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2008 was an interesting year - all in all, pretty damn lucky in the absence of any major tragedy or misfortune, though I won't say it was perfect by any means. Despite graduating the year before, I feel like this was the first year I was really able to stand on my own two feet and proclaim myself an independent, quasi-responsible adult.
January
I rang in the New Year of 2008 asleep in my bed, having worked a closing shift at Target and having an early shift the next morning. Hey, those new releases don't just put themselves out on the shelves. It was about this time that I started to scrape rock bottom financially and was granted forbearance on my student loans, and made a solemn vow to either have a new job by May, or be enrolled in grad school for the fall. Something had to change.
February
Mildly uneventful - February doesn't tend to be an exciting month. I did manage to go see the Foo Fighters in concert, which was probably one of the single greatest shows I've ever been to in my life. I would marry Dave Grohl tomorrow if he would have me. Sigh. My concert attendance has been low this year, mostly because of financial restrictions, but also because the lack of shows coming to this area that I *HAVE* to see. 2006-2007 was my year for concerts - I lost track of how many I saw. Nowadays it's more quality than quantity, apparently. ;)
March
Festivities for my sister's wedding kick off with the first and only bridal shower I've ever thrown. It was fun, but I'd rather be an attendee than a host. Also, I interviewed and 2nd interviewed for a new job up in Ames that I was careful not to get my hopes up on. In what I consider a divine intervention in my life, I was offered a job as an internal project manager at a creative services agency/printing company, which I didn't think twice about accepting. I cannot tell you how incredibly ecstatic I was.
It was kind of sad to leave Target, in the sense that the people I worked with were very cool and I'd had a good run there. I'd kicked ass and even been Employee of the Month back in October '07, but it wasn't a career path I wanted, and the pay sucked. I didn't quit entirely, though. I stayed on for the occasional weekend for some extra dough and guaranteed health insurance until about September or so... then it became apparent that it was time to pack it in and let go.
Cheesy photo we took for something-or-other this summer.
Festivities for my sister's wedding kick off with the first and only bridal shower I've ever thrown. It was fun, but I'd rather be an attendee than a host. Also, I interviewed and 2nd interviewed for a new job up in Ames that I was careful not to get my hopes up on. In what I consider a divine intervention in my life, I was offered a job as an internal project manager at a creative services agency/printing company, which I didn't think twice about accepting. I cannot tell you how incredibly ecstatic I was.
It was kind of sad to leave Target, in the sense that the people I worked with were very cool and I'd had a good run there. I'd kicked ass and even been Employee of the Month back in October '07, but it wasn't a career path I wanted, and the pay sucked. I didn't quit entirely, though. I stayed on for the occasional weekend for some extra dough and guaranteed health insurance until about September or so... then it became apparent that it was time to pack it in and let go.
Cheesy photo we took for something-or-other this summer.April
I started my new job and moved to a new apartment... this was the most significant event of the year, by far. To date, I love my job and I dare say I'm getting pretty damn good at it. I don't love my apartment, but I don't hate it. All it really needs is an in-unit washer and dryer and I would probably never move again. But, alas, it doesn't, and all its redeeming qualities are lost on the lack of laundry capabilities. Someday, someday.
I also helped out with my second Freeman concert as the resident designer and advertising guru, despite having graduated the year prior. My 2007 artwork got accepted to be published in American Corporate Identity 24, making it three years straight that I won entry into the book. Not a bad streak for someone who doesn't consider themselves worth a cent in design. (Unfortunately, I did not enter this year - who knows what could have happened. I almost entered my 2008 artwork, because I actually liked it better than '07 - but, it was not to be.) I also got to be a band host, which meant additional schmoozing with the musicians, who were all very cool people. And my main job that day was just to wander and take pictures, so it was fabulous. The Freeman Spring Concert has been my favorite day of the year the last few years, start to finish, despite what a long day it usually is.
The 2008 Freeman Spring Concert Organizers
My moment of rockstardom:
Patrick from Poison Control Center ambushed me with his guitar
and I strummed the last note to the song. I was a natural.
April was also freakishly cold and we had a snowy VEISHEA for the first time since I'd moved down to the area. Still, I didn't miss it for anything. I was in the parade for my new company and tossed out tshirts to the adoring masses. I also managed to get my signature cherry pie, and then bailed back to Des Moines to finish packing. It still counts.
