicchio, 24, who attends the University of Pennsylvania Law School, will do some traveling of her own, moving back to the United States from Paris, though she plans to live in Houston. “I’m hoping for a good 2012, even though 2011 was pretty good,” she said.

Claudette Nash of Norwalk, who was going for a walk in Waveny Park on the final Friday of 2011, is interested in an improved job market because she knows several people who are unemployed or who cannot advance in their jobs because of the economy. “I want jobs for everyone looking for a job,” she said. “There are quite a few people whose talents are not being used.”

Marilyn Brown of New Canaan would like the housing market, which has been down for several years, to improve — mainly because she’s hoping to sell her home. “I want it to be a better year overall,” she said, shopping on Elm Street with her son.

For Barry Bonsignore, 65, and his wife Jenny, visiting New Canaan from Durban, South Africa, the hope for an overall improvement in the world with fewer wars and less political division. Barry is also hoping for less knee pain, which is why he’ll be having surgery soon.

“I’m feeling confident about next year,” Barry Bonsignore said. “What’s the alternative?”

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