The countdown.
It's that time of year again! 2006 was pretty fucking... ridiculous. I think that is the only word in the English language to describe one of the best years of my life. (In Spanish I choose "vale.") I would also like to point out that 2006 was the first full calendar year since 2002 that I spent fully, completely, 100% single. If you need me to prove that I can because it didn't sound true to me either, but I was dating someone in '03, '04, and '05. And on January 1, 2006, I broke free, and my life just hasn't been the same since. My life has been awesome.
January: The end of an era. After the end of my first serious, year-and-a-half relationship I found myself single and completely lost. I found comfort in an odd, immediate place, and that first weekend back at school ended up changing the tone of the entire year to come. January 1-8, 2006: The start of something....something.
mood was: confused as hell
music was: Joystick- Goodtimes
February: The firemen. A date party proved to turn into the best story I have in my repitoire of crazy things that happened to me in '06, and also proved to be my official moving-on moment in the way of a new... partnership. Plus we had to throw out my rug, I will never think of blue jello the same way again, and firemen will always be hilarious. February 12, 2006: A date party to never, ever forget.
mood was: shitfaced.
music was: Liz Phair- Fuck & Run
March: The Floridians. We didn't do spring break college-style, 'cause that's just not how we roll. Instead, we headed to Naples, Fla., capital of old people, overpriced boutiques, and Jackson, the greatest waiter I've ever had in my life. We got free champagne glasses, big huggy Oreo-covered marshmallows, and quite possibly the quote of 2006. March 16-21, 2006: "Are you all 21? It doesn't matter!"
mood was: amused!
music was: Alan Jackson & Jimmy Buffet- It's Five O'Clock Somewhere
April: The rekindling. After convincing myself in Florida that I had kicked the habit, a night of drinking that began at 6:30 in the afternoon proved me horribly, horribly wrong. Learning the possibility was still there was probably one of the hardest things I dealt with all spring quarter-- and on that cleavage-y slut's birthday, too. April 14, 2006: Friends with very, very fucked-up benefits.
mood was: pissed-- at myself
music was: Liz Phair- Perfect World
May: The reality stars. After 5 months of thinking my life would make an incredible reality TV show, it finally happened at our craziest crush party yet, starring myself as Katharine McPhee. After about... 2 1/2 days of intense crushing I got my chance to shine for the new interest at Hey Sushi!, but the 54789634240 million sake bombs kind of harshed my glow. That, and the fact that the kareoke guy didn't have "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" after I even painted my toenails blue! And the next day, Idol lost Chris Daughtry. That's when I knew the shit had hit the fan-- again. May 9, 2006: Another guy in the picture, another idol fallen.
mood was: drunk, slutty, confused, drunk...
music was: Rihanna- SOS (Rescue Me)
June: The goodbye. Winter and spring quarters had become the greatest time of college, and I SO was not ready to give them up by the time finals rolled around. I crawled into a giant hole of denial that cumulated in 2 hours to go til my cab showed up and me with an entirely unpacked box. Then, the goodbye. 4 times. June 8, 2006: One hell of a school year comes to a close.
mood was: sad, in deep denial
music was: Eagle-Eye Cherry- Save Tonight
July (1): The wild wings. Suddenly the summer didn't seem so boring after all, when all the fabulous ladies of Anthro #456 went out to Wild Wings to watch Sam Graham, his '80s cover band, and an eventual shitshow. I ended up sleeping at Andrea's house in a waterbed with Kathleen. Good stuff. July 19, 2006: Flashes of school.
mood was: ridiculous
music was: Rick Springfield- Jesse's Girl
(2): The crush. Okay, it was ridiculous and futile, but hey, so was 2006. I fell head over heels for Blaze Meier, cameraman on Fox 5's Good Day Atlanta, of which I was an intern. We spent July getting coffee together, taking sunrise drives to North Georgia, and testing shots in abandoned city hall buildings. It sounds very romantic until I remember that he was a married ex-marine with 2 kids. Then it sounds creepy and desperate. That was also kind of 2006. July, 2006: Feelin' the blaaaaaaze.
mood was: swooning
music was: Rilo Kiley- Does He Love You?