Concert this month was Paramore & Jimmy Eat World, which was extremely awesome because I was able to check two bands off my list in one night. It was really good, despite the throngs of middle school girls who had suddenly discovered Paramore and showed it. (I was years ahead of you, bitches.)
Also, I cut my hair off for the first time in years. It was time.
May
May was a busy, busy month. Bridal showers and bachelorette parties abounded... On the 24th, my good friend Meredith got married (and subsequently moved to Texas - boo). A week later, my little sister got married to her high school sweetheart. Her wedding went off without a hitch (well, minus the fact that the rental place gave her the wrong punch fountain... which I'm pretty sure no one noticed). It was a load of fun, largely because they'd been together so long and everyone knew each other so well that it was just one giant party without awkwardness or tension like you'd probably see with some families. She had to have everything just-so, which means it was all perfect. Which also means that if I ever get married, I can't top it, so I may as well elope. Also, I was the chubby and pasty-pale bridesmaid, which kickstarted a whole new wave of self-esteem issues and makes me want to cry when I look at her wedding photos, and also makes me very grateful that I actually didn't end up in too terribly many of them.
Also, I got a baby kitten. Finally.
I started my new job and moved to a new apartment... this was the most significant event of the year, by far. To date, I love my job and I dare say I'm getting pretty damn good at it. I don't love my apartment, but I don't hate it. All it really needs is an in-unit washer and dryer and I would probably never move again. But, alas, it doesn't, and all its redeeming qualities are lost on the lack of laundry capabilities. Someday, someday.
I also helped out with my second Freeman concert as the resident designer and advertising guru, despite having graduated the year prior. My 2007 artwork got accepted to be published in American Corporate Identity 24, making it three years straight that I won entry into the book. Not a bad streak for someone who doesn't consider themselves worth a cent in design. (Unfortunately, I did not enter this year - who knows what could have happened. I almost entered my 2008 artwork, because I actually liked it better than '07 - but, it was not to be.) I also got to be a band host, which meant additional schmoozing with the musicians, who were all very cool people. And my main job that day was just to wander and take pictures, so it was fabulous. The Freeman Spring Concert has been my favorite day of the year the last few years, start to finish, despite what a long day it usually is.
The 2008 Freeman Spring Concert Organizers
My moment of rockstardom:Patrick from Poison Control Center ambushed me with his guitar
and I strummed the last note to the song. I was a natural.
April was also freakishly cold and we had a snowy VEISHEA for the first time since I'd moved down to the area. Still, I didn't miss it for anything. I was in the parade for my new company and tossed out tshirts to the adoring masses. I also managed to get my signature cherry pie, and then bailed back to Des Moines to finish packing. It still counts.
Concert this month was Paramore & Jimmy Eat World, which was extremely awesome because I was able to check two bands off my list in one night. It was really good, despite the throngs of middle school girls who had suddenly discovered Paramore and showed it. (I was years ahead of you, bitches.)
Also, I cut my hair off for the first time in years. It was time.
May
May was a busy, busy month. Bridal showers and bachelorette parties abounded... On the 24th, my good friend Meredith got married (and subsequently moved to Texas - boo). A week later, my little sister got married to her high school sweetheart. Her wedding went off without a hitch (well, minus the fact that the rental place gave her the wrong punch fountain... which I'm pretty sure no one noticed). It was a load of fun, largely because they'd been together so long and everyone knew each other so well that it was just one giant party without awkwardness or tension like you'd probably see with some families. She had to have everything just-so, which means it was all perfect. Which also means that if I ever get married, I can't top it, so I may as well elope. Also, I was the chubby and pasty-pale bridesmaid, which kickstarted a whole new wave of self-esteem issues and makes me want to cry when I look at her wedding photos, and also makes me very grateful that I actually didn't end up in too terribly many of them.
Also, I got a baby kitten. Finally.
Meredith & Cory gettin' hitched
Me, my sister, and our cousin. Photo by Jenni Merrill.
My sister & brother-in-law. Photo by Jenni Merrill.
My favorite shot of the wedding party. Mostly 'cause you can't tell howbad the seamstress screwed up on my dress. And I look thin. Ish.
Photo by Jenni Merrill.
