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2010: The “Great, cool, awesome things are happening...oh yea...wait...ok, shitty second half sorry” year
Ah, 2010, what a year. It was both equally amazing and terrible. Haha...ok maybe not so dramatic, but the happiness of the first half of the year was encumbered in the second half by a mixture of work and friend related stresses. I lost one best friend, and gained another. 3 of my closest friends moved away, and I got closer with others. Started the year off making lots of money at work, then made very little as I focused on a store-wide remodel. I spent more time at Disney in one year that I ever had, but also lost all sense of my creative self.
But let's get into a little more detailed account, shall we?
The year started in a glorious fashion; not only was I coming off the heels of what I dubbed “the friend year (2009),” which continued strongly the first few months, but we were also treated to the first consistently cold weathered winter in as long as I could remember. I put my jackets to more use in those 3 months that I have in the last few years. It was amazing, and had me in great spirits. Not only was it cold, but there was very little of that “super cold one day, super hot the next” bullshit that usually plagues South Florida winters.
Gary and Carolyn factored in as major players in my friendship life the first half of the year. Others...Ivel, Ana, Stephanie, Ale...were there as well. I grew into a very close “adventure buddy” relationship with Gary and Carolyn though; we were spending a lot of time together and going on a lot of random adventures. Bike rides, explorations. Near the end of summer though, they went to Europe for 2 months. That was a big strain on my social outings, but what made it worse was that they ended up moving to San Fran a couple of weeks after they came back. Losing my closest hangout friends was tough, especially when those two were so attuned to my free-will-random-adventure spirit. This, coupled with losing another close friend (Ivel) earlier in the year to the bay area as well, made the second half of my year a little hard to take. Yes, I did have the company of my newest best friend Denise (more on that in a minute) to help me through it, but it was a hard time none the less.
Ale, coming into the new year, was my closest friend. We didn't particularly spend a lot of time together in person, but we spoke a lot and definitely talked/chatted every day. Then came my first Disney trip of the year, in April. We were supposed to go together. Unfortunately though, she decided to sell me out on the trip a few days before. Long story short, she started dating someone, and all of a sudden decided that it would be “disrespectful” to him to go on a trip with me. Ignoring the fact that it was disrespectful to ME, to sell me out on a trip we had planned for months, that there is NOTHING wrong with two friends spending time together, and that the bf in question was actually telling her to go. This was betrayal at it's utmost, coming from as close a friend as her...I had let her in closer than anyone in a long time, and this really hurt me for a long time. (In the end I ended up going to Disney alone, and had a mostly good time...more on that in a bit).
Coming off the heels of that fiasco, Denise had come back into my life. Moved back from PR, and friendship growing day by day, she came to play a very important role in my life. As it is, she is the person that is probably the bestest best friend I have ever had. For someone who at first, I wasn't too comfortable spending great deals of time with (my anxiety at work), to being someone I could spend over a week with and not really have any problems (“this is a scary ruby tuesday,” huh?) with, is quite a feat. She is a funny, caring, nurturing friend, and she has helped me much in many ways (esp in learning how to cook!).
There were many other friends as well that played a part in this year....Carlos of course, who I moved in with....Lina, who I didn't see much but we never do, but still managed to be a great friend...Christie, who I've grown closer and closer with after many years of on and off friendship....Lisa, who I met just this year, but has been a good friend....Ji, who I sold a ukulele to and then spent some nice times with...Chloe, who came to visit Carlos and I ended up befriending....Luelle, who will always have a soulmate-ish part of my heart...Ivel, who I already mentioned...Cinthia, even though that was mostly only one month haha...Joel, who made life at Sam Ash infinitely more bearable...Stephanie, who missed out a lot of the year with me, but is and always will be a dear friend to me...ugh enough! There's more but this write up is long as it is.
:::Work:::
Started the year off interestingly, with sales being good on my end, but losing the source of inspiration that led me to selling again: Scott, who was fired in what was another act of sheer moronic stupidity by a company hellbent on keeping the status quo and who favors their “family” even if they are terrible workers and the reason you are losing money. Started in late June we started a store wide remodel. It was supposed to be $250,000 and take 2 months. It ballooned to over $330,000 and took 6 months. This took a LOT out of me, and contributed to the second half of my year being insanely hectic, stressful, and unproductive. In the end, the store looks great...although unfortunately they did not give the managerial staff the remodeling they should have, to accompany the store. Plastic surgery is all well and good in retail, but you can't change a black heart with a new nose.
