Someone asked at dinner on New Year's Eve what the most important thing to happen to everyone at the table -- personally -- in 2004 was. I can't decide on one event, which is completely like me.
But I can pick two. The most obvious is the wrecking of the Focus in May(
1&
2). Because of the vacation ruining; the whole almost-getting-seriously-hurt thing; the insurance nightmare; the perils of car-shopping for the second time in less than a year; the excessively paranoid worrying that comes along with owning a new car that you can barely afford, after the last one you could barely afford was smashed by a huge SUV
with me in it; dropping two grand as a down-payment; the anger when the police-officer changed her story and suddenly "saw everything" and blamed the whole accident on me, the one who was not even moving; etc., MFin' etc.
On the bright side, we bought a faster car, with more room in the back hatch, with the moonroof I always wanted. And
Geico considers me a "preferred customer" (don't know why; I'm only 25) and only raised my insurance rates by $10 a month, even though the accident cost them about $15,000-$16,000. And, of course, the obvious bright side: no one was hurt, not even the asshole who caused the whole thing.
The other tremendous thing for me about 2004 was the beginning of the this blog, in its initial form on
Blogger, on
TypePad and then on its return to
Blogger over the summer. I won't gush about how blogging has "changed my life" or anything like that. But I've e-met some great folks; learned a lot about some interesting people; obtained inside info on music, movies, books and the advent of
DSL in
Carbondale; been able to get over some irrational phobias a little bit via confessing them to people I've never met over the internet; and other things I could think of if I had been awake from more than an hour. There are, of course, times when I don't feel like blogging and times when I'm afraid it will get in the way of "real life." But these are, for now, out-weighed by the benefits of blogging.
So much for 2004. Resolutions for 2005? Well, like most fat-assed Americans, I am committed to losing some weight and getting into better shape. I will work to curb some of my too-much-for-a-25-year-old worrying: about scratches in the car that can only be avoided by never driving, about getting testicular cancer just because my friend did, and about a hundred other stupid things. Worrying about getting work done and finishing my doctoral program and getting a job are things far more worth worrying about, on a practical level, anyway. I need to continue to read more and watch more movies and to watch less television (except "The Simpsons") and play a little less "Call of Duty" online. I've been bad at keeping in touch with people lately, too. That needs to change. I should write more, get back into painting and should play my bass and mandolin more, too. Those are always good things for me; they keep me sane and un-boring.
I wouldn't say that 2004 was a
bad year. Just boring, save for a few things. I hope this leveling is not something that heralds getting older or more "mature" or anything like that. I'll have to go nomadic or something to keep myself amused, if that is the case. Making 2005 less boring will take a lot of work on my part, now, too. I know.
Someone asked at dinner on New Year's Eve what the most important thing to happen to everyone at the table -- personally -- in 2004 was. I can't decide on one event, which is completely like me.
But I can pick two. The most obvious is the wrecking of the Focus in May(1&2). Because of the vacation ruining; the whole almost-getting-seriously-hurt thing; the insurance nightmare; the perils of car-shopping for the second time in less than a year; the excessively paranoid worrying that comes along with owning a new car that you can barely afford, after the last one you could barely afford was smashed by a huge SUV with me in it; dropping two grand as a down-payment; the anger when the police-officer changed her story and suddenly "saw everything" and blamed the whole accident on me, the one who was not even moving; etc., MFin' etc.
On the bright side, we bought a faster car, with more room in the back hatch, with the moonroof I always wanted. And Geico considers me a "preferred customer" (don't know why; I'm only 25) and only raised my insurance rates by $10 a month, even though the accident cost them about $15,000-$16,000. And, of course, the obvious bright side: no one was hurt, not even the asshole who caused the whole thing.
The other tremendous thing for me about 2004 was the beginning of the this blog, in its initial form on Blogger, on TypePad and then on its return to Blogger over the summer. I won't gush about how blogging has "changed my life" or anything like that. But I've e-met some great folks; learned a lot about some interesting people; obtained inside info on music, movies, books and the advent of DSL in Carbondale; been able to get over some irrational phobias a little bit via confessing them to people I've never met over the internet; and other things I could think of if I had been awake from more than an hour. There are, of course, times when I don't feel like blogging and times when I'm afraid it will get in the way of "real life." But these are, for now, out-weighed by the benefits of blogging.
So much for 2004. Resolutions for 2005? Well, like most fat-assed Americans, I am committed to losing some weight and getting into better shape. I will work to curb some of my too-much-for-a-25-year-old worrying: about scratches in the car that can only be avoided by never driving, about getting testicular cancer just because my friend did, and about a hundred other stupid things. Worrying about getting work done and finishing my doctoral program and getting a job are things far more worth worrying about, on a practical level, anyway. I need to continue to read more and watch more movies and to watch less television (except "The Simpsons") and play a little less "Call of Duty" online. I've been bad at keeping in touch with people lately, too. That needs to change. I should write more, get back into painting and should play my bass and mandolin more, too. Those are always good things for me; they keep me sane and un-boring.
I wouldn't say that 2004 was a bad year. Just boring, save for a few things. I hope this leveling is not something that heralds getting older or more "mature" or anything like that. I'll have to go nomadic or something to keep myself amused, if that is the case. Making 2005 less boring will take a lot of work on my part, now, too. I know.
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