Baby kitty on her first day homeJune & July
Maybe it's just me - but the summer months tend to just blend together. Outside of work, I assistant-coached a softball team for Ames Park & Rec again for the third year. This year I had 6th-8th graders, which was fun... A couple of the girls had been on my team last year, and one of them has been on my team the last three years - it's fun to see them year after year and get better and grow up and all that jazz. Our team ended the season with only one loss, and actually took first place in the end-of-season tournament, which was pretty awesome. (Ironically, they were playing the one team they had lost to, to heighten the drama a little).
My softball girls! (Yes, most of them are as tall as me.)In July I helped out with the first-ever 80/35 Festival in Des Moines - an attempt to get a large music festival kickstarted in our area. Named for the crossing of two major interstates (I-80 and I-35, respectively) that meet up in Des Moines, where almost all musicians and bands cross on their way to somewhere else, the goal is to get them to actually STOP here. The weather was amazing - hot, but not rainy like it had been. I volunteered which gave me not only a free 2-day pass, but I could pretty much wander wherever I wanted. Not backstage or anything, but everywhere else. The headliner was the Flaming Lips which I'll admit I knew nothing about, but they put on a hell of a show. Overall, it was awesome, and a huge success, and fun to be a part of... even if the volunteer system was a bit of a clusterfuck. Hey, it was the first year. Something had to be a mess.
Ingrid Michaelson at 80-35
The Flaming Lips take the stage at 80-35
Speaking of rainy, we had ridiculous flooding action all across the state this summer. Ames really only got hit once, in May, which I barely escaped to head up to my sister's wedding (flooding or no, there would have been hell to pay if I was late for the rehearsal), but Des Moines got it a month later, and Cedar Rapids is STILL recovering from it. It was unbelievable and hopefully never happens again.
Cedar Rapids Flooding - Photo by Molly Nagel, my personal eastern-Iowa correspondent
I also enrolled in a debt management program to get my damn credit cards taken care of. I'll be debt free in three years, but that also means I'm not allowed to use credit cards until then. It's a fair trade, I suppose, to knock off late fees and have new rates negotiated for me, but if anything major happens where I suddenly need money, I'm pretty much screwed (well, not that I could really do much anyway since my cards were maxed out...) Still - it's been six months and I'm finally starting to make a dent and that's a great feeling, too.
August
In August I had my 5-year high school reunion... which should be enough said. I nearly didn't go, but my sister, who had married into my class, pretty much insisted, so I did. I got, erm, pleasantly inebriated (sidebar: this is especially significant because it was the first time in my life I have actually been able to acquire free drinks), I actually had fun, and, best of all, I no longer felt inferior or intimidated by all the people that had given me so many complexes in my formative years. I don't particularly care what they think of me - I know that I'm better off than most of them, who are still hanging around the same old town, doing the same old thing.. and I'm on my way to bigger and brighter things. Still, like someone said - we're kind of family, in the sense that you can never really rid yourself of the others, for better or worse. We grew up together and we're kind of all tied together because of it.
Ingrid Michaelson at 80-35
The Flaming Lips take the stage at 80-35Speaking of rainy, we had ridiculous flooding action all across the state this summer. Ames really only got hit once, in May, which I barely escaped to head up to my sister's wedding (flooding or no, there would have been hell to pay if I was late for the rehearsal), but Des Moines got it a month later, and Cedar Rapids is STILL recovering from it. It was unbelievable and hopefully never happens again.
Cedar Rapids Flooding - Photo by Molly Nagel, my personal eastern-Iowa correspondentI also enrolled in a debt management program to get my damn credit cards taken care of. I'll be debt free in three years, but that also means I'm not allowed to use credit cards until then. It's a fair trade, I suppose, to knock off late fees and have new rates negotiated for me, but if anything major happens where I suddenly need money, I'm pretty much screwed (well, not that I could really do much anyway since my cards were maxed out...) Still - it's been six months and I'm finally starting to make a dent and that's a great feeling, too.
