I’ve been wanting to do a retrospective post for awhile. I actually meant to do it on December 31, but you know how that goes ;> And now all of a sudden it’s the middle of January and I still haven’t talked about The Year That Was. So here are some posts from last year; things that meant a lot to me, things that affected me, things I don’t want to forget.
On January 1, 2005, I wrote the infamous Harry Potter and the Horror of the Ellipsis post, which is still one of my favorites…I think because it’s so snarky.
On January 7, I discussed the Graniteville train wreck that released poisonous chlorine into the air.
On January 11, I got my first indication that Gaila wasn’t long for this world. (I also started a habit that lasted for quite some time, and of which I am still very proud: biking to work. If only I could still be doing that.)
On January 14, I titled a blog post “Ariel Sharon is stupid“. A year later, he’s probably dying.
On January 22, I made that Naruto post that people are still up in arms about.
On January 25, I wrote a post I really liked. Nobody commented.
On January 26, I experienced the first of very, very many nauseated moments in which I would think to myself–privately, of course, because blogging it would “jinx” it–that I might, just maybe, be pregnant.
I also applied for a job I really, really wanted. A job I didn’t end up getting…but a job I would still like to have someday. And, of course, I got the best rejection ever.
On January 29, I started talking about shifting my blog to WordPress. A year later…it still hasn’t happened.
On February 1, I came up with my idea for starting a “distributed subbing” anime distribution company (you know, when I’m rich and don’t need to make a profit off it).
On February 15, I ranted about how children are not pets, and pets are not children. (In retrospect, I think my underlying premise was that some people are too lenient with both.)
In early 2005, I was working on uploading the rest of my full-size images from the 2001 Japan trip to smugmug. In doing so I discovered the name of a ryokan I’d taken a picture of in Takayama.
On February 26, I discovered who Hunter S. Thompson was. A “twisted, egomaniacal piece of shit”.
On February 28, T Campbell posted on my blog!
On March 8, Sean and I got Aeron chairs. God, we miss them.
On March 12, I got on my high horse concerning my “right” to blog.
On April 1, I kicked off an interesting race discussion, one that I think is worth revisiting.
On April 14, I went to town about privacy issues. It’s kind of neat when I actually argue a point!
On April 20, Eric Burns commented on my blog! (He came back later, too!)
On May 11, I committed some of Brooke’s nicknames for me to history.
On May 19, I responded emotionally to Revenge of the Sith.
May 23 saw the beginning of my back-and-forth about Elf Life.
On May 29, I mentioned the collaborative writing website (aka the “e-coterie”) I’ve been wanting to create. Except I didn’t say that I was going to create one, I just remarked that I dreamed about it. This is because I hate getting people’s hopes up about stuff and not following through. Ross has been waiting like a year for me to actually form a writing circle.
On the day after my birthday, I started to realize how valuable this blog has become to me.
On June 4, I participated in the “4 Questions” “meme”. Sam was rather surprised that I answered his question so quickly, and with such detail. I really wanted to answer more questions, but only two people asked, and they each only asked one. I may revisit this “meme” (ugh) someday.
On June 5, after pondering the nature of marriage, I posted the vows from our wedding. I am so glad I did this, that I have this record.
Gaila died on June 21.
On July 1, I wrote the cockroach post.
On July 5, I discovered the real reason I married Sean. ;)
On July 8, I truly enjoyed doing some page design, and started to think that I had a future in the field.
Here’s an example of my OCD geekery from July 14.
On August 5, I posted my last batch of pictures before the fire.
On August 10, I tried to start a Japanese study group.
On August 12, I uploaded the Yatsushiro pictures from my 2001 Japan trip, just in time.
On August 22, I went to Columbia, SC, and learned about the printing process. It was an awesome trip–I still think about how cool it would be to work at a printer’s.
On August 23, I got a job. (I lost it three weeks later, but I did enjoy it—sort of–while it lasted.)
Our apartment burned down on August 28, destroying literally everything we owned except our cars, our cell phones, the clothes we were wearing, and ourselves. (Oh, and a Quaker Chewy Granola Bar.)
The experience of the fire still hurts, and I think of things I lost and wish I still had pretty much every day. But this experience also showed me how amazing people can be and how wonderful our friends and family are. And, as usual, I’ve found humor in the situation where I could.
On September 19, a very good friend told me, “Most people are happy just to consume life, but you have a strong desire to give it meaning and to contextualize it. I don’t know how you will eventually develop the organizing lens that will eventually project the fullness of your creativity and ability, but I have little doubt you’ll eventually succeed in developing it.”
On September 21, I went to Cumberland Falls for the first time since I was a teenager. It was beautiful.
David came to visit us in Augusta for the first time on September 24, and on the 28th he and I went to Savannah.
On October 6 I made a parody post about terrorist-funded design jobs that had been advertised in newspapers in the Middle East and then discovered by a global news outlet, but no one commented to say how funny it was.
On October 14, something pooped on my head!
On October 21, the Brazilian Saga began.
I got a new bike, which I named Yuuri (but which I refer to as “the Maou” in my head) on October 26. I took him to the Canal for the first time on the 31st.
On November 1, Connor’s birthday, I decided to take a look at where our apartment used to be.
November saw Sean and I go back and forth about buying a house, ultimately deciding not to. I also made a realization about my bellydance avoidance in November.
Brooke fell in love with David in November (or thereabouts, though it may have started as early as September), and I felt very self-piteous about it (and still do to an extent), because the man she loves lives in England, which means she might move away from me.
On December 18, Mari generously shared her kitchen with me, so that I was able to bake all the Christmas cookies I wanted. It was such a wonderful day.
On the 21st, Sean’s car was totaled. This fortunately didn’t stop us from going to Kentucky for Christmas to be with my family.
And on the 29th, I accepted some full-time contract Web design work, which is how I’ve been spending my days ever since. David came back into town the same dayweek, this time to visit Brooke.
In 2005, I railed a lot against stupid parents, but this was of course because I was dealing with my infertility. (More here, here, and here.)
I also spent a lot of time last year spinning my wheels, and thinking about how I was spinning my wheels.
General themes for 2005: loss, struggle, pain, fear, determination, love, hope.
So many things hurt me in 2005. I want 2006 to be better. I want to make it better.
And I will.