A few days late, but...
Happy 2010, everyone! Yes, I realize today is the 6th of January, but things have been rather busy for me over the past few weeks, so now I'm playing catch-up. First, let's do one of those "end of the year wrap-up" memes, snagged from bangdrum:
1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
~Got my associate's degree, for one thing. Moved to Tampa by my own choice. Visited Myrtle Beach. Turned 29. Lots of other things, too. Oh! Saw The Goonies for the first time ever!
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
~Pretty sure I skipped making any resolutions. I'm terrible at follow-through when it comes to stuff like that. I did make a 101 in 1001 list and managed to cross some things off of it, which is nice. As for new resolutions...I've got some ideas floating around in my head, goals I'd like to accomplish, but nothing concrete or verbalized yet.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
~No? (I'm gonna feel really bad if that's not true, but I don't remember any babies being born this past year....)
4. Did anyone close to you die?
~My grandpa died over the summer.
5. What countries did you visit?
~I have yet to truly travel out of this country. Didn't do much travel at all in 2009, other than the travel it took to move me to Tampa.
6. Summary list!
Books read:
~Oh lord. Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk, Mucho Mojo by Joe R. Lansdale, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen...I have a terrible memory, but I'm sure I read more than that. I know I did some re-reading of old favorites, like Lullaby by Palahniuk, The Stand by Stephen King...gah, I'll have to think about this some more.
Movies seen:
~Saw Transformers 2, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Star Trek, Night at the Museum 2, Inglourious Basterds, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Public Enemies and Zombieland in the theatre. Saw District 9 on DVD, along with a few other things I'd never seen before: Spy Game, The Goonies, Secretary, The Boondocks Saints among them. 2009 was the most movie-watchingest year ever for me.
Music concerts attended:
~George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Rusted Root, and Phish! All 3 were fantastic!
7. What events from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
~The concerts I attended will definitely stick with me. Making the decision to move back to Tampa - and the effort it took! - will stick with me. Going to Myrtle Beach will stick with me. Losing touch with one of my best friends for several months will stick with me. Meeting new people will stick with me. :) Lots of events will stick with me from '09. It was a year of change I guess.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
~Getting my Associate's Degree
9. What was your biggest failure?
~Epic fail at finding a job in Tampa. Failure to really embrace the move, failure to grow up a bit, failure to get in shape at all...hm, let's not talk about this, okay?
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
~No injury that I recall. No major illness, though I'm pretty sure I had mono at one point.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
~My bed!
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
~? Not really sure how to answer this one.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
~My own at some points, a couple of friends at other points. We'll leave it at that.
14. Where did most of your money go?
~What money?
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
~The concerts I went to, the trip to Myrtle Beach, the trips to Texas for the holidays, the visit from my mom and sister in August, the idea of being a total surprise when I moved back down to Tampa
16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
~No idea. Rusted Root will always remind me of that concert, as will Phish.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
(a) happier or sadder? Happier, I guess...if I recall correctly, I was going through a rough patch of depression at this point last year
(b) thinner or fatter? Thinner! I've dropped ten pounds since moving back
(c) richer or poorer? Poorer, by far.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
~I wish I'd done more thinking before making the decision to move; wish I'd done more job hunting; wish I'd saved more money; wish I'd gotten into better shape. The usual.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
~Slacking?
20. How did you spend Christmas?
~With the family in Texas. Loved it!
21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
~No. Love is a tricky thing.
22. What was your favorite TV program?
~Boston Legal.
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
~Nope - I try to avoid hating anyone.
24. What was the best book you read?
~Tough call.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
~Rusted Root live
26. What did you want and get?
~I wanted better opportunities here in Tampa. I didn't get those. I wanted to spend more time with my friends. I did get that. :)
27. What did you want and not get?
~See above.
28. What was your favorite film of this year?
~Oh, man, I don't know. I saw a lot of really great flicks.
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
~For my 29th birthday, I went out to The Cape Lounge in Dayton with a bunch of my friends. Had a great time, stayed up really really late.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
~Actually being able to pay my own bills; OR, not having had to wait a year to start school.
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
~HA!
32. What kept you sane?
~Lots of sleep and relaxation, good times with friends.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
~Johnny Depp, of course.
