Brian Rubin: The Year in Review
Wow, what an amazing year, huh? We had ups, downs, secrets, surprises, and life changes. 2006 was a major year for me, a turning point in which my life changed and improved immeasurably. I'm first going to go month by month, then followed by an summation of the year, so here goes…
January: This was the month everything started. I first went to the Buffy/Angel/Firefly meetup group this month, and it was here that I had my first fateful meeting with Kelly. I remember it vividly remember her walking in, and sensing SOMETHING spark within me, a sort of "ah, there you are" moment that neither of us fully understood at the time. My favorite exchange was as follows:
Me: You have a 12 year old daughter?
Kelly: Yeah…
Me: What, did you have her when you were 10?
Kelly: (smiling) I LIKE you…
And I liked her too, but of course at the time I had to keep that to myself. Anyway, it was also this month that I went to my first SoCal Browncoat shindig, and WOW was it great meeting so many people that would eventually becomes some of my closest friends like James, Lynn, Paul, Whitney, Erin, and so on. January was indeed an amazing month of beginnings.
February: This month was my birthday month, so I had a fun birthday celebration at Corbin, followed the next day by a Serenity screening down in Santa Ana. I also received my first digital camera, so I began having a lot of fun with that. Valentine's day was also nice. The rest of the month was okay, nothing really memorable.
March: This month I built my new PC, so much of my time was spent with that. It's funny, I built the PC for mostly gaming, but don't play games anymore….go figure. We also had a Browncoat scavenger hunt in San Diego, which was a TOTAL BLAST. While my teammates and I came in last (still not bitter…), we had a wonderful time around Old Town San Diego. We also had a great trip to FIDM followed by lunch in Pasadena (at which Kelly showed up, which was a nice surprise). We then had a shindig in Bakersfield later in the month, which was a lot of fun, as I had a fun road trip with by buddy Elise. Overall, a great time and a great month.
April: The former in-laws came by this month, so thankfully I had plenty of Browncoat activities to keep me busy. We had some smaller gatherings in Santa Monica and other places. We also had another meeting at FIDM to see Serenity costumes, followed by an amazingly fun time in Chinatown. We also had an awesome shindig in Temecula over at Doug's house, in which I got very drunk and made my first drunk LiveJournal voice post. ;) April was a great month overall.
May: May had more Browncoat gatherings such as a Venice beach gathering and a really fun shindig in Long Beach (that Kelly came to, and this was the first time I met her daughter Kristen). I was really excited to see Kelly there. However, this month is when things began to take a turn for me, as money problems REALLY came to bite me in the ass. After taking out a payday loan, this was discovered by my ex, which basically was the beginning of the end of our relationship. I won't go into detail because I said I wouldn't, but y'all basically know what happened.
June: This is the month everything changed. This month, I ended an old relationship with my ex and began a new one with Kelly. I've already plastered the details up so I won't do so again, but this month was amazing, just amazing. It was also hard, very hard. I never meant to hurt anyone, nor to have such a nasty breakup, but that's how it happened and it happened for the best, in my opinion, because life has improved immeasurably since this month. I still feel somewhat guilty for putting my ex through so much pain, but I had to do what I had to do for my own happiness, and I hope ultimately, for hers too.
July: This month, my relationship with Kelly soared to new heights, and at comic-con, we cemented our relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend, and life has been amazing ever since. This was also the first comic-con I ever attended, so that was amazing an overwhelming. This month I got to know Kelly, Kristen and the rest of their family very, very well, and I'm still learning more about them. Overall, this was an amazing month.
August: This month we had our wondrous "Snakes on a Train Job" shindig in which a bunch of us all met in San Louis Obispo to see Snakes on a Plane. This was an amazingly fun shindig to see a wonderful movie. On another note, this was the month I began seeing my therapist, and that has lead to even more change and self-realization. Jane, my therapist, has been terrific, and without the support of her and Kelly I doubt I'd have gotten to where I am now.
