2007: ThePostGradEpicIdentityCrisis! The Recap
In retrospect last year's theme ended up being "2007: The Post Graduation Epic Identity Crisis". I'm going to name this year. But I wonder how much it will end up actually relating the what happens in the next 12 months...
New Years is always a time of reflection. (what, too cliche? what.) Mike D was saying this morning how, for him, it was something in the cold air, and the cold sunshine, that makes him think back. Like the cold was the constant that contained the memory. I think for me, it's definitely more (and less) tangible than that: I have been moving around too much to have a constant for memory to attatch itself to. It is, therefore, the lack of constistency, the interminable newness that makes up each month, that makes me think of the past. Last year I spent new years at Jane and Josh's, drinking midori sours and banging pots to annoy the neighbors... and I remember realizing that I had lost the entire previous year to depression. This year was different. Yeah, I went through some tough times, but I gave it my all and I found some happiness.. a lot of happiness... in there, too.
So! To Recap... In 2007 I:
-almost dropped out of college to move to alaska
-made my senior thesis
-broke my finger with a plastic mug while almost falling down the stairs
-graduated college
-become an aunt for the 3rd time
-had a misguided and short-lived relationship with a certain venezuelan punk girl
-bought myself a guitar and wrote two songs of my very own!
-went on a mini tour with my good friends, the band Abiku
-taught a summer highschool fibers art camp program
-helped run an anti-racism seminar for a quaker summer camp in VT
-moved to Philadelphia!
-slammed my finger in a door and lost the whole nail
-got a job as a seamstress sewing handbags
-made a few friends, at least
-knit some stuff
-and, y'know... some other stuff, too.
At the beginning of 2007 I also made a couple of resolutions for myself:
** Not to buy NEW clothing. (Thrifting was ok, but nothing made new and sold at a store. The point was too appreciate the clothes I had, save money, and not to invest in, y'know... that whole capitalistic system.)
I did pretty well, although not perfect. In a moment of weakness in October Adam convinced me I had lost enough weight to warrent new clothes. Who can resist such charm and flattery?? I ended up buying a pair of pants, a shirt AND a skirt. But... that was it! Not so bad, eh?
** Not to make my mother cry at Christmas. (Trying to break a 5 year tradition.)
She started to tear up one day I told her that I "wasn't inspired by her pantry". Seriously. But I managed to head it off by pulling the car quickly into a trader joes and letting her buy me english muffins. (the woman is totally illogical most of the time.)
** I tried very very hard to read 50 books this year. i got to 46! But couldn't finish. Here they are, in all their glory:
1. Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides. 2. Off the Map, Crimethink Letters Inc. 3. Sandman II (The Dolls House), Neil Gaimon. 4. Sandman III (Dream Country), NG. 5. Sandman IV (Season of Mist), NG. 6. Bitchfest, Lisa Jarvis and Andi Zeisler. 7. The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster. 8. The 10th Anniversary Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Waterson. 9. The Last Unicorn, S. Beagle. 10. Fun Home, Allison Bechdel. 11. Strangers in Paradise (Love and Lies), Terry Moore. 12. Stone Butch Blues, Leslie Feinberg. 13. Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang, Joyce Carrol Oates. 14. The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick. 15. Necessary Targets, Eve Ensler. 16. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling. 17. Sandman V (Game of You), NG. 18. Punk and Zen, JD Glass. 19. Strangers in Paradise (the whole series...again), Terry Moore. 20. Sandman VI (Fables and Reflections), NG. 21. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling. 22. Flying, Kate Millet. 23. Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, JK Rowling. 24. Artists in Times of War, Howard Zinn. 25. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, JK Rowling. 26. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, JK Rowling. 27. A Room of One's Own, Virginia Woolfe. 28. The Well of Lonliness, Radcliffe Hall. 29. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling. 30. If We Ever Break Up This Book Is Mine, Jason Logan. 31. Strangers in Paradise (Treasury Edition), Terry Moore. 32. Tales of a Punk Rock Nothing, Abram Shalom Himelstein and Jamie Schweser. 33. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, Gertude Stein. 34. Jane's World 1, Paige Braddock. 35. Orlando, Virginia Woolfe. 36. Janes World 5, PB. 37. Time Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger. 38. Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, Audrey Lorde. 39. Sandman VII (Brief Lives), NG. 40. Sandman VIII (World's End), NG. 41. Sandman IX (The Kindly Ones), NG. 42. Sandman X (The Wake), NG. 43. American Gods, NG. 44. Jane's World 4, Paige Braddock. 45. I Am America (And So Can You), Stephen Colbert. 46. The Complete Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi.
whew. Ok... it turns out that most of the time I'm either really dorky or really gay. Or really dorkily gay. Either way, I think it's working for me.
