2:10 p.m. - 2007-12-29
FINAL 07 entry
If you didn't catch the previous disturbing but funny entry, please go back and do so.
OCTOBER 07 recap
I went to California with my boss to accept an award. We went to Disneyland and drank a lot of good wine. The California climate is truly superb. The upper region of mild during the day (70s) and the lower region of mild during the evening (mid-high 50s.) If it wasn't so expensive and far away, I'd consider a move.
My grandfather turned 90. Oh, quick current side note about my grandfather. So, on Christmas, my dad went and picked him up and brought him to our house. I was getting ready upstairs and came down. He was sitting on the couch and I came over to him to say hello. I walked into view and as I approached and sat on the couch next to him, he kind of scowled at me and said "What the hell did you do to your hair?" My hair was up in this slightly new way I've been doing it, parted over on the side and the one side pulled down on a slant across my forehead and back behind my ear. The rest of it is back and up into a kind of messy bun/ponytail. It's definitely cute and not particularly noteworthy. In fact, I asked my mom earlier that morning if i should leave it like that or wash it and start over and she said to leave it how it was - and you KNOW if it looked bad or even unusual my mom would be the first to send me straight to the shower.
I think I looked really nice, overall - I had on black wide-leg pants, a bright kelly green little sweater with a black cardigan over it and black heeled boots. Pearl earrings and necklace. Totally classic and charming. So he scowls and says "What the hell did you do to your hair?" So, I smile and say "You always have such nice things to say." (note to readers: put that one in your bank of THINGS TO SAY TO RUDE RELATIVES WHEN THEY CATCH YOU OFF GUARD - it's a good one to always have handy.) He kind of half smiled, but also just looked disgusted. So I said "Didn't you mean to say 'Why my grandaughter, your hair looks so beautiful.'?" And he looks at me, with continued disgust and says "Well, I couldn't say that." So I changed the subject and asked if he'd like a drink and I got him a drink of his favorite white wine and put some horse tranquilizer in it, that I carry around for such an occasion. Just kidding. But I fantasized momentarily about it. Fortunately for him I am not insecure about my hair.
Also in October, numerous crazy nights out with the girls.
NOVEMBER
Wonderful visit with Cookes, Capes and Stallingses. A definite 07 highlight. How I wish we could see these people at least monthly. Life in general would jump from a consistent 7 to a solid 8.5 or so. (0 being Job-like simultaneous destruction of life, limb and property and 10 being working for Bono, having a gigantic dog that is best friends with our cats, Kevin being president of a hugely successful home-based business, writing checks for payment in full to all creditors, student loan companies and the mortgage holder, having a large house with a large yard in the exact middle between my parents, Kevin's parents, Marc and Kelly, Scott and Amy, Tolner/Ilkin household and within walking distance to a charming indie coffee house/bar, and me being pregnant with healthy twins but somehow being skinny and able to still drink as much wine and coffee as I want.)
Transiberian Orchestra outing with family.
Thanksgiving dinner which was nice but did horrific things to my insides for some reason.
And finally...
DECEMBER
Moving Haley into her new apartment/old apartment complex.
Basically December has been a mix of shopping, visiting, preparing foods to take to parties and partying.
It's been, as Tori Amos put it, a pretty good year. I don't want to jump the gun, but as of tomorrow morning we'll be in West Virginia at Alpine Lake for a New Year weekend with some friends and I won't be able to blog until Tuesday - but, for now, barring an unexpected end-of-year tragedy or us winning the lottery tomorrow, I give this year a 7.5 on the rate-the-entire-year scale.
We did this first in Seattle, on New Year's Day 2004 after helping me move into a new apartment, while sitting at a pizza place with some of the best pizza I have ever had. I recall us all going around the table and every single one of the 8 or so people who were there rated the year 2003 a five. It's crazy because i don't remember Seattle as an overall bad experience. But my first full year there I rated below a 5 and my second year, most of which was spent in Seattle wasn't particularly great overall, although Shitstorm 04 didn't really hit full force until sometime in September. The final quarter of 04 was pretty dismal. I broke up with collin, which was the right decision for sure but stated a series of horrible occurences, resulting in landing kerplunk in Pittsburgh with no job, one friend and little hope. Here is an excerpt from early January 2005 -
...This has to be some sort of joke. Or maybe it's the precursor to the best year of my life. I am hoping (sort of...you know, like if I can manage to avoid the strong temptation to jump off any bridge I find myself crossing) that one day I will be receiving a big fat important award, or will be glowing with happiness on my wedding day and I will look back on this year and...what? Shudder? Giggle? Understand the whys?...
2006 - glowing with happiness on my wedding day - check.
2007 - receiving big fat important award - check (not like it was the Nobel Peace prize or something but the UNCA award was kind of a big deal.)
So now I look back. And what DO I do? Shudder - yes. Giggle - mmm, not exactly. Understand the whys - not quite, but I can say this: for me, at least, when it's been bad, it has ALWAYS gotten better, and usually sooner that I expected. The bad things have usually been a chance to start over or a window to a great opportunity. My mom always reminds me of the time I didn't get into Penn State and I thought my life was over. And when our house exploded and we all thought life was over. If our house hadn't exploded, I never would have met little Kel who I am friends with to this day and will be traveling to spend New Year's with in about 15 hours. We met our future husbands within a few months of each other, were engaged within weeks of each other and were in each other's weddings. I wouldn't have met Jenny and wouldn't have had the OCean City Adventure, Summer 96, and also would never have met Tolner either. If I hadn't gotten rejected by Penn State, I never would have gone to OU and never would have met any of my OU friends - at least five of whom are at the top of my Top Ten Humans list.
Breaking up with Collin, who I didn't really care that much about, and moving back to the Burgh ultimately resulted in me meeting Kevin and that has been a pretty excellent turn of events.
Kevin turned down a really prestigious promotion with his company because we love living in Pittsburgh, we don't want to live apart, and we want to be near our families and friends. He is taking a leap of faith and hoping that his skills, his resume and the Lord will provide something good enough. Life's track record tells me this could be simple and easy and lead to something great, or it could be the beginning of Shitstorm 2008. But even if it is, the shitstorm will probably lead to something wonderful that we would have never found otherwise. My mother chooses not to worry about things, and she usually is right to not worry. My boss says whatever is supposed to happen will. Others say God will provide. Others say hard work and experience pay off eventually. I worry because it is my nature to, but I'm starting to gain a wee bit of perspective. And that makes all the difference.
I thank you, world, friends, family, God, husband, for a pretty good year. I'm grateful for what we have and hopeful for what we want but don't have yet. As Bono says "What you don't have, you don't need it now." And in my experience, he is usually right.
Cheers to 08. Peace in the Middle East. Go Obama!