August: The Chi-Town Stomp. I finally broke out of Atlanta and spent a weekend back in the city I love, my truest '06 lover: Chicago. I spent time with my KDs, my Beta fam, my city, and of course, my roommate, in what I can honestly say was the only fun weekend of my entire summer. August 3-5, 2006: Chi-town stand UP!
mood was: happy
music was: Sufjan Stevens- Chicago
September (1 & 2): The big move. My transition from the USA to Spain proved rocky at first, but eventually everything worked itself out and I found myself living in one of the craziest nations on earth.
(1): The arrival. I got to Spain kind of... hating it. I hated the food, I was terrified of what was to come, and Galicia was pretty boring. And when we got to Sevilla, my fears weren't really calmed when I found out my house... sucked. But after toughing it out for 3 weeks, I decided to move on. September 1-7, 2006: España no vale.
(2): The new señoras. I moved in with Pilar and Antonia, and all the sudden everything in Sevilla seemed like it was going to be juuuuuuust fine. Plus we had internet! September 22, 2006: Settled in Spain.
mood was: totally overwhelmed
music was: Justin Timberlake- Sexyback
October: The (second) best vacation ever. So nothing will ever be Tobago '04, and we all know that, but Madrid '06 was pretty damn close. I had my mom's family, my best friends, a beautiful cosmopolitan city, delicious food, and basically everything I could ever ask for at practically no cost. The best things in life most certainly are (almost) free, and Madrid was the best thing about my semester in Spain. October 12-15, 2006: My favourite Euro-trip.
mood was: in love
music was: Death Cab for Cutie- Soul Meets Body
November: The MAMS invasion. So this one time, the 4 of us met up in Sevilla, and pretty much the most ridiculous picture series of my life ensued. 2 Spanish-Mexican meals and 914 photos later, I realized the only thing that sucked about being abroad was not having the quad together for insanity and general wackiness every freaking day. November 16-19, 2006: Sevilla still doesn't know what hit it.
mood was: joyous
music was: Van Morrison- Brown Eyed Girl
December: The homecoing. Coming back to America was absolutely wonderful and perfectly timed. Once I set foot in Anthro again I knew I was home and it almost felt like I never left. I slept in my bed, drank delicious American milk, and exploited abc.com's Grey's Anatomy episodes to the very, very best of my abilities. December 14, 2006: It's good to be back.
mood was: jet-lagged but lovin' it
music was: John Mayer- Why Georgia?
So there you have it. 2006 in a nutshell. 2007, get fuckin' ready. This shit is about to get even heavier.
2007: SIN VERGÜENZA.
January: The end of an era. After the end of my first serious, year-and-a-half relationship I found myself single and completely lost. I found comfort in an odd, immediate place, and that first weekend back at school ended up changing the tone of the entire year to come. January 1-8, 2006: The start of something....something.
mood was: confused as hell
music was: Joystick- Goodtimes
February: The firemen. A date party proved to turn into the best story I have in my repitoire of crazy things that happened to me in '06, and also proved to be my official moving-on moment in the way of a new... partnership. Plus we had to throw out my rug, I will never think of blue jello the same way again, and firemen will always be hilarious. February 12, 2006: A date party to never, ever forget.
mood was: shitfaced.
music was: Liz Phair- Fuck & Run
March: The Floridians. We didn't do spring break college-style, 'cause that's just not how we roll. Instead, we headed to Naples, Fla., capital of old people, overpriced boutiques, and Jackson, the greatest waiter I've ever had in my life. We got free champagne glasses, big huggy Oreo-covered marshmallows, and quite possibly the quote of 2006. March 16-21, 2006: "Are you all 21? It doesn't matter!"
mood was: amused!
music was: Alan Jackson & Jimmy Buffet- It's Five O'Clock Somewhere
April: The rekindling. After convincing myself in Florida that I had kicked the habit, a night of drinking that began at 6:30 in the afternoon proved me horribly, horribly wrong. Learning the possibility was still there was probably one of the hardest things I dealt with all spring quarter-- and on that cleavage-y slut's birthday, too. April 14, 2006: Friends with very, very fucked-up benefits.
mood was: pissed-- at myself
music was: Liz Phair- Perfect World
May: The reality stars. After 5 months of thinking my life would make an incredible reality TV show, it finally happened at our craziest crush party yet, starring myself as Katharine McPhee. After about... 2 1/2 days of intense crushing I got my chance to shine for the new interest at Hey Sushi!, but the 54789634240 million sake bombs kind of harshed my glow. That, and the fact that the kareoke guy didn't have "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" after I even painted my toenails blue! And the next day, Idol lost Chris Daughtry. That's when I knew the shit had hit the fan-- again. May 9, 2006: Another guy in the picture, another idol fallen.
