2009: Year in Review

Wow, things have changed a bit since my last post back in November. The short version is: I have a JOB, am moving to DC, and will be living in a great apartment with a good friend I've known for years. Suffice it to say I'm super excited. The long version of the story will appear here at some point, but for now, it's End of the Year Nostalgia! (Subtitle: 2009 - the year that does not deserve nostalgia.)

01 What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before? Phone interviews, in-person job interviews, supervised student teachers, wrote letters of recommendation for aforementioned student teachers.

02 Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Does abandoning resolutions for 11 months and then finally achieving them at the end of the year count? Because after an on-again, off-again relationship with the gym during the summer and early fall, I finally got into an exercise routine around October or November and have been working out almost daily since then. And the job/adult life goal is just now materializing, after months of stagnation. Let's say I have achieved these goals, since that happens so rarely!

In terms of new resolutions, they will sound very familiar, and they are:
(a) Keep at it with the exercising.
(b) Find activities and make friends in DC so as to get out of the house. (i.e., don't get lazy)
(c) Learn something from each new experience, whether good or bad.

03 Did anyone close to you give birth? My college student teaching buddy had twins, and my cousin just had her second child. A few high school friends also had kids this year. Seriously, my Facebook page is now filled with pictures of everyone's kids.

04 Did anyone close to you die? My grandfather. That was not a good spring.

05 What countries did you visit? The UK, only because my uncle decided to send me there. I didn't even make it to Canada, sadly. I'll miss you, Canada!

06 What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? Permanence. I'm also hoping for a sense of working towards a goal (finding the ideal job) rather than just treading water.

07 What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? My grandfather's funeral. (Sorry to be a downer, but it's true.) Also, the day I flew down to MD and got offered the job!

08 What was your biggest achievement of the year? Still going to have to go with the job. I guess also being persistent and not giving up on the job search, although it was very tempting.

09 What was your biggest failure? Uh, not getting hired until a few weeks ago? To be fair, it's not entirely my fault; I did as well as I could. I suppose I failed at doing anything productive in this past year really, because I spent a lot of time mired in self-pity.

10 Did you suffer illness or injury? Not serious ones.

11 What was the best thing you bought? Anything during my short time in the UK. Also, my new laptop, which I haven't used much yet, but I'm looking forward to finding all its new features!

12 Whose behavior merited celebration? Müs passed candidacy! Hooray! My friends are also awesome, as they posted happy thoughts on my Facebook page and helped keep me going through this tough year.

13 Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Oh, Buffalo politicians. I am so glad to be leaving this place. Also, Republicans, Iran, and anyone caught in an infidelity scandal.

14 Where did most of your money go? I... didn't spend much this year. When you're living with your parents and not earning any income, it's easy to not have any expenditures. I guess I spent some money in Britain, traveling a bit for job interviews, and most recently on plane tickets to DC for apartment hunting. I'll also be paying off that laptop for a few months to come, if that counts.

15 What did you get really, really, really excited about? Not to get repetitive, but the job. Huge sense of relief. And when I found out that Jamie needed a roommate... I admit that's selfish, but I don't care!

16 What song will always remind you of 2009? Songs from 'Glee'... which I am about to purchase in the next few days.

17 Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Happier, yay!
b) thinner or fatter? Not sure... possibly thinner, due to the aforementioned working out, but I can't really see a difference.
c) richer or poorer? Poorer, and more in debt. Those student loans don't pay themselves.

18 What do you wish you'd done more of? Been more consistent with the job searching; maybe I would have found something sooner. Also, stayed a bit more positive.

19 What do you wish you'd done less of? Self-doubt and feeling stupid.

20 How did you spend Christmas? With the fam in B-lo. Of course.

21 "There is no question 21" This does not get any funnier.

22 Did you fall in love in 2009? Nope. Maybe this year.

23 How many one-night stands? Yeah, okay.

24 What was your favorite TV show? Shockingly (or perhaps not), no longer 'The Office'. It's a tie between 'Glee' and 'Community'. And if you haven't seen 'Community', please start watching; help keep it on the air!

25 Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? I don't generally hate people. It's hard to muster up that level of dislike.

26 What was the best book you read? I read a lot this year, but nothing super-memorable. David Sedaris' When You Are Engulfed in Flames is funny, as are all his books. Cambridge Blue, a murder mystery set in Cambridge, is pretty engaging, though having actually lived in Cambridge helps.

