At the end of every year, I like to look back and review my life. I do this in lieu of the traditional Christmas newsletter, most of which I find really boring (or in the case of the one written by my parents, lacking).
The biggest thing to happen to me in 2009 was my big move. The tabs on my car were due to be renewed in February and my car was required to pass a bi-annual emissions test. It failed. I still argue that the issue was a mechanical one, not an emissions one, but I was overruled. A mechanic at work offered to fix the issue at a fraction of the cost quoted to me by another mechanic, but just as I was about to accept his offer, I started having issues with my clutch. I began to realize that my car was dying and my growing fear that one day I wouldn't be able to get to work due to car trouble was ever looming.
I began looking at apartments within walking distance of work and decided on a complex literally across the street. My former roommate thought I was crazy and told everyone at work that after six months I would come running back to him, begging for my old room. Eight months later, I find that I am able to pay my bills and actually have money left over which is something I never had before. I took more trips at work, most of them smaller ones that I would have never taken if I had had a commute, and even took a midday route in September, guaranteeing me more hours.
With my new found riches, I treated myself to an HD Tivo, a blu ray player and a plane ticket to California for the holidays. I got rid of my car and found myself depending more on the bus, but I have found that the metro system is usable. Sure, there are days when I wish I had a car, but I'm not throwing money away for car insurance and gas. Instead, I am throwing money away for blu ray discs! And still managing to get money into savings! Figure that one out.
I wrapped up the year spending two weeks with my family. We struggled to remember the last time I had celebrated Christmas down there. I flew into the Los Angeles area in time to spend my birthday at Disneyland. So what if my mother thought that was my only reason for visiting! I had a fantastic day! I took advantage of Disney's free birthday admission offer and was given a button declaring it my birthday. Whenever a cast member saw me they extended happy birthday wishes. My favorite of those moments occured on the Tower of Terror. The cast member gave his safety spiel then acknowledged my birthday and encouraged everyone on the elevator to sing to me. The doors closed shortly after the first line and we all chuckled as the ride started. After all that screaming, our elevator returned to the doors which opened as the cast member was finishing the last line of the birthday song, as though he had been singing the entire time. That had everyone laughing!
That evening, Mom treated me to priority seating for the big nighttime show Fantasmic! There had been some trepidation regarding this idea. My brother and his wife had done this on his birthday and, though the desert treats were AMAZING, the seats were off to the side and not as inspiring. When we arrived to claim our seats, however, we discovered that they now offered seats in the center of the viewing area, giving us the best seats for the show! It was such a treat!
The trip home to visit my family was the perfect way to end the year.
Now I am looking at 2010 and wondering if there will be any monumental events for me... *cough* A BOYFRIEND *cough*
Here are my favorite things from the year:
Favorite Book: I must give this one to Kathy Griffin's memoir For Your Consideration. Usually when a comedian writes a book, it is little more than fluff with wide margins and large print. Griffin's book, however, was packed with funny and tragic moments from her life. She talks about her quest to rise above the D-List and the end result is a very enjoyable book.
Favorite Movie: Hands down, my favorite movie this year was Transformers 2...NOT! I still regret paying to see that movie - in IMAX, no less. *sigh* My favorite movie (for real, this time) was (500 Days) of Summer starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zoey Deschanel. I loved everything about this movie. During my visit home I encouraged my brother to rent it and and was able to watch it one last time before the end of the year. I still loved it. Honorable mention should definately go to Away we Go because it was also a fantastic movie and it starred John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph.
Favorite TV Show: This one has to go to the new show Glee. I just loved everything about it! The characters are fun and they even included a guest appearance by the sweet Kristin Chenoweth. Now granted, I haven't yet seen all the episodes that have aired this season so far, but I have definately loved what I have seen. On December 29th, they released a DVD set of the first 13 episodes and I was all set to buy it until I started reading reviews about it. It seems like a waste of money since Fox ordered nine more episodes to make a full season and they'll most likely release another set of the complete season. Besides, I'm holding out for the blu ray.
Favorite Song: I realize that this song technically came out in 2008, but it made a huge impact over 2009. I mean who doesn't love Single Ladies by Beyonce? Okay, there are probably many who hate it, but I am not one of them. It was even featured on the show Glee in one of my favorite episodes where a high school football team danced to it on the field. Who can forget Kanye West interupting Taylor Swift's award speech to declare Beyonce's video the best of the year? As Obama said, Kanye may be "an asshole" but he was right - it was a kick ass video and a kick ass song!
Favorite Moment: I only add this category because I forgot to talk about the results regarding Referendum 71. It ended up passing and the rights of domestic partners in the state of Washington, as first given back in May, will continue to be honored. It was a truly shining moment in the history of this state!
So that was my year. I hope 2010 is as eventful as 2009 was, though I don't think I can take another move. Surely, though, something has to happen... *cough* A BOYFRIEND *cough*