August
In August I had my 5-year high school reunion... which should be enough said. I nearly didn't go, but my sister, who had married into my class, pretty much insisted, so I did. I got, erm, pleasantly inebriated (sidebar: this is especially significant because it was the first time in my life I have actually been able to acquire free drinks), I actually had fun, and, best of all, I no longer felt inferior or intimidated by all the people that had given me so many complexes in my formative years. I don't particularly care what they think of me - I know that I'm better off than most of them, who are still hanging around the same old town, doing the same old thing.. and I'm on my way to bigger and brighter things. Still, like someone said - we're kind of family, in the sense that you can never really rid yourself of the others, for better or worse. We grew up together and we're kind of all tied together because of it.
September
I turned 24 this year. It was not particularly exciting - I'm still young enough to go out and live it up, but old enough that I'm annoyed by the damn kids on my lawn. Or the damn kids next door that crank up their music when I'm trying to sleep. Whatever. It's a good age, I suppose. I like where I am. I'm young and single and have a good job and a nice apartment and a running car and dammit I'm happy. And next year, my car insurance rates go down. Woohoo!
The inaugural birthday of the traveling tiara
October
Nothing really significant in MY life this month... my friend Calee ran a marathon which is something I would never ever in a million years be able to do. My sister and I threw a surprise 50th birthday party for my dad which went off without a hitch and was a lot of fun.
November
Well, we had a little bitty election here in the US this year, which was amazing to be a part of. I had to wait in the poll lines for over an hour to get to a damn ballot, but it was worth it. We finally ousted the narrow-minded, misinformed, civil-rights-stomping regime that's been sucking the soul of this country dry for the last eight years. Mr. Barack Obama will take office in mere weeks, and I can't wait to see what the future brings.
Yes we can.I saw Matt Nathanson this month, and it was AMAZING. I might even dump Dave Grohl for him. He's one of those artists I randomly found about five years ago and kept as one of my secret finds, although he's busted out on the mainstream radio stations lately. His show was awesome - he's incredibly talented, his songs are amazing, and his between-song banter was hilarious. The 80's covers randomly interspersed into his own songs was pretty spectacular, too. And he's just kind of adorable. I got his new CD for Christmas and it's pretty much the only thing I've been listening to lately. Soooo good. Le sigh.
Matt, I love you. I also started taking tae kwon do... I'm not entirely sure what motivated this decision, other than the opportunity arose and I took it. My dad was always big into it - he was a black belt, back in his day. It was always one of those things that I kind of wanted to do, but never really had time or motivation. At this point, I figured why the hell not. It gets me out of my apartment, with any luck it will help get me into shape, and it's always good to know how to defend yourself, especially with all the whack jobs running around these days.
December
It seems weird to recap this since it all JUST HAPPENED, but then again, I've been sucking it up at blogging lately, so I guess it's worth a quick run-down. December continued on like most of the rest of the year. We got hammered by snow and ice, the city of Ames still hasn't learned how to plow properly, and I finally figured out what my driver's ed teacher meant by "steer into it!" I continue to maintain an irrational fear of driving in snow, but at least now I feel mildly better that I have the knowledge somewhere in my head that I might be able to do it properly.
I took my first vacation in ages, all the way up yonder to Minneapolis, where I met up with some friends from ISU and had my very first visit to IKEA. Once the weather gets better (and warmer) I'll probably venture up more often - it was a lot of fun and there's so much more to do up there. The drive isn't too bad, either... just over 3 hours. About my maximum distance for being in a car without bitching heavily about it later.
I had my first belt testing and was awarded an Orange Belt-Decided, which means that I did fairly awesome (the other option would have been Orange Belt-Recommended... where you "pass", so to speak, but you didn't do quite as well to get there, if that makes sense. At any rate, I have my orange belt now.) Granted, we were testing with the yellow belt form, which means that even if I'd screwed up, I was still doing stuff that was harder than the level I was at, so it shouldn't have really been that hard to pass. But, I did, and now things are getting more focused and a little tougher, which means I'm getting a better workout, which means maybe I'll get in shape after all. Score!