27 What was your greatest musical discovery? Well, I'm teaching myself the mandolin now, so that's fun. In terms of new music, I guess I'd have to say the music from 'Glee'. If you broaden this category out to podcasts, I'll add NPR's 'Wait Wait.. Don't Tell Me!' to things that are a great listen. I'm looking for new podcasts and other things to pass the time on my soon-to-be-epic commute, so if you have any ideas, send them along!

28 What did you want and get? A JOB. Should I say it again?

29 What did you want and not get? A million dollars. Someday...

30 What was your favourite film of this year? 'Up' was amazing. 'Slumdog Millionaire' as well; though it's technically from 2008, I saw it last January, so I'll have to say that counts. I'm looking forward to seeing 'Up in the Air' soon; maybe it'll make next year's list.

31 What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 28, and I was at my grandma's house. Some other relatives came over, and we had strawberry shortcake for dinner, which was pretty awesome.

32 What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Employment. Barring that, a sense of getting somewhere with the job search.

33 How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009? Jobless = no money = no occasion to buy/wear new clothes. Essentially, wearing the same things I've had since MN/college/high school. Mostly jeans and fleece, as always.

34 What kept you sane? Contact with friends. The Internet. Travel, and any excuse to leave the house. Also, the brief period I had a part-time job and a minimal schedule.

35 Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I'm a new fan of Joel McHale, mostly due to 'Community'. Did I mention that you should be watching that show?

36 What political issue stirred you the most? Health care madness. Will the bill actually go through? Who knows. Also, gay marriage; how some people can be so bigoted and insist on impinging on others' happiness for the sake of 'tradition' and some misguided sense of morals is beyond me.

37 Whom did you miss? Everyone, really. Did you notice that I lived with my parents?

38 Who was the best new person you met? Jamie's housemates in London were very nice. My boss for the student teacher supervising is also a lovely person and has been very supportive in terms of writing me recommendation letters.

39 Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009. I'm going to drop some knowledge on the job seekers out there, brace yourselves:
(a) Write a new cover letter for each job application. It's a huge pain, but they do actually notice.
(b) Apply as soon as you can. Don't wait around until the application deadline, tweaking and retweaking your resume. The important thing is getting your application in fast, not spending hours perfecting it.
(c) Try to take something away from each rejection, whether it's writing a better cover letter or improving your interview technique.
(d) Rejection does not equal failure. Don't take it personally. (This was especially hard for me.)

40 Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. Damnit, I hate this question. I am not a teenager and my life does not revolve around (angsty, emo) music; therefore, I refuse to answer this question.

Happy New Decade, everyone! I don't know about you, but I am psyched for 2010. Let's get it started already.

Day 30

For my last day of NaBloPoMo, I was hoping to post a video of Rocky Balboa running up the steps in Philly or some other sports-related, underdogs-overcome-incalculable-odds-to-win montage. However, it seems that YouTube is filled with videos of people doing their own Rocky runs, rather than the actual film clip. Instead, just try to hear the music in your head. (ba ba baaaaaaaaaa, ba ba baaaaaaaaaa) You're welcome. (Incidentally, I have a video of the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, where the band plays the 'Rocky' theme in front of the palace. It's pretty awesome.)

So, it's Cyber Monday. I was sort of looking forward to doing some shopping, but I'd forgotten that I like to shop online for particular items instead of just browsing. Looking around, comparing prices, and debating the relative values of stuff that I can't actually see is just tedious to me. And of course the items that I'm looking for don't seem to be marked down much, if at all. I'm sure that other people will find some amazing deals, and I'll be rather envious, but it's sort of like venturing out to the malls on Black Friday; sounds like a great idea in theory, you could really luck out, but it's actually way more effort than it's worth. Of course, if you happen to find something and would like to share, I will be dutifully impressed!

Also, NaBloPoMo is over, yippee! I think this is the first time I've successfully completed it. Please join me in patting myself on the back. I am taking tomorrow (and probably a few more successive days) off.

