So... 2009, huh?

Kind of a 'blah' year. Uneventful really. Not that I'm averse to things being uneventful -- better that than horribly, gut-wrenchingly, painful. But still, not really much of a year. Kind of like 1999, which was equally uneventful (if not more pleasant in some ways).

Thing that strikes me about 2009 is how fast it flew by. Seems like the other day it was October. And before that, spring. I didn't accomplish as much as I'd have liked to this year. Wrote a little, read a little. Saw some things I wanted to, did some things I'd been meaning to get around to. It wasn't a great year for me personally. I hit some pretty low ebbs. Felt awfully lonely at times. That might've contributed to the way the year felt, especially how fast things went by from the summer-on. Things got pretty crummy around June, and from there I got the swine flu, then my mood took a hit again, then I got the H1N1, and now my mood's not so great...

I did come to a few conclusions this past year. For one, I think I'm officially over Journey. Pop culture's killed "Don't Stop Believing", which is kind of weird since it's not really that great a song? I was already pretty sick of it, and then Glee comes along.

Also I figured out why Alicia Silverstone's body of work never quite clicked with me. Turns out she's just not a very good actress. Not sure how this occurred to me. I might've been thinking about Miss Match. Remember that show? I was a cute enough premise, but it didn't really do it for me. Turns out it was probably the person playing the title character that futzed the whole thing up. But I digress.

So, I suppose here's a tip of my hat to 2009. Here's hoping 2010 is a little brighter though. Or barring that, 2011.

Reflective Thoughts on 2008

As I look back at the past year and the experiences that have shaped my life and current direction, my mind focuses on a select few I thought I'd share as 2008 comes to a close.

Although several of my favorite television programs were canceled this past year, I'm still pleased that Chuck hasn't been axed yet.

I've finally lived up to one of my perpetual resolutions and got out to the movies quite a bit this past year. Looking back, I suspect that had more to do with the number of interesting movies released more than a general desire to get out to the show, however.

As I wear my new pair of glasses with my updated prescription lenses, I begin to realize how much I must've been squinting when watching TV or movies with my old pair.

I've updated my list of fake names to include "Funky Buckwald" and "Dr. Quincy R. Mason", putting my total at five fake names to hold onto when the situation calls for it.

I still haven't gotten sick of Coke Zero, egg salad sandwiches, four cheese Bistro Crustinis, and fruit and yogurt bowls, despite the frequency with which I enjoy those food items.

I've unexpectedly found myself attracted to my barber, a comely young woman with a fondness for dyeing her hair and tattooing her hips. I think, more than all of the other indications offered throughout the year, that the fact I considered asking her out a sign that my troubles with depression are improving. And thanks to the wonders of the internet I was able to discover she's (sadly) currently attached, sparing me the embarrassment of asking her out and making things awkward, especially since she's 'almost' got my haircut right. If only that technology were around when I was in high school.

And then the obligatory ten ten list...

My favorite comic books of the past year (in no particular order):

True Believers (five issues, Marvel Comics)
Green Arrow/Black Canary (twelve issues, DC Comics)
Justice League of America (twelve issues, DC Comics)
Amazing Spider-Girl (twelve issues, Marvel Comics)
Captain America (twelve issues, Marvel Comics)
Avengers: The Initiative (twelve issues, Marvel Comics)
Shadowpact (five issues, DC Comics)
Captain Britain and MI13 (eight issues, Marvel Comics)
Ghost Rider (twelve issues, Marvel Comics)
Blue Beetle (twelve issues, DC Comics)

Hard to say which is my favorite of the lot, but there they are. Not to say I haven't also enjoyed X-Force, the Flash, Vixen, I Hate Gallant Girl, Manhunter, or any of the other series I regularly followed, but those are the ten that spring to mind when I'm thinking of titles I particularly enjoyed or put at the top of my reading pile.

And with that I conclude my personal year-in-review. Are there other things worth noting? Perhaps. An exciting story there, the fact I might be a published author under one of my fake names, the numerous games of online scrabble and wordscraper, the comfort and affordability of the Klobo... but what's the fun in boring you, humble reader, with minutia (however nice the Klobo's turned out to be). Here's to a decent year and the hope that the next will be better yet, and the fact I can finally get around to using two of my favorite seasonal jokes -- saying "wait 'til next year" on January 1st, and toasting to "peace on earth" just as an attractive woman walks by and saying "piece of that fine ass". Slightly crude, true, but amusing to me, no matter how often I pull that old chestnut out.

See you for now, and have a happy new year.