mood was: drunk, slutty, confused, drunk...
music was: Rihanna- SOS (Rescue Me)
June: The goodbye. Winter and spring quarters had become the greatest time of college, and I SO was not ready to give them up by the time finals rolled around. I crawled into a giant hole of denial that cumulated in 2 hours to go til my cab showed up and me with an entirely unpacked box. Then, the goodbye. 4 times. June 8, 2006: One hell of a school year comes to a close.
mood was: sad, in deep denial
music was: Eagle-Eye Cherry- Save Tonight
July (1): The wild wings. Suddenly the summer didn't seem so boring after all, when all the fabulous ladies of Anthro #456 went out to Wild Wings to watch Sam Graham, his '80s cover band, and an eventual shitshow. I ended up sleeping at Andrea's house in a waterbed with Kathleen. Good stuff. July 19, 2006: Flashes of school.
mood was: ridiculous
music was: Rick Springfield- Jesse's Girl
(2): The crush. Okay, it was ridiculous and futile, but hey, so was 2006. I fell head over heels for Blaze Meier, cameraman on Fox 5's Good Day Atlanta, of which I was an intern. We spent July getting coffee together, taking sunrise drives to North Georgia, and testing shots in abandoned city hall buildings. It sounds very romantic until I remember that he was a married ex-marine with 2 kids. Then it sounds creepy and desperate. That was also kind of 2006. July, 2006: Feelin' the blaaaaaaze.
mood was: swooning
music was: Rilo Kiley- Does He Love You?
August: The Chi-Town Stomp. I finally broke out of Atlanta and spent a weekend back in the city I love, my truest '06 lover: Chicago. I spent time with my KDs, my Beta fam, my city, and of course, my roommate, in what I can honestly say was the only fun weekend of my entire summer. August 3-5, 2006: Chi-town stand UP!
mood was: happy
music was: Sufjan Stevens- Chicago
September (1 & 2): The big move. My transition from the USA to Spain proved rocky at first, but eventually everything worked itself out and I found myself living in one of the craziest nations on earth.
(1): The arrival. I got to Spain kind of... hating it. I hated the food, I was terrified of what was to come, and Galicia was pretty boring. And when we got to Sevilla, my fears weren't really calmed when I found out my house... sucked. But after toughing it out for 3 weeks, I decided to move on. September 1-7, 2006: España no vale.
(2): The new señoras. I moved in with Pilar and Antonia, and all the sudden everything in Sevilla seemed like it was going to be juuuuuuust fine. Plus we had internet! September 22, 2006: Settled in Spain.
mood was: totally overwhelmed
music was: Justin Timberlake- Sexyback
October: The (second) best vacation ever. So nothing will ever be Tobago '04, and we all know that, but Madrid '06 was pretty damn close. I had my mom's family, my best friends, a beautiful cosmopolitan city, delicious food, and basically everything I could ever ask for at practically no cost. The best things in life most certainly are (almost) free, and Madrid was the best thing about my semester in Spain. October 12-15, 2006: My favourite Euro-trip.
mood was: in love
music was: Death Cab for Cutie- Soul Meets Body
November: The MAMS invasion. So this one time, the 4 of us met up in Sevilla, and pretty much the most ridiculous picture series of my life ensued. 2 Spanish-Mexican meals and 914 photos later, I realized the only thing that sucked about being abroad was not having the quad together for insanity and general wackiness every freaking day. November 16-19, 2006: Sevilla still doesn't know what hit it.
mood was: joyous
music was: Van Morrison- Brown Eyed Girl
December: The homecoing. Coming back to America was absolutely wonderful and perfectly timed. Once I set foot in Anthro again I knew I was home and it almost felt like I never left. I slept in my bed, drank delicious American milk, and exploited abc.com's Grey's Anatomy episodes to the very, very best of my abilities. December 14, 2006: It's good to be back.
mood was: jet-lagged but lovin' it
music was: John Mayer- Why Georgia?
So there you have it. 2006 in a nutshell. 2007, get fuckin' ready. This shit is about to get even heavier.
2007: SIN VERGÜENZA.