Day 29

Back from Jersey. The trip seemed marginally shorter than the drive down; I guess that's what you get when the driver goes 80 the whole way back. Still, I'm not quite in the mood for an extended blog post this evening, so I will just share the podcasts that got me through the drive back:

• This American Life - Funny, touching, and informative, often all in the same show. You've got to be in the mood for some episodes, like the two on the state of health care in the US that I skipped on this drive, but all are definitely worthwhile. I'll get back to those two on health care this week.
• Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! - How am I the last person on Earth to know about this? A news quiz show that features quick wit and occasional ridiculousness, and it makes me laugh.

In conclusion, I am a nerd. I used to be so anti-NPR... what happened?

Day 28

Apparently some people, like the Brits, just don't get Thanksgiving. Honestly, what is there to not get? Sure, we could get into the whole Pilgrim-Indian feast -- although the traditional retelling that the Pilgrims were bringers of culture to the Indians is pretty un-PC and is frowned upon in many elementary schools. (Not to mention that the Pilgrims didn't actually wear buckles on their shoes and hats.) And I would venture to say that Thanksgiving, like Christmas, has become pretty commercialized and now largely serves to mark the day before Black Friday. But really, it's basically a holiday to do two things:

1) Spend time with family and friends.
2) Eat amazing food.

How difficult is this to understand? Sure, it's also a time to give thanks for aforementioned family, friends, and food, but the author of the article somehow doesn't get this. Does it matter what, specifically, we're thankful for? Besides, even if the tradition started out with being thankful for the Wampanoags' help in surviving that first winter, it doesn't mean that's on our minds every Thanksgiving. Plenty of traditions start out one way and then morph into something else that may or may not be entirely related. I mean, do people still think about the Germanic tribes' tradition of bringing a fir tree indoors to remind themselves that the shortest days of the year would end? We just put up Christmas trees and fight over where to put the ornaments.

The author also disparages Thanksgiving food. Okay, first of all, each family is very particular about their turkey day meal; everyone's got their own tried-and-true version of mashed potatoes, stuffing, etc. And people tend to be pretty hard on other people's food... and I do agree that those green bean casseroles with the french-fried onions are gross. But everyone's got their traditions, and they feel very strongly about them. Also, the BRITS are criticizing OUR FOOD? This is from the country that brought the world shepherd's pie, fish pie, steak and kidney pie, and all the other non-delicious pies? A place that serves all their beef well-done? Once you get a culinary school, Great Britain, then you can start turning up your nose at others' meals.

In short: the author of this article is dumb. I taught about Thanksgiving in Germany, and even the fifth-graders got it.

Day 27

Some families spend the day after Thanksgiving at the mall. They get up insanely early, fight the crowds in search of bargains (probably sustaining injuries in the process), wait hours in line for items that may or may not be in stock, and arrive home exhausted and marginally successful.

As you may have gathered, we are not one of those families.

In our household, Black Friday is spent doing two things, depending on what gender you are:
a) Male: raking leaves and/or assorted yard work, followed by going for NY-style deli sandwiches and then watching the Food Network or sports for the rest of the day.
b) Female: going to this Christmas market.

Visiting the Christmas market is a four-year tradition now. We first went the year before I went to Cambridge, I believe. The event is not nearly as fun as Christmas markets in Germany -- this one doesn't have mulled wine and is indoors, for example -- but it's a pretty good time. There are a lot of vendors, and there is a huge area set aside for German Pyramiden, Räuchermänner and assorted wood carvings and ornaments from Germany. Those, along with the smell of roasted almonds that hovers over the place, make me nostalgic. The only thing is that most of the vendors at this market stay roughly the same from year to year; it's all brand new the first time you visit, but you kind of get inured to the stained glass, picture frames, knitted hats and doll clothing by year four. (It's all very folksy.) But it's something to do, a chance to get out of the house and once in a while you'll find something interesting.

I'm looking forward to the next Christmas market we're visiting, in Canada. If it's anything like last year's, it'll be more authentic, with more actual German stuff, more German food (and Glühwein!), and more Germans. (which is perhaps a disadvantage) It'll also be about 20 degrees colder, but this one's mostly indoors as well. If you're planning on taking a trip to Canada, I recommend checking it out.

Day 26

Happy Thanksgiving! It's the best holiday of the year, so enjoy it!

Day 25

Made it to Jersey; 8 hours in the car never gets any shorter, let me tell you. I've made many long car trips, but it's still long.

Posting for the sake of posting, folks. Nothing to see here. Move it along.