Saturday, December 31, 2005
Where Was I...?
As the calendar slowly turns towards 2006, I find myself reflecting on the past. And I stretch my mind back to the past trying to recall exactly where I found myself...
Yesterday: New Haven, recovering from an exciting holiday party held at the home of the Maestro. Some will say that I'm crazy, but there is nothing quite as soothing on a rainy December evening as a midnight dip in a scalding hot tub.
The Day Before Yesterday: At my parent's house sifting through the debris and assorted detritus that makes up my past. Despite having recently obtained a dog and the fact that my sister is planning to attend med school nearby starting next fall, my mother remains convinced that the time is drawing near for us to move. So every time I come home, I am asked to do something to help out on that front. This visit, I actually accomplished a little bit...throwing out a full garbage bag of expendable paperwork (mostly humor from my early days on the Internet) that had been filed with old correspondence, creative writings from high school, and faded photographs. The rest of the material was safely tucked away for safe keeping.
The Day Before That: Filing papers, and watching the new King Kong, which was fun, and worth both the money spent on the ticket and the 3 hour plus running time, but left me with relatively little to say coming out. Everyone knows the basic plot and no matter how many stampeding dinosaurs, Depression-era automobiles, or members of Tenacious D thrown into the mix, it's still just the tale of a monkey and his gal. The tragedy's been told...
Two Weeks Ago: Finishing my graduate school applications. If I wanted to go anywhere during winter break, that would have to be done. And it is done. 6 applications. Hopefully, someone will deem me worthy of consideration and I'll escape from Underwood. It's in their hands now...
1 Month Ago: Watching my computer die. Still puzzling how to recover my old e-mails...
6 Months Ago: Playing pub trivia and enjoying summer vacation. Those were good times. If I can make it 6 more months, perhaps I'll get there again.
1 Year Ago: Attending New Year's festivities downtown. Running into Underwood students at 3 AM at a diner. Receiving prank phone calls. Hating my newfound notoriety.
2 Years Ago: Spending New Year's at home watching Indiana Jones DVDs. Lesson Planning.
6 Years Ago: Welcoming the new "millennium" in my basement with friends from home. Walking out to the park to watch the sky.
I could go on...but honestly, things get hazier after this point. I know that for at least 4 or 5 years, New Year's in my basement was a proud tradition, but with all of us going off our scattered ways, traditions in connection with the holiday have dwindled. This year, I'm returning to the tradition established 2 years ago of spending the night by myself lesson planning and maybe watching movies. It's not that glamorous...but if I play my cards right I can have a full weekend (Sunday and Monday) to recover before going back to school on Tuesday.
In any event, congratulations to all of you reading this. You and I have both survived another year. Let's hope we can do the same with the next one...
Cheers.
As the calendar slowly turns towards 2006, I find myself reflecting on the past. And I stretch my mind back to the past trying to recall exactly where I found myself...
Yesterday: New Haven, recovering from an exciting holiday party held at the home of the Maestro. Some will say that I'm crazy, but there is nothing quite as soothing on a rainy December evening as a midnight dip in a scalding hot tub.
The Day Before Yesterday: At my parent's house sifting through the debris and assorted detritus that makes up my past. Despite having recently obtained a dog and the fact that my sister is planning to attend med school nearby starting next fall, my mother remains convinced that the time is drawing near for us to move. So every time I come home, I am asked to do something to help out on that front. This visit, I actually accomplished a little bit...throwing out a full garbage bag of expendable paperwork (mostly humor from my early days on the Internet) that had been filed with old correspondence, creative writings from high school, and faded photographs. The rest of the material was safely tucked away for safe keeping.
The Day Before That: Filing papers, and watching the new King Kong, which was fun, and worth both the money spent on the ticket and the 3 hour plus running time, but left me with relatively little to say coming out. Everyone knows the basic plot and no matter how many stampeding dinosaurs, Depression-era automobiles, or members of Tenacious D thrown into the mix, it's still just the tale of a monkey and his gal. The tragedy's been told...
Two Weeks Ago: Finishing my graduate school applications. If I wanted to go anywhere during winter break, that would have to be done. And it is done. 6 applications. Hopefully, someone will deem me worthy of consideration and I'll escape from Underwood. It's in their hands now...
1 Month Ago: Watching my computer die. Still puzzling how to recover my old e-mails...
6 Months Ago: Playing pub trivia and enjoying summer vacation. Those were good times. If I can make it 6 more months, perhaps I'll get there again.
1 Year Ago: Attending New Year's festivities downtown. Running into Underwood students at 3 AM at a diner. Receiving prank phone calls. Hating my newfound notoriety.
2 Years Ago: Spending New Year's at home watching Indiana Jones DVDs. Lesson Planning.
6 Years Ago: Welcoming the new "millennium" in my basement with friends from home. Walking out to the park to watch the sky.
I could go on...but honestly, things get hazier after this point. I know that for at least 4 or 5 years, New Year's in my basement was a proud tradition, but with all of us going off our scattered ways, traditions in connection with the holiday have dwindled. This year, I'm returning to the tradition established 2 years ago of spending the night by myself lesson planning and maybe watching movies. It's not that glamorous...but if I play my cards right I can have a full weekend (Sunday and Monday) to recover before going back to school on Tuesday.
In any event, congratulations to all of you reading this. You and I have both survived another year. Let's hope we can do the same with the next one...
Cheers.