Christmas came and went, it was great to take a few days off, go up and visit the family and chillax for a few days. It would have been better, of course, had we not gotten beat over the head with more snow right around that time, but the roads were good when I needed them to be, so I'm not complaining too much. My sister and brother-in-law got two new cats (the old cat, the one we've had for FOREVER growing up, had a stroke a couple weeks ago and couldn't function anymore so they had to put her down... I mean, this cat had had a good long life, something like 20 years or so, but it was really hard on my sister because she'd always been really attached) so I got to play with them - they are so cute. It almost makes me wish I'd gotten a second cat for my kittycat to play with, but that would have been an added expense when I couldn't afford it, and, besides, do I REALLY need to start building my cat collection just yet? No. Still... they're more fun when they have a playmate. (Speaking of cats... and Christmas... I dressed mine up in a Santa suit for my cards... she was impressively compliant... Possibly plotting her revenge, but she humored me all the same)
A day or two after Christmas, I got word that my friend had had her baby boy (compounding to my "OMG WE'RE ADULTS NOW WHAT?!?!" phobia that tends to come and go with each new marriage/baby that crops up)... I haven't seen any pictures yet, but I'm willing to bet that he's adorable.
Other than that... the year ended on a warm and cozy note, all is well in the world for now, and I'm hoping that continues into 2009. With less snow, of course. Brrr.
December
It seems weird to recap this since it all JUST HAPPENED, but then again, I've been sucking it up at blogging lately, so I guess it's worth a quick run-down. December continued on like most of the rest of the year. We got hammered by snow and ice, the city of Ames still hasn't learned how to plow properly, and I finally figured out what my driver's ed teacher meant by "steer into it!" I continue to maintain an irrational fear of driving in snow, but at least now I feel mildly better that I have the knowledge somewhere in my head that I might be able to do it properly.
I took my first vacation in ages, all the way up yonder to Minneapolis, where I met up with some friends from ISU and had my very first visit to IKEA. Once the weather gets better (and warmer) I'll probably venture up more often - it was a lot of fun and there's so much more to do up there. The drive isn't too bad, either... just over 3 hours. About my maximum distance for being in a car without bitching heavily about it later.
I had my first belt testing and was awarded an Orange Belt-Decided, which means that I did fairly awesome (the other option would have been Orange Belt-Recommended... where you "pass", so to speak, but you didn't do quite as well to get there, if that makes sense. At any rate, I have my orange belt now.) Granted, we were testing with the yellow belt form, which means that even if I'd screwed up, I was still doing stuff that was harder than the level I was at, so it shouldn't have really been that hard to pass. But, I did, and now things are getting more focused and a little tougher, which means I'm getting a better workout, which means maybe I'll get in shape after all. Score!
Christmas came and went, it was great to take a few days off, go up and visit the family and chillax for a few days. It would have been better, of course, had we not gotten beat over the head with more snow right around that time, but the roads were good when I needed them to be, so I'm not complaining too much. My sister and brother-in-law got two new cats (the old cat, the one we've had for FOREVER growing up, had a stroke a couple weeks ago and couldn't function anymore so they had to put her down... I mean, this cat had had a good long life, something like 20 years or so, but it was really hard on my sister because she'd always been really attached) so I got to play with them - they are so cute. It almost makes me wish I'd gotten a second cat for my kittycat to play with, but that would have been an added expense when I couldn't afford it, and, besides, do I REALLY need to start building my cat collection just yet? No. Still... they're more fun when they have a playmate. (Speaking of cats... and Christmas... I dressed mine up in a Santa suit for my cards... she was impressively compliant... Possibly plotting her revenge, but she humored me all the same)
A day or two after Christmas, I got word that my friend had had her baby boy (compounding to my "OMG WE'RE ADULTS NOW WHAT?!?!" phobia that tends to come and go with each new marriage/baby that crops up)... I haven't seen any pictures yet, but I'm willing to bet that he's adorable.
Other than that... the year ended on a warm and cozy note, all is well in the world for now, and I'm hoping that continues into 2009. With less snow, of course. Brrr.
Meowy Christmas to all... ...And, because it would be against all I stand for to NOT post a picture of my posse all decked out for our fabulous 80liscious New Year's Eve Party, here it is! I will post the rest on facebook (for real, I promise, I mean, it's not like I've got months and months of pictures queued up that I keep promising people I will post and then never have).
Partying like it's 1985.
2 comments:
So if you keep at this, I will have no need to hang out with you, as you give a summary of each passing year as it happens. I implore you to re-think this hasty action so that we can continue our friendship.
I don't blame you not wanting to plan more wedding showers. I thought it would be easy... from now on I'm picking the first person on http://www.gatheringguide.com/ec/event_planners.html, throwing off my shoes, and opening a bottle of vino!
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