The Big 2-0-0!

So it only took me 3 years and 8 months to make it to my 200th post and it is nicely timed to usher in the New Year. The new decade even. What a milestone. And boy has this past year been full of major milestones. Except they weren’t really mine. Births, marriages and death. I was very fortunate to be able to share in all of these with my dear and close friends and family and I thank them for that. Don’t get me wrong, 2009 was a good year. I logged more miles under the ol’ travel belt and enjoyed the sites in Abu Dhabi, Germany, and Sweden. I ended a 15 year relationship, of which 12 years we had been going steady. We travelled cross country many times and was with me each time I moved to a new city. I felt bad ending it but know it was time to move on. I still miss my little Saturn, but am slowly falling in love with my new Infiniti. On a side, did I ever tell you about the pattern I found with the cars I’ve owned? I discovered it after I had decided on the Infiniti but hadn’t signed the papers yet. I was starting to second guess if it was the right decision and then it hit me. I’ve always enjoyed math, art and astronomy. My very first car was Darling, an old Corolla. Doesn’t that sound like Crayola? Well, it does to me. So there you go: Art (Corolla), Astronomy (Saturn), Math (Infiniti). The clincher was the final piece – cats. If you know me, you know I love my cats. And my ultimate cat? The Jaguar of course! A nice old estate car like an XJ6 or XJS. Which is funny as I thought I would have had a Subaru or Volvo sometime in my life, but don’t really see how they fit into the pattern. So I guess not.



This New Year’s eve, I was excited. I had a party to go to. Close friends to share the momentous night with. And a cute boy. It was all falling into place so perfectly. There was even going to be the beautiful light of the full moon, a blue moon even! (That only happens every 19 years – a blue moon on New Year’s Eve). In the end the moon and the boy were a no show. Well not literally. The boy was there, but it went south throughout the night. Cuteness can only take you so far. And to be honest, I was more enamoured with the idea of him than the actual thing. On the upside, the reason the moon didn’t shine is because we were graciously blanketed with a foot of snow. It was so beautiful and peaceful. And by the end of the night/year I was pleasantly surprised with another guy asking me for my number. Not exactly how I was expecting to ring in the New Year, but it seems like there is always an upside.



But I’m going to be better this year about not just pulling the old Pollyanna routine. It’s good to look on the bright side of things. Give me some crappy situation and I can find the silver lining. But that only gets you so far. Don’t get me wrong, the glass will still be half full for me but I’m going to make sure I like what’s in the glass too. I remember this old quote that struck me back in my college years, “Life is what happens while you’re waiting for the train.” It was written by a colleague of mine on the newspaper staff. And seems more relevant these days, while I literally stand at my subway stop waiting for trains. I think I pursue certain things but let other things come to me. There are benefits to both ways. I’m not sure there is a right or wrong way. But this year I’m going to mix it up some. I’m going to pay attention while waiting for my trains now. And on the very first day of the very first month of this year, I had a great day of just doing a lot of nothing. Not sticking to my plan and aforementioned list (from the previous posting). Instead I hung out with some girlfriends (one who was one of the few remaining singletons I know) and we dissected the mysterious world of boys and dating and finding a good guy. It was so helpful. Especially hearing my inner voices that second guess stuff being voiced by someone else who is experiencing the same things. It really isn’t me, it’s the situation. Dating sucks. Boys can suck. You can be an awesome person but in the end you still get the short end of the stick. But this time I’m going out and looking for a longer stick.



And I haven’t found the stick yet, but this week just fell into place. It goes to show you that mindset has power. When I woke up Monday, my week was empty. By mid-day Tuesday (today), it was full (still have to firm up two things). Crazy isn’t it? That’s less than 48 hours. I pursued some of it and got invited to two things randomly which was a bit unusual. I’m so proud of myself, I have to list it:



T: Music in Central Sq. w/ D. Can boys be wingmen for girls?

W: previous commitment, not boy related

Th: Drinks in Porter Sq. w/ A. First date and he’s f-u-n-n-y.

F: Drinks/dinner in JP w/ friends.

S: Drinks in Davis Sq. w/ E. First date. He’s Canadian.

Su: Drinks in Boston. On the prowl w/ my gal friends. Who knew it’s better to go to lounges to pick up boys and not bars. I didn’t even know they existed.



That’s five nights of opportunity there. A pretty good list to start off the year. Speaking of lists. I’m back to not writing them anymore. The “to do” type at least. I was right before. Lists and procrastinators susceptible (wow I really didn’t know how to spell or, to get the root of the issue, say that word) to guilt just don’t mix. Guess how many things I got done on my list. Yup – zero. But I have something more to add. I surprised myself this year and made a New Year’s resolution. We were going around and sharing them Friday night. I said I didn’t make them anymore. But later in the night when asked again, out popped “I’m going to learn how to play the guitar”. Surprise! Granted, half the night was spent enjoying live music and there was a roomful of guitar players. I’ve been starting to listen to lyrics more these days and have wanted to play particular songs. I’d love to be able to play Naked by Ben Lee. I just stumbled upon it in the movie Rage in Placid Lake. Which I recommend if you like quirky indie films from down under.
Right now, I’m listening to a local band, Thick as Thieves whose lyrics pretty much sum it up for me: “here’s to waking up on a Sunday morning and pull your head out of the ground.” So that’s me right now.



In case you haven't figured it out, I was trying to post this last night but ran out of time.