New year, new lists
In the style of Stephen Colbert, it's time for Tip of the Hat, Wag of the Finger!
Tip of my hat to a new year. I've never been so happy to usher the old one out and bring the new one in. So long, 2008! Lots of good things, but a hell of a lot of really awful things that I hope I never see again. My hope is that 2008 is the hardest year of my life, and that in the rest of my time on this earth I can always say, "Yes, things are rough, but this is no 2008!" Welcome, 2009. May you be a year of serious recouperation and blank slates.
Wag of my finger to my mood lately. Way down, and consistently enough that I'm thinking I'm dealing with med weirdness. This Lamictal introductory period means that not only am I introducing this new med to my system, but I also can't have a consistent dosage. At least not for another two weeks, so things are all kind of volatile mood-wise. Working out helps, but just for a few hours and then I'm back to moping and crying spells. What's good is that I can finally say that yes, my mood is a problem without all the "buts" and silver linings I usually give it. Sometimes it's ok for things to suck, and right now, my mood sucks.
Tip of my hat to dinner with ABBY last night! She met me at Flat Top in Chi-town, and the only thing better than the food was the company. I'm always amazed at how easy it is for me to just talk to her about the heavy things in my life. She's one of very few people I know that I don't worry about judging me. We talked about my recovery, grad school, LA, movies, parents, babies, Dennis, Jamie, and who knows what else. Living with her really was a blessing. I didn't want to say goodbye at the end of the night, but Dennis has family out here, so she'll probably be around again within a year or so.
Wag of my finger to Arielle's secret Disney on Ice boyfriend. I kind of figured this would happen, but I wish she'd tell me about these things. Said secret boyfriend has been pictured in compromising photos with her on facebook. Boo minus. And there's no real way to know if she's with him because she wants to be or because she's afraid of hurting his feelings, because that's how she gets with boyfriends. So now I kind of feel like an idiot for pursuing her like I have been, but also just mad that she's keeping stuff like that from me and talking around it on the phone. We'll call these, "mixed feelings."
Tip of my hat to Milk. Outstanding work by Gus Van Sant and Sean Penn, who is as loveable as Harvey was. And James Franco doesn't suck! I actually believe his romantic relationship with Sean Penn! It's a miracle! Oscar season is going to be tough this year. Next on my list of things to see are The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Revolutionary Road. And maybe Valkyrie, but mostly for Eddie Izzard.
Wag of my finger to my cold. No sinus infection, please! And I'm sure it's not helping my mood any. Wellness would be good now.
Tip of my hat to the Spanish Christmas card I got two days ago from David Cox. What a suprisingly good friend he's turned out to be. It's got to be the funniest card I've ever gotten. The thing was addressed to Danielle "Muskrat Love for the Holidays" Karczewski, for crying out loud! And it's this sappy, sentimental card in Spanish completed by David "Dazzle" Cox's hysterical side-notes in both Spanish and English. I laughed my booty off. Too funny.
Wag of my finger to the lack of friends I have here. I miss people so much. It's gotten a little ridiculous. The drive home after dinner with Abby was just so sad, because I realized that I probably won't speak to anyone my age in person until I go see Twelfth Night in a month. How is that possible?! It's bad enough that I'm also considering an Iowa City trip soon, though I don't know what I'll tell everyone about St. Louis and all. It might be too much, but I really do miss people. Seeing David and Cynthia alone would do me worlds of good. Plus, the Theatre Building would be open again! The old stomping grounds! Long story short, being lonely bites. Hardcore.
All right, I want to leave it on happy notes, not more complaining. So I'd like to add a tip of my hat to myself, as I'm thrilled that Chris liked both his painting and his CD. I'm proudest of my Chris gifts because he makes such good ones for me, so it's great that this year I got to return the favor.