Ok... So that was 2007... On to 2008!
New Years is always a time of reflection. (what, too cliche? what.) Mike D was saying this morning how, for him, it was something in the cold air, and the cold sunshine, that makes him think back. Like the cold was the constant that contained the memory. I think for me, it's definitely more (and less) tangible than that: I have been moving around too much to have a constant for memory to attatch itself to. It is, therefore, the lack of constistency, the interminable newness that makes up each month, that makes me think of the past. Last year I spent new years at Jane and Josh's, drinking midori sours and banging pots to annoy the neighbors... and I remember realizing that I had lost the entire previous year to depression. This year was different. Yeah, I went through some tough times, but I gave it my all and I found some happiness.. a lot of happiness... in there, too.
So! To Recap... In 2007 I:
-almost dropped out of college to move to alaska
-made my senior thesis
-broke my finger with a plastic mug while almost falling down the stairs
-graduated college
-become an aunt for the 3rd time
-had a misguided and short-lived relationship with a certain venezuelan punk girl
-bought myself a guitar and wrote two songs of my very own!
-went on a mini tour with my good friends, the band Abiku
-taught a summer highschool fibers art camp program
-helped run an anti-racism seminar for a quaker summer camp in VT
-moved to Philadelphia!
-slammed my finger in a door and lost the whole nail
-got a job as a seamstress sewing handbags
-made a few friends, at least
-knit some stuff
-and, y'know... some other stuff, too.
At the beginning of 2007 I also made a couple of resolutions for myself:
** Not to buy NEW clothing. (Thrifting was ok, but nothing made new and sold at a store. The point was too appreciate the clothes I had, save money, and not to invest in, y'know... that whole capitalistic system.)
I did pretty well, although not perfect. In a moment of weakness in October Adam convinced me I had lost enough weight to warrent new clothes. Who can resist such charm and flattery?? I ended up buying a pair of pants, a shirt AND a skirt. But... that was it! Not so bad, eh?
** Not to make my mother cry at Christmas. (Trying to break a 5 year tradition.)
She started to tear up one day I told her that I "wasn't inspired by her pantry". Seriously. But I managed to head it off by pulling the car quickly into a trader joes and letting her buy me english muffins. (the woman is totally illogical most of the time.)
** I tried very very hard to read 50 books this year. i got to 46! But couldn't finish. Here they are, in all their glory:
1. Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides. 2. Off the Map, Crimethink Letters Inc. 3. Sandman II (The Dolls House), Neil Gaimon. 4. Sandman III (Dream Country), NG. 5. Sandman IV (Season of Mist), NG. 6. Bitchfest, Lisa Jarvis and Andi Zeisler. 7. The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster. 8. The 10th Anniversary Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Waterson. 9. The Last Unicorn, S. Beagle. 10. Fun Home, Allison Bechdel. 11. Strangers in Paradise (Love and Lies), Terry Moore. 12. Stone Butch Blues, Leslie Feinberg. 13. Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang, Joyce Carrol Oates. 14. The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick. 15. Necessary Targets, Eve Ensler. 16. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling. 17. Sandman V (Game of You), NG. 18. Punk and Zen, JD Glass. 19. Strangers in Paradise (the whole series...again), Terry Moore. 20. Sandman VI (Fables and Reflections), NG. 21. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling. 22. Flying, Kate Millet. 23. Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, JK Rowling. 24. Artists in Times of War, Howard Zinn. 25. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, JK Rowling. 26. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, JK Rowling. 27. A Room of One's Own, Virginia Woolfe. 28. The Well of Lonliness, Radcliffe Hall. 29. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling. 30. If We Ever Break Up This Book Is Mine, Jason Logan. 31. Strangers in Paradise (Treasury Edition), Terry Moore. 32. Tales of a Punk Rock Nothing, Abram Shalom Himelstein and Jamie Schweser. 33. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, Gertude Stein. 34. Jane's World 1, Paige Braddock. 35. Orlando, Virginia Woolfe. 36. Janes World 5, PB. 37. Time Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger. 38. Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, Audrey Lorde. 39. Sandman VII (Brief Lives), NG. 40. Sandman VIII (World's End), NG. 41. Sandman IX (The Kindly Ones), NG. 42. Sandman X (The Wake), NG. 43. American Gods, NG. 44. Jane's World 4, Paige Braddock. 45. I Am America (And So Can You), Stephen Colbert. 46. The Complete Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi.
whew. Ok... it turns out that most of the time I'm either really dorky or really gay. Or really dorkily gay. Either way, I think it's working for me.
Ok... So that was 2007... On to 2008!