September: A ton of great stuff happened this month. First, it was Kelly's birthday, so I spoiled the heck out of her as best I could with plenty of flowers and presents. A week later was the amazing Browncoat Ball in San Fransisco, which was probably one of the most amazing events I've ever been to, and it was here we met some amazing people like Norm, Barbara, and Tim, who would become our fast friends. Then we had an anniversary shindig to mark the one-year anniversary of the release of Serenity, which was a lot of fun. On another note, I really made strides in therapy this month, licking much of my anxiety and pulling back more layers in the process.
October: This month, our friends Erika and Mark got married, and it was a lovely ceremony. I also went to Disneyland for the first time with the Browncoats. We also got to see the Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D, which was amazing, and attended Universal's Halloween Horror Night's, which rocked. Kristen's birthday was this month as well, so I got her an iPod Nano, which made her happy. This month also saw the return of Battlestar Galactica, which had us ALL excited. Things with Kelly and I kept going great, as they would remain so. :)
November: November was a tough month for me, self-esteem wise because I felt like things were coming to a head, and I was constantly battling myself for my own happiness. Kelly and Jane were great helps, but they were concerned as to my happiness and well-being. Overall, though, it was a great month, as Thanksgiving was awesome and the whole Thanksgiving weekend was also awesome, and I got a good start on my Christmas shopping. Overall, a busy month with tons of stuff to do.
December: Wow, December really hit the ground running. First, with Flanvention II cancelled, we put on the Browncoat Backup Bash, which was amazing. I honestly think it was better than the original event, and it was really amazing to see all the love and positive energy coming from it. On another note, this month began REALLY tough for me, self-esteem wise, so Kelly and Jane convinced me to get some medication to help, so I finally agreed and was prescribed Cymbalta. Kelly and I also spent a lot of time together getting ready for the holidays, and when Christmas finally arrived, it was terrific. The only downside to this month really was how sick I got, but I'm feeling a lot better.
Overall: So…wow, what a year. A year of endings, beginnings, firsts, and lasts. ;) I can't get over the fact that 2006 is almost over, yet it was so amazing I'm sad to see it go. I know 2007 will be a better year, with a more psychologically-healthy me, a wonderful relationship that can only continue to blossom, and new friendships that can only deepen and strengthen. Thank you all for helping make 2006 the best year of my life. I hope it was as great for you as it was for me.
January: This was the month everything started. I first went to the Buffy/Angel/Firefly meetup group this month, and it was here that I had my first fateful meeting with Kelly. I remember it vividly remember her walking in, and sensing SOMETHING spark within me, a sort of "ah, there you are" moment that neither of us fully understood at the time. My favorite exchange was as follows:
Me: You have a 12 year old daughter?
Kelly: Yeah…
Me: What, did you have her when you were 10?
Kelly: (smiling) I LIKE you…
And I liked her too, but of course at the time I had to keep that to myself. Anyway, it was also this month that I went to my first SoCal Browncoat shindig, and WOW was it great meeting so many people that would eventually becomes some of my closest friends like James, Lynn, Paul, Whitney, Erin, and so on. January was indeed an amazing month of beginnings.
February: This month was my birthday month, so I had a fun birthday celebration at Corbin, followed the next day by a Serenity screening down in Santa Ana. I also received my first digital camera, so I began having a lot of fun with that. Valentine's day was also nice. The rest of the month was okay, nothing really memorable.
March: This month I built my new PC, so much of my time was spent with that. It's funny, I built the PC for mostly gaming, but don't play games anymore….go figure. We also had a Browncoat scavenger hunt in San Diego, which was a TOTAL BLAST. While my teammates and I came in last (still not bitter…), we had a wonderful time around Old Town San Diego. We also had a great trip to FIDM followed by lunch in Pasadena (at which Kelly showed up, which was a nice surprise). We then had a shindig in Bakersfield later in the month, which was a lot of fun, as I had a fun road trip with by buddy Elise. Overall, a great time and a great month.
April: The former in-laws came by this month, so thankfully I had plenty of Browncoat activities to keep me busy. We had some smaller gatherings in Santa Monica and other places. We also had another meeting at FIDM to see Serenity costumes, followed by an amazingly fun time in Chinatown. We also had an awesome shindig in Temecula over at Doug's house, in which I got very drunk and made my first drunk LiveJournal voice post. ;) April was a great month overall.