34. What political issue stirred you the most?
~I gave up on politics this year. I'm a little jaded.
35. Who did you miss?
~All of my friends in Ohio. Mostly Will - miss him like crazy.
36. Who was the best new person you met?
~My friend Wes. I don't like the word "best", it's not a competition. I've become closer with him than any of the other new people I've met. He's a neat guy.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
~Didn't really learn a new one, just reinforced some things I already knew on one level or another. Sometimes you've gotta just live with your choices; things rarely work out the way you plan; roll with the punches; gotta grab the bull by the horns; yadda yadda.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
~"Turn and face the strange ch-ch-changes!" LoL
39. What are your plans for 2010?
~Get back into school, get an awesome internship, grab the wheel of my life and start steering down the river again rather than just floating on the current, save some money and act a bit more like a grown-up.
40. What would you like to see happen in 2010, based on what happened in 2009?
~I'd like to see less violence, a better economy, more common sense, more love and compassion, less stupidity and drama. For starters. :)
Well then. That took way longer than I thought it would, but so it goes.
So my holidays were pretty awesome. Had a great time in Texas, which I think I talked about in my last post. Things have been kinda hectic since I got back, but life is getting quieter now.
To recap:
~I flew back into Tampa on Monday, December 28. Got in late, stayed up really late.
~Overslept for work Tuesday morning (I was scheduled to open, eek!), got there 2.5 hours late. Ended up finding someone to finish my shift for me (thanks to a coworker who really came through for me), which was awesome because I had somewhere to be.
~Piled into a van with 4 of my friends right after leaving work and drove 4.5 hours to Miami to see the Phish concert on the night of the 29th. I dozed for most of the trip down, then rocked out at the show. I will be making an effort to see them every time they're in town from now on, and I am determined to get better seats than the ones we had.
~Piled back into the van and drove back that night. I slept most of the way back.
~Arrived home at 6am Wednesday, the 30th. Slept for several hours.
~Closed at work Wednesday night
~Worked Thursday, which was New Year's Eve. Got stomped at work all day long.
~Had a gathering of friends at the apartment to celebrate New Year's Eve. Had a great time, stayed up way too late drinking with friends.
~Had to open at work on New Year's Day, at 7:30a.m. Woke up at 7:35a.m., FLEW out of bed and got to work before 8, still feeling rather hazy.
~Got out of work 5 hours later (thank goodness), went home and just chilled on the couch with my roomie for the entire afternoon/evening. Watched Boston Legal and caught up with each other, since I'd barely seen him in 2 weeks. Great day.
~Worked all day Saturday, the 2nd.
~Turned 30 on Sunday the 3rd. Didn't do much of anything during the day - went out for lunch, then played Halo for several hours. Went out to my bar with several friends for dinner, drinks, and terrible football. (The Bengals were playing, and apparently they didn't receive the memo about needing to win for me on my birthday.) Ended up staying at the bar until close.
~Spent Monday on the couch, doing nothing but reading. It was wonderful.
It's been crazy, but a lot of fun. The holidays really snuck up on me this year - I had the hardest time finding my holiday spirit, and it all flashed by in such a blur. It still doesn't feel like a new year, and the fact that I'm 30 hasn't really phased me. I am doing a lot of thinking lately, some soul-searching and whatnot. I've noticed myself feeling reserved, kind of remote, craving time alone to just recharge and organize and whatnot. Might have something to do with the new year and new age, or it might just be reaction to all the socializing and running I've done over the past 2 weeks, who knows. It is nice to be back home. My cat missed me - she's been sticking to me like glue since I've come back, lol.
So! Now I'm playing catch-up on life. I managed to get some of my stuff unpacked and put away yesterday. Did some light cleaning around the apartment, did some laundry despite the scariness of my washing machine (it needs a part I'm determined to acquire today). The serious cold snap we're experiencing is making it hard for me to find motivation to leave the apartment. However, we are COMPLETELY out of food here, so there's my inspiration I guess. I need to run to the bank, grab some food, and pay my rent among other things. Luckily I'm off all day today, and I'm feeling somewhat energetic. I've got a few things I'd like to work on here at the apartment, in terms of cleaning and reorganizing my stuff. It's time to declutter, and I'm itching to get started, but food comes first. So I'm off for now. Hope you're all doing well! And here's hoping all my HTML works.....