We also did a clinic with Dave Ellefson, the bass player of Megadeth. Not a super awesome turnout, but it was amazing seeing one of my musical heroes up close, and also that he is a really great and nice person!
:::Creativity/media:::
While I spent a lot of 2009 being more and more into music, 2010 felt like a cultural void. There were some huge glaring exceptions...for example, some beyond amazing shows: Porcupine Tree, Glasseater reunion, Iron and Wine, Pierce The Veil/Of Mice And Men. I barely went to local shows though, only one or two Addax shows and I think that was it. Music on my end...eh. I wrote a song for a video I made of my Hawaii trip, but when I finished I procrastinated learning it properly so I could record and have yet to finish that.
I did get into a few bands, most of which are non-existent anymore (they were mostly Carlos suggestions, and he seems to not like many bands that are still active haha). The topper of the music cake had to be Isles and Glaciers. This cd totally changed my musical perspective, and allowed me to get into a lot of bands I would have normally not listened to: Pierce The Veil (which follows I&G very closely as best band of the year), Emarosa, Emery, August Burns Red, Of Mice and Men. PTV also played heavily in my mind as well as heart.
Photography...well, I did not start my business like I wanted to, and I didn't get started on any of the projects I wanted (nude photos, etc). I did however manage to take some amazing photos, a lot of them at Disney. I also finally got a small compact in Dec so I wouldn't have to lug my huge ass Canon 5D at times where I just want memory photos. I had a showing at Tate's Comics of a photo collage I did of light painting photos I did with Cinthia. It wasn't great, and the light paint wasn't up to par, and the piece didn't sell...but it was good to do something.
Movies, per usual, I did not spend a lot of time watching. In the theaters I think I only saw 3: Eclipse (which was godawful), Scott Pilgrim (which surprised me and was GREAT), and Deathly Hallows (which was pretty good). Saw Shutter Island and Inception, which were both good but odd, and shared a common “haunted by a forlorn love lost” motif played out by Leo D in both.
:::Disney:::
I went to Disney in April, as part of their “4 parks for $99” deal. I paid 25 bucks more and had park hopper. While I was supposed to go on this trip accompanied, circumstances prevented that. So I went alone. And had a surprisingly GREAT time! (minus the incessant tooth pain that plagued me for 70% of the trip). I was able to experience Disney as I do any other solo trip, do things at my own pace, and REALLY get into the photo taking. I definitely would like to do I again!
Later on in the year, I did my first vacation/trip with another person. In Nov, I spent a week at Disney with Denise. Not only that, but we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge! This was my first REAL full-on Disney experience. We even had an ADR (advanced dining reservation) at the Coral Reef, which is somewhere I've wanted to eat at my entire life. Instead of getting a 5 day pass, we just got the Annual Weekday pass. It was 10 bucks more than a 3 day pass! The only downside is that we can't go weekends (which is NOT a downside for me, 95% of the time, as I hate going when it is crowded) and there are a few blackout dates. But I had the second amazing time at Disney for the year.
And you would think that would be it, but no! We went back up in Dec. We stayed a few days, but only had one day (Friday) we could spend at the parts. We did manage to do some Epcot the night we got there. The other days we just went hotel hopping...we wanted to see the Christmas decorations at all the Disney resorts. Lots of fun!
:::Moving Out:::
I said I was going to do it, and I did it. I was out of the house before 30 lol. Early in the year, Carlos messaged me saying that Lina was moving out, and if I wanted to be his roommate. There were a few things I didn't really like...for one, I wanted to move out by myself; also the traffic in the area was not something I looked forward to. But all in all it was an amazing opportunity, so I jumped on it. I moved out in June. It has been amazing. Not just the freedom, and the privacy, but just being able to have a place to call my own. A place that is brought from the ground up by me. I love it, and it has made a LOT of difference in my mood.
