New Year, New You

New You? New Me? Maybe not, but it has a nice flow to it. Look at those pretty fireworks. Aren't they nice? I didn't take that picture. In fact, those aren't even New Year's Eve (NYE) fireworks, they're 4th of July fireworks. I didn't even see fireworks on NYE. Yes, I was in the city of Washington, District of Columbia, but I was indoors and quite comfortable, too comfortable to go downtown for anything NYE related. Though I can appreciate a good crowd now and again, I tend to avoid large numbers of people when they inconvenience me. Take NYE, for example. Yes, it would have been so exciting to go downtown and party with all the crazies, ringing in the New Year with lots of "woos" and "woot woots". However, I chose to avoid the mess and stay home, bidding 2008 farewell from my comfy couch, all bundled up in my sweats/fleece ensemble.

You know what other crowd I'm going to avoid? The Inauguration crowd. Hey hey hey, I don't want to hear it! Historical day blah blah blah my big toe. If you feel so strongly about it, YOU come down here and share a port-a-potty with 4,038 other people. Yes, I heard estimates that there will be at least that many people per port-a-potty. Not awesome. Most of my colleagues are avoiding the area as well, so there. I was walking across the mall yesterday, heading to the Natural History museum, when I was stopped by some news reporter and her camera man. Don't worry, I was not filmed. She just wanted to know how my coworkers and I were getting to the Castle on Inauguration day. "Oh no," I said, "I'll be out of town that weekend. I'm not dealing with the crowds." "So you're non-essential staff" she asked. "Yes," I replied, "and most of the other non-essential staff I know are heading out of town." As she thanked me and I walked away I heard her camera man exclaim, "Who goes out of town on the most important day?!..." I laughed. I looked over my shoulder, made eye contact with the dear people and laughed right out loud. Let them judge. I stand by my decision. I hug my decision. I give my decision a rub on the belly whilst patting my decision on the top of the head.

So back to 2009. It's here. It's happening. What do you think this year will be like? Any good predictions? I feel it's going to be great. Two weeks from this very day I will turn 26. My 27th year is just going to be the best one yet. I'm older, I'm wiser, and I have plans. Some might call them resolutions, but I reject this word. Plans/resolutions for 2009:

1) Do more stuff in the city. Vague enough for you? So I've been here almost 8 months. On January 17th it will be 8 months to the day that I've lived in DC. I've had time to get adjusted and get a feel for the area. I think I pretty well have the hang of my job, I'm able to get around pretty well. It's starting to feel more like a place I live than a place I'm just kind of hanging out in for a bit. Hence, now I want to start delving more. I want to delve. I want to attend some lectures, some classes, shows, stuffs. I want to try new restaurants, find new bookstores, visit more museums, revisit old museums. Now, here's the problem. I'm very good at making lists of all these things I want to do...not as good at following through. Check this out...washingtonpost.com allows users to make "Going Out Lists", public or private, for all the places that you've been or want to go to or whatever. Brilliant! So yesterday I spent hours just searching for different restaurants and lounges and jazz clubs that I want to visit. I made three lists of places to go. I wrote comments on why I want to visit these joints, arranged them, etc. etc. etc. But I guarantee you it will take me more than a year to get to them all. We'll see! Hopefully I'll get at least one crossed off by next weekend. It's in the works. Then another one or two crossed off by after my birthday. Yes, it will happen. Google has given me a couple sites with all sorts of things to do in DC (culturecapital.com looks good), so I'm getting the ball rolling. Luckily, my roommate Bridget has a similar plan/resolution, so she will be my partner in crime as I explore the city. On to the next plan...

2) I want to do a 5K. Yes, you heard me. No, I don't run regularly. No, I couldn't just do one now on account of I can't even run a mile. Stupid slowing metabolism/energy/youth. And no, I won't just do any 5K. It has to have a great t-shirt. I'd rather get a long sleeved one that short sleeved, so if I'm for real about that I'm going to have to look at winter races...um, December 2009 maybe??? But I've decided I want to. Mainly cause of the t-shirt thing. I just really really like long sleeve t's. And, by the way, this is NOT a resolution to work out more. Yucky. This is NOT a resolution to "get in shape." Gag me with a spoon. This is just a goal. 5K. Simple. I'll let you know in a year if I've done it.

So there. That's that. Hmmm, new years and holidays are a lot different now. This is not the first time I've gone home to visit for Christmas or spent NYE someplace other than home, but this is the first time I really feel like I've gone back to my home after the holidays. Every other time I was in school, whether undergrad or grad, so I was in a very transient place. Now it's different. I live here for the foreseeable future. It's weird to me. Very weird. Don't get me wrong, Tulsa is homey home-home homerson. I love it. But this time when I left I wasn't going back to school, I was going back...to be all adult. I only had so many vacation days because of my job. I couldn't spend NYE in Tulsa because I had to be back for work. Amazing how adult life is so based around those 40+ hours a week we spend in the office. It's something I'll have to get used to, I suppose. I'm not there yet. I call home almost every day to talk to Laurel and Barron as they drive about, visiting friends, getting haircuts, and writing cheesy techno songs. I attempt to fight the procrastination instinct at work so my time back here isn't utterly useless :-). It's a challenge.

Nonetheless, I feel good about this year. I know a little bit of what it will bring, God willing: friends' weddings, friends' babies, visits to friends, visits from friends, visits to family, Barron's senior piano recital, my one year anniversary at work, my first work conference. There will be more, much more. Looking back now I never anticipated 2008 would end up the way it did. I thought I'd be in Texas or Florida or Chicago or something - never imagined I'd be in DC. But that's exciting. 2009 can only bring more adventure, right? That's the good stuff, the unexpected stuff. The only thing I really want this year is to laugh, a lot. Doesn't matter what else happens, I just want to have lots of opportunities for good rich belly laughs.