1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
~Got my associate's degree, for one thing. Moved to Tampa by my own choice. Visited Myrtle Beach. Turned 29. Lots of other things, too. Oh! Saw The Goonies for the first time ever!
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
~Pretty sure I skipped making any resolutions. I'm terrible at follow-through when it comes to stuff like that. I did make a 101 in 1001 list and managed to cross some things off of it, which is nice. As for new resolutions...I've got some ideas floating around in my head, goals I'd like to accomplish, but nothing concrete or verbalized yet.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
~No? (I'm gonna feel really bad if that's not true, but I don't remember any babies being born this past year....)
4. Did anyone close to you die?
~My grandpa died over the summer.
5. What countries did you visit?
~I have yet to truly travel out of this country. Didn't do much travel at all in 2009, other than the travel it took to move me to Tampa.
6. Summary list!
Books read:
~Oh lord. Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk, Mucho Mojo by Joe R. Lansdale, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen...I have a terrible memory, but I'm sure I read more than that. I know I did some re-reading of old favorites, like Lullaby by Palahniuk, The Stand by Stephen King...gah, I'll have to think about this some more.
Movies seen:
~Saw Transformers 2, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Star Trek, Night at the Museum 2, Inglourious Basterds, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Public Enemies and Zombieland in the theatre. Saw District 9 on DVD, along with a few other things I'd never seen before: Spy Game, The Goonies, Secretary, The Boondocks Saints among them. 2009 was the most movie-watchingest year ever for me.
Music concerts attended:
~George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Rusted Root, and Phish! All 3 were fantastic!
7. What events from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
~The concerts I attended will definitely stick with me. Making the decision to move back to Tampa - and the effort it took! - will stick with me. Going to Myrtle Beach will stick with me. Losing touch with one of my best friends for several months will stick with me. Meeting new people will stick with me. :) Lots of events will stick with me from '09. It was a year of change I guess.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
~Getting my Associate's Degree
9. What was your biggest failure?
~Epic fail at finding a job in Tampa. Failure to really embrace the move, failure to grow up a bit, failure to get in shape at all...hm, let's not talk about this, okay?
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
~No injury that I recall. No major illness, though I'm pretty sure I had mono at one point.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
~My bed!
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
~? Not really sure how to answer this one.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
~My own at some points, a couple of friends at other points. We'll leave it at that.
14. Where did most of your money go?
~What money?
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
~The concerts I went to, the trip to Myrtle Beach, the trips to Texas for the holidays, the visit from my mom and sister in August, the idea of being a total surprise when I moved back down to Tampa
16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
~No idea. Rusted Root will always remind me of that concert, as will Phish.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
(a) happier or sadder? Happier, I guess...if I recall correctly, I was going through a rough patch of depression at this point last year
(b) thinner or fatter? Thinner! I've dropped ten pounds since moving back
(c) richer or poorer? Poorer, by far.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
~I wish I'd done more thinking before making the decision to move; wish I'd done more job hunting; wish I'd saved more money; wish I'd gotten into better shape. The usual.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
~Slacking?
20. How did you spend Christmas?
~With the family in Texas. Loved it!
21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
~No. Love is a tricky thing.
22. What was your favorite TV program?
~Boston Legal.
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
~Nope - I try to avoid hating anyone.
24. What was the best book you read?
~Tough call.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
~Rusted Root live
26. What did you want and get?
~I wanted better opportunities here in Tampa. I didn't get those. I wanted to spend more time with my friends. I did get that. :)
27. What did you want and not get?
~See above.
28. What was your favorite film of this year?
~Oh, man, I don't know. I saw a lot of really great flicks.
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
~For my 29th birthday, I went out to The Cape Lounge in Dayton with a bunch of my friends. Had a great time, stayed up really really late.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
~Actually being able to pay my own bills; OR, not having had to wait a year to start school.
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
~HA!
32. What kept you sane?
~Lots of sleep and relaxation, good times with friends.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
~Johnny Depp, of course.
34. What political issue stirred you the most?
~I gave up on politics this year. I'm a little jaded.
