{ 31 décembre 2005 }
2005 in review
this year i’ve had some amazing experiences, as well as a couple really horrible ones. in april my hamster oreo passed away. he was over 2 years old, so i knew his time was coming. however, anyone who really knows me knows how much i love animals and how attached i become to my pets. so when oreo passed away, i was really crushed. he had been so skittish when i first got him; he wouldn’t let me hold him for the first 7 or 8 months. he even bit me while i was looking at him at the pet store. [but he never bit me after that.] oreo warmed up to me over time, and while he was still timid, i could eventually hold him. oreo was my little furball who had the craziest hair, and i still miss hearing him run in his wheel.
by far, the worst thing that happened to me this year is when dudley finally lost his battle to lymphoma. losing dudley is definitely 1 of the worst things that has ever happened to me. some people might think, “oh, he’s just a dog.” no, he wasn’t just a dog: he was 1 of my best friends. during the last couple months of his life when his health started going downhill, i dropped everything to take care of him. i think part of the reason dudley held on for so long is because he knew how much my family & i care about him. dudley being gone still doesn’t feel completely real. and even now, 6 months later, i still feel a deep pain in my chest when i think about the fact that he’s no longer with me. dudley was so handsome, sweet, and intelligent. i believe he & i shared a special bond because i was the only person he would cuddle with for more than 5 minutes. i think about dudley everyday, and even though i desperately miss him, i am so thankful for the time that i had with him. i do feel very blessed for having had such a wonderful dog in my life.
well, good things did happen in 2005 as well. preston celebrated his 1st birthday in may, and i threw him a fabulous party and baked him a delicious cake. also, i met some famous people who are relevant and important to aspects of my life, such as wes moss [from the apprentice]. i also attended a course taught by edward tufte [information/analytical designer]. and in march i won an auction for a spot in a small cooking class given by alton brown. not only did i meet alton, but i convinced him to call erin & liz to say hi to them.
as fun as meeting alton was, it doesn’t top meeting damon albarn, jamie hewlett, and danger mouse at the gorillaz album signing in may. not only did i meet them, but damon kissed me. as i’ve said before, meeting your favourite musician is 1 thing, but kissing him is absolutely amazing.
the other most incredible thing that happened to me this year was going over to manchester for the gorillaz concerts. in case the frequent posts about gorillaz and me flying thousands of miles to see them in concert hadn’t clued you in: i adore gorillaz. seeing them perform demon days in its entirety with many of the guest musicians performing live [plus a children’s choir of 30, gospel choir of 20, and 15 strings] was most definitely worth flying across an ocean. i had goosebumps all through both gigs.
besides going to manchester, i was thankfully able to travel to a lot of other places this year. i made it down to enterprise a few times to visit my favourite couple, lisa & ryan. erin and i headed up to pittsburgh for carnival and had a blast visiting chris & jason and grocery shopping in the strip. as expected, i had a rowdy good time when i visited carol in chicago in july. she and her i.o. buddies kept me laughing the whole time. in september i went over to athens to visit kate and eat a gigantic, delicious biscuit. and even though erin came down to visit me in july, i went up to visit her in d.c. in october, and i always have a good time with erin, no matter what we’re doing.
in the beginning of this month, jimmy & i went to perú, and that was a fabulous experience. perú is so different from the other places i have been to recently, plus visiting machu picchu, climbing huayna picchu, and seeing llamas was fantastic. my most recent trip—the final trip of 2005—was to toronto where i met some great people and finally saw the real degrassi. travelling can be rather tiring, and i always miss preston loads while i’m gone, but i enjoy travelling so much. i love meeting all the new people, seeing new things, and learning about other cultures.
so as i hang the 2006 calendars, i have a good feeling about this upcoming year. in all honesty, any year would seem better after losing 1 of my best friends this past year. but as far as 2006 itself goes, i do already have a couple of trips in the works. plus my birthday is only 8 days into the new year, so i know 2006 will at least get off to a good start.
so here’s to remembering the good times of 2005, to learning from the bad, and to always loving & remembering those who left us this past year.
posted at 20.20
comments:
And you are coming to visit ME at some point! Or we are meeting in Scotland....one or the other :P
posted by OpenIntro at 20.24 on 03 janvier 2006
Aye, here's to remembering the past with fondness, and looking to the future with anticipation and an open mind.
posted by Graeme Young at 20.46 on 21 janvier 2006