:::Teeth:::
I have had tooth problems for many many years. Yes, my dad, aunt, and grandpa are all dentists. But that was part of the problem. VERY long story, sorta-short: about 9-10 years ago, my aunt fixed a chip in a tooth from a cavity. I have a bad oral fixation so I am always chewing on stuff...inevitably, I broke off the piece she fixed. Within 2 weeks. I was embarrassed that it happened so soon, so I planned on waiting a little while before telling her. Time went on, and a year later another tooth cracked. At that point, I was so embarrassed from the situation that I didn't say anything. So this went on. And on. And on. And coupled with a period of time where I was not particularly close with my family, the situation just got really out of hand. I had a few teeth cracked, two had completely cracked off, and tons of other issues. It got to the point where I didn't like smiling because one of the front-side ones was missing, and then near the start of this year, what had been a small crack in the back of my frontmost tooth ended up getting bigger and bigger. I had LOTS of insane tooth pain many different times.
I thought many times about telling my dad/aunt about it, but I was really just so embarrassed with the situation. I couldn't deal with having to hear the disappointment in their voices. I know, it is completely irrational. This is probably the only real deep dark “secret” I've had in the last chunk of my life. The pain at Disney World was the last straw. While normally the pain went away after a few hours, it was nonstop excruciating for 1.5 days, and still bad for another day or so. I wasn't sure how, but I was going to get help! I mean, the pain almost ruined my trip!
The week or so after I got back from Disney, I was at my dad's office, and was talking to my grandma, when my dad who was looking at me goes “Is that a crack in your tooth?” Self defense kicked in, and I quickly denied it, and left. But I said “fuck it, this is my chance” and I wrote him and my aunt a letter explaining what was going on. They were both very helpful; my dad did not say anything negative and was very supportive, and my aunt offered to fix everything.
So I've been doing that for the better part of last year. Every Thursday, my day off, my ritual became this: wake up, go to my gmas for lunch, then my aunt's office at 1 pm for dental work. The first few weeks were intense, I had a few extractions. And apparently I don't take anesthesia well so that was a fun few weeks. Then we went on to root canals. Etc etc....basically, the issues are getting worked out, I feel like a humongous weight has been lifted off of my shoulders, and most importantly....I can smile again. It is ridiculous how unhappy one can be when they can't smile!
:::Family:::
As I mentioned before, I was going to my aunt's office pretty much every Thursday. So this meant I saw her and my dad a lot more. I tried to visit my grandma/pa (on my dad's side) more...my grandma's health has deteriorated quite a bit the last year or two. It's weird how a few years ago my grandpa started acting up; Alsheimer's was rearing it's ugly head and he was getting worse and worse as my grandma took care of him. Now the roles have reversed in a way; my grandma has some back and leg problems, and hates leaving the house, and is just in poor shape, while my grandpa has steadied out a bit.
My grandma on the other end seems to be doing alright. My mom's health issues rollercoastered again, with new woes and then thinking we were over them, then back again. It's a shame, she's a wonderful woman and I hate seeing her having to go through these things repeatedly, I know how much it takes out of her. Her uncle-in-law from spain died. We were not close, but I felt a bond when I was in Spain a few years ago. It would have been cool to have him as grandpa.
:::Misc:::
- Few cook bike treks: Shark Valley, Shark Valley at night, Lone Key Pine, the Florida Trail, North Miami to Surfside, Downtown Miami to Sobe and back, WPB down to Lake Worth, Fashion mall parking garage to lightpaint, West Orange Trail in central Fl.
- Learning how to cook! Mostly simple chicken things and a meat dish or two. Slowly, but surely. And I love doing it
- LOST ended, and that coincided with my move, which ended up in my barely watching TV anymore
- Finally able to have a garden! Nothing major, and some of the plants have died, but it's nice having some green in my life.
- New bike! Trek 7300
- New lens! Canon 20mm borrowed from Heather Boone, which has been featured heavily in my photography.
- New glasses, after 9 years. Took me a MONTH to get used to them!
- Vinylmation! New addiction, in collecting.
- For the record, I obviously do not harbor any ill will towards all of my friends that moved. You gotta do what you gotta do, and a person/friend/mate is not really a good reason to hold yourself back from better and greater things!