35. Who did you miss?
~All of my friends in Ohio. Mostly Will - miss him like crazy.
36. Who was the best new person you met?
~My friend Wes. I don't like the word "best", it's not a competition. I've become closer with him than any of the other new people I've met. He's a neat guy.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
~Didn't really learn a new one, just reinforced some things I already knew on one level or another. Sometimes you've gotta just live with your choices; things rarely work out the way you plan; roll with the punches; gotta grab the bull by the horns; yadda yadda.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
~"Turn and face the strange ch-ch-changes!" LoL
39. What are your plans for 2010?
~Get back into school, get an awesome internship, grab the wheel of my life and start steering down the river again rather than just floating on the current, save some money and act a bit more like a grown-up.
40. What would you like to see happen in 2010, based on what happened in 2009?
~I'd like to see less violence, a better economy, more common sense, more love and compassion, less stupidity and drama. For starters. :)
Well then. That took way longer than I thought it would, but so it goes.
So my holidays were pretty awesome. Had a great time in Texas, which I think I talked about in my last post. Things have been kinda hectic since I got back, but life is getting quieter now.
To recap:
~I flew back into Tampa on Monday, December 28. Got in late, stayed up really late.
~Overslept for work Tuesday morning (I was scheduled to open, eek!), got there 2.5 hours late. Ended up finding someone to finish my shift for me (thanks to a coworker who really came through for me), which was awesome because I had somewhere to be.
~Piled into a van with 4 of my friends right after leaving work and drove 4.5 hours to Miami to see the Phish concert on the night of the 29th. I dozed for most of the trip down, then rocked out at the show. I will be making an effort to see them every time they're in town from now on, and I am determined to get better seats than the ones we had.
~Piled back into the van and drove back that night. I slept most of the way back.
~Arrived home at 6am Wednesday, the 30th. Slept for several hours.
~Closed at work Wednesday night
~Worked Thursday, which was New Year's Eve. Got stomped at work all day long.
~Had a gathering of friends at the apartment to celebrate New Year's Eve. Had a great time, stayed up way too late drinking with friends.
~Had to open at work on New Year's Day, at 7:30a.m. Woke up at 7:35a.m., FLEW out of bed and got to work before 8, still feeling rather hazy.
~Got out of work 5 hours later (thank goodness), went home and just chilled on the couch with my roomie for the entire afternoon/evening. Watched Boston Legal and caught up with each other, since I'd barely seen him in 2 weeks. Great day.
~Worked all day Saturday, the 2nd.
~Turned 30 on Sunday the 3rd. Didn't do much of anything during the day - went out for lunch, then played Halo for several hours. Went out to my bar with several friends for dinner, drinks, and terrible football. (The Bengals were playing, and apparently they didn't receive the memo about needing to win for me on my birthday.) Ended up staying at the bar until close.
~Spent Monday on the couch, doing nothing but reading. It was wonderful.
It's been crazy, but a lot of fun. The holidays really snuck up on me this year - I had the hardest time finding my holiday spirit, and it all flashed by in such a blur. It still doesn't feel like a new year, and the fact that I'm 30 hasn't really phased me. I am doing a lot of thinking lately, some soul-searching and whatnot. I've noticed myself feeling reserved, kind of remote, craving time alone to just recharge and organize and whatnot. Might have something to do with the new year and new age, or it might just be reaction to all the socializing and running I've done over the past 2 weeks, who knows. It is nice to be back home. My cat missed me - she's been sticking to me like glue since I've come back, lol.
So! Now I'm playing catch-up on life. I managed to get some of my stuff unpacked and put away yesterday. Did some light cleaning around the apartment, did some laundry despite the scariness of my washing machine (it needs a part I'm determined to acquire today). The serious cold snap we're experiencing is making it hard for me to find motivation to leave the apartment. However, we are COMPLETELY out of food here, so there's my inspiration I guess. I need to run to the bank, grab some food, and pay my rent among other things. Luckily I'm off all day today, and I'm feeling somewhat energetic. I've got a few things I'd like to work on here at the apartment, in terms of cleaning and reorganizing my stuff. It's time to declutter, and I'm itching to get started, but food comes first. So I'm off for now. Hope you're all doing well! And here's hoping all my HTML works.....