May: May had more Browncoat gatherings such as a Venice beach gathering and a really fun shindig in Long Beach (that Kelly came to, and this was the first time I met her daughter Kristen). I was really excited to see Kelly there. However, this month is when things began to take a turn for me, as money problems REALLY came to bite me in the ass. After taking out a payday loan, this was discovered by my ex, which basically was the beginning of the end of our relationship. I won't go into detail because I said I wouldn't, but y'all basically know what happened.
June: This is the month everything changed. This month, I ended an old relationship with my ex and began a new one with Kelly. I've already plastered the details up so I won't do so again, but this month was amazing, just amazing. It was also hard, very hard. I never meant to hurt anyone, nor to have such a nasty breakup, but that's how it happened and it happened for the best, in my opinion, because life has improved immeasurably since this month. I still feel somewhat guilty for putting my ex through so much pain, but I had to do what I had to do for my own happiness, and I hope ultimately, for hers too.
July: This month, my relationship with Kelly soared to new heights, and at comic-con, we cemented our relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend, and life has been amazing ever since. This was also the first comic-con I ever attended, so that was amazing an overwhelming. This month I got to know Kelly, Kristen and the rest of their family very, very well, and I'm still learning more about them. Overall, this was an amazing month.
August: This month we had our wondrous "Snakes on a Train Job" shindig in which a bunch of us all met in San Louis Obispo to see Snakes on a Plane. This was an amazingly fun shindig to see a wonderful movie. On another note, this was the month I began seeing my therapist, and that has lead to even more change and self-realization. Jane, my therapist, has been terrific, and without the support of her and Kelly I doubt I'd have gotten to where I am now.
September: A ton of great stuff happened this month. First, it was Kelly's birthday, so I spoiled the heck out of her as best I could with plenty of flowers and presents. A week later was the amazing Browncoat Ball in San Fransisco, which was probably one of the most amazing events I've ever been to, and it was here we met some amazing people like Norm, Barbara, and Tim, who would become our fast friends. Then we had an anniversary shindig to mark the one-year anniversary of the release of Serenity, which was a lot of fun. On another note, I really made strides in therapy this month, licking much of my anxiety and pulling back more layers in the process.
October: This month, our friends Erika and Mark got married, and it was a lovely ceremony. I also went to Disneyland for the first time with the Browncoats. We also got to see the Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D, which was amazing, and attended Universal's Halloween Horror Night's, which rocked. Kristen's birthday was this month as well, so I got her an iPod Nano, which made her happy. This month also saw the return of Battlestar Galactica, which had us ALL excited. Things with Kelly and I kept going great, as they would remain so. :)
November: November was a tough month for me, self-esteem wise because I felt like things were coming to a head, and I was constantly battling myself for my own happiness. Kelly and Jane were great helps, but they were concerned as to my happiness and well-being. Overall, though, it was a great month, as Thanksgiving was awesome and the whole Thanksgiving weekend was also awesome, and I got a good start on my Christmas shopping. Overall, a busy month with tons of stuff to do.
December: Wow, December really hit the ground running. First, with Flanvention II cancelled, we put on the Browncoat Backup Bash, which was amazing. I honestly think it was better than the original event, and it was really amazing to see all the love and positive energy coming from it. On another note, this month began REALLY tough for me, self-esteem wise, so Kelly and Jane convinced me to get some medication to help, so I finally agreed and was prescribed Cymbalta. Kelly and I also spent a lot of time together getting ready for the holidays, and when Christmas finally arrived, it was terrific. The only downside to this month really was how sick I got, but I'm feeling a lot better.
Overall: So…wow, what a year. A year of endings, beginnings, firsts, and lasts. ;) I can't get over the fact that 2006 is almost over, yet it was so amazing I'm sad to see it go. I know 2007 will be a better year, with a more psychologically-healthy me, a wonderful relationship that can only continue to blossom, and new friendships that can only deepen and strengthen. Thank you all for helping make 2006 the best year of my life. I hope it was as great for you as it was for me.