Dear 2009:
I know a lot of people who seemed happy to see 2009 go. I am not in that group. This past year, things have gone pretty well for me.
In January, I started off unemployed, living with my girlfriend in her mother's house. About mid-month, I found a job on craigslist for a Mac technician in Ithaca, NY. We didn't know where I was going to be in the fall for school (if I got in anywhere), but I had my application in at Cornell, and cerestheories clearly has a lot more faith in me than I do in myself. I got the job, found an apartment thanks to Cerestheories' familiarity with the area, and packed it all in a truck.
I moved on the first of February, and a new friend, hobbfather, came over with his Apprentice Jim to help me move. I got started at my new job. Two weeks later, I turned 27, and we got Cerestheories' stuff out to Ithaca as well. At the end of the month, I got an acceptance letter from Cornell. I never found out how many schools rejected me this year - to save money on admissions fees, I let the rest of them know I wasn't interested.
March passed uneventfully for me, but Cerestheories got a lot of work done on her novel, which was fun to read!
April became a flurry of activity again - I finally got enough courage to let work know I'd gotten into Cornell, and they responded better than I'd hoped. Once the semester started, I could go part-time, and work full-time on days I had off, or even Saturdays if necessary. I proposed to Cerestheories, though she might say she proposed for me to herself. It's amazing how nerve-wracking a question that can be even when you already know the answer. We got an adorable new cat, and eventually had to get rid of Cinder because of her bathroom issues.
In May, I finally knew our continual migration had come to something of an end, and became a New York State Resident officially. I did my first hospital visit of the year for gastroenteritis. OK, that sucked, but I can't hold all of 2009 accountable for that, or the next hospital visit in September.
In June, I got clean of World of Warcraft. Woot woot! I met Cerestheories through it, but it's place in my life had come to an end. I think the fact that it is such an important thing to quit clearly indicates it's unhealthiness. I also started going to the archaeology lab after work to analyze lithics for my thesis. It is apparently unprecedented for a non-matriculated student to get lab keys, but I did.
July passed pretty uneventfully.
In August I GOT HITCHED. This would be the highlight of the year, and much more was to be said about it in lj back then.
In September, I started school and discovered I didn't suck as badly as I'd feared. I made some new friends. I got appendicitis and almost died (medical bills get chalked up in the "suck" column against 2009).
In October, Cerestheories got a year older, and we went to the Ithaca Book Sale.
In November, we hit the Ani DiFranco concert. She was awesome!
In December, I found out that I got a 4.0 for my first semester of school. Holy shit! I also got to eat four Christmas dinners with various relatives. The first one was cooked by my amazing wife, and we ate with our neighbors and generally had a good time. The next were with our three families. New Year's Eve was spent watching Buffy Season 1 with a sick Cerestheories and the ambition to stay up until midnight. Finally, at 10:00PM, we kissed each other Happy New Year (it was midnight in Rio de Janeiro!) and went to bed.
Here's looking forward to another wonderful year with you, Cerestheories!
In January, I started off unemployed, living with my girlfriend in her mother's house. About mid-month, I found a job on craigslist for a Mac technician in Ithaca, NY. We didn't know where I was going to be in the fall for school (if I got in anywhere), but I had my application in at Cornell, and cerestheories clearly has a lot more faith in me than I do in myself. I got the job, found an apartment thanks to Cerestheories' familiarity with the area, and packed it all in a truck.
I moved on the first of February, and a new friend, hobbfather, came over with his Apprentice Jim to help me move. I got started at my new job. Two weeks later, I turned 27, and we got Cerestheories' stuff out to Ithaca as well. At the end of the month, I got an acceptance letter from Cornell. I never found out how many schools rejected me this year - to save money on admissions fees, I let the rest of them know I wasn't interested.
March passed uneventfully for me, but Cerestheories got a lot of work done on her novel, which was fun to read!
April became a flurry of activity again - I finally got enough courage to let work know I'd gotten into Cornell, and they responded better than I'd hoped. Once the semester started, I could go part-time, and work full-time on days I had off, or even Saturdays if necessary. I proposed to Cerestheories, though she might say she proposed for me to herself. It's amazing how nerve-wracking a question that can be even when you already know the answer. We got an adorable new cat, and eventually had to get rid of Cinder because of her bathroom issues.
In May, I finally knew our continual migration had come to something of an end, and became a New York State Resident officially. I did my first hospital visit of the year for gastroenteritis. OK, that sucked, but I can't hold all of 2009 accountable for that, or the next hospital visit in September.
In June, I got clean of World of Warcraft. Woot woot! I met Cerestheories through it, but it's place in my life had come to an end. I think the fact that it is such an important thing to quit clearly indicates it's unhealthiness. I also started going to the archaeology lab after work to analyze lithics for my thesis. It is apparently unprecedented for a non-matriculated student to get lab keys, but I did.
July passed pretty uneventfully.
In August I GOT HITCHED. This would be the highlight of the year, and much more was to be said about it in lj back then.
In September, I started school and discovered I didn't suck as badly as I'd feared. I made some new friends. I got appendicitis and almost died (medical bills get chalked up in the "suck" column against 2009).
In October, Cerestheories got a year older, and we went to the Ithaca Book Sale.
In November, we hit the Ani DiFranco concert. She was awesome!
In December, I found out that I got a 4.0 for my first semester of school. Holy shit! I also got to eat four Christmas dinners with various relatives. The first one was cooked by my amazing wife, and we ate with our neighbors and generally had a good time. The next were with our three families. New Year's Eve was spent watching Buffy Season 1 with a sick Cerestheories and the ambition to stay up until midnight. Finally, at 10:00PM, we kissed each other Happy New Year (it was midnight in Rio de Janeiro!) and went to bed.
Here's looking forward to another wonderful year with you, Cerestheories!