the year in words and actions
I tried to do that 2005-in-review meme, but couldn't get past the first question.
What did you do in 2005 that you had never done before?
Was a bridesmaid in a wedding. Cried at said wedding. Downloaded iTunes. Went out with a man thirteen years my senior. Took Hebrew classes. Stayed up all night on the swings in McCarren Park. Learned to cook tofu. Saw live music at South Street Seaport and Madison Square Park. Took the PATH train. Lived to tell about it. Became a Contributing Editor. Taught the SATs to immigrant children in Bed-Stuy. Supported my neighborhood kickball team. Went to the beach in Long Island. Tried coke. Referred to 40-degree weather as "not that cold." Got into major credit card debt. Paid it all off. Became a member of the Bushwick Country Club. Wore corporate casual. Found out exactly what corporate casual was. Waited an hour for a table at a restaurant. Took the Roosevelt Island tram. Hung out on a music video shoot. Got mentioned on Gawker because of said music video. Visited New Orleans. Had a December picnic. Lived in the same apartment for an entire year (as of 1/15/06, but I'll take it). Ordered takeout at a bar. Bought designer jeans. Explored the Cloisters. Made the first move. Got an eyebrow wax. Sold a freelance piece. Went to the Met hungover. Didn't miss Greensboro. Celebrated Purim and Simchat Torah. Walked in two and a half feet of snow. Had a VIP pass for a sold-out show. Saw a naked homeless man on my front steps. Ignored him. Took a gypsy cab. Got a fucking agent.
Naama Goldstein, The Place Will Comfort You
Dana Adam Shapiro, The Every Boy
Jodi Angel, The History of Vegas
Davy Rothbart, The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas
Anais Nin, The Diary of Anais Nin
Michael Ondaatje, Anil's Ghost
Peter Orner, Esther Stories
Ha Jin, The Bridegroom
Elizabeth Smart, By Grand Central Station I Sat and Wept
Fenton Johnson, Geography of the Heart
Edyardo Cozarinsky, The Bride from Odessa
Christian Bauman, The Ice Beneath Us