Best of 2009 (abridged)

#best09 ???

I've been reading other people's blogs following those "Best of 2009" prompts. And really, I didn't feel like doing it every day, but I did want to look back on my year and at least answer some of them. So here are the ones that I felt were worth mentally revisiting.


What was your best trip in 2009?
Okay, trips I took this year:
- I went to Tallahassee a couple of times to visit my then-boyfriend, The Filmmaker
- I went to Disney World on day trips twice in May.
- I was in Connecticut to work this summer.
- I flew to Tallahassee to act in a short film.
- I went to Connecticut for Thanksgiving.
- And I flew to Connecticut on December 13th (where I will be until the end of December) for the holidays.

I'm going to say my best trip was when I went to film the movie. Because anything involving The Filmmaker just seems depressing in retrospect. And I did learn a lot by working on that film. If I were allowed to, I'd put it on the internet and show it to you. It's just a goofy little 6-minute thing, but I like it.


What book - fiction or non - touched you? Where were you when you read it?
I read a fair amount this year, considering how much else was on my plate. I finally read Ender's Game (which The Filmmaker lent to me), which I loved.

But best of the year? That has to go to the whole Jessica Darling series. The first book in the series was Sloppy Firsts, which I read not long after I started this blog. This year, I read the final two books in the series: Fourth Comings and Perfect Fifths. I read both on my breaks in the dressing room for the last play I was in. Fourth Comings was mostly during Tech Week, and Perfect Fifths was during the run.

One of the things I love most about the series is how much it challenges me. I'm a pretty sharp cookie with a relatively extensive vocabulary, and I have to look up a word every couple of pages. I know what you're thinking: "She's over-estimating her vocabulary". But no. I have some very intelligent classmates, and when I asked THEM about the definitions of words during tech week, no one ever had an answer for me, even when given context. I had to make a list of words to Google when I got home. (And occasionally of pop culture references, especially ones from the 1980s).

I love the main character. She and I have a great deal in common (I know that everyone tries to liken themselves to their favorite book characters, but I swear there are a lot of obvious parallels... It's not like when I generically compared my childhood self to Hermione because I was a know-it-all with messy hair). She's far more clever than I, but also more cynical (vaguely Daria-style). And what I love most about her is that she's so very flawed (this is also the reason that the 5th Harry Potter book is my favorite: because Harry turns into kind of a jerk and stops being so sympathetic).

The fourth book left me confused and tangled. The first three took place over long periods of time (The first book is about 6 months, I think... The second is a couple of years, and the third is her entire college experience), but the fourth was quick (it took place over the course of a week. A WEEK). Also, it had a different story-telling device (the first three were comprised of letters and personal journals, but the fourth was a journal that WAS a letter... which sounds the same, but felt jarring. The entire book was the answer to a question.) As soon as I finished it, I think I shouted, "WHAT?!", and then immediately ordered the next book.

From the get-go, Book 5 was different from the others. Sort of magical. And the narration was omniscient. Completely, completely different. But the characters that I'd grown to love were there, and I was sucked in anyway. So the final book in the series (which takes place over the course of JUST ONE DAY) made me laugh, cry, scream at the characters, and just generally be filled with intense emotions for having come this far with a story.

And it worked. It won. And I loved it. And I cannot wait to read this series again. Seriously, I haven't been this excited about a series since Harry Potter. It hit me at the perfect time in my life, and I love it so deeply, I can't even articulate it. So, so, so good. Love.


Did you have a night out with friends or a loved one that rocked your world? Who was there? What was the highlight of the night?
Quasi-depressing answer... The best night of my year was probably the night that I first hung out with The Filmmaker and his Director friend. After a night of karaoke, we got Sonic and drove to the water, and talked until 3am. Me and two guys (because for whatever reason, I get along better with guys than girls) just hanging out and talking about nothing and everything. It felt like the first time I hung out with Brian at a Steak & Shake. I just felt... relaxed. And safe. And valuable. It was nice.


Blog find of the year. That gem of a blog you can't believe you didn't know about until this year.
I think it has to be ...love Maegan. She's a fashionista and a crafter, and she's just so darn likable.


Moment of peace. An hour or a day or a week of solitude. What was the quality of your breath? The state of your mind? How did you get there?
Through "...love Maegan", I found The Universal Breathing Room. I wrote about it here.


Album of the year. What's rocking your world?
Tough year to pick! Here are some of the albums I remember having acquired this year, with asterisks next to the ones I recommend:
*- "Come to Life" by Natalie Imbruglia.
*- "Everybody" by Ingrid Michaelson
*- "SONOSings" by Sonos
- "Siren" by Heather Nova
*- "Amanda Leigh" by Mandy Moore
*- "A Bomb in a Birdcage" by A Fine Frenzy
*- "Limits of the Sky" by The Bridges
- "Perfectly Clear" by Jewel
*- "Make Believe" by Platinum Weird
- "First Band on the Moon" by The Cardigans
*- "The Villers" by The Villers
- "West Side Story" Original Broadway Cast Recording
*- "Funhouse" by Pink
*- "The Fame" by Lady Gaga
- "The Lizzie McGuire Movie Soundtrack"
- "The Lizzie McGuire Soundtrack"
- "The Pulp Fiction Soundtrack"
- "All I Ever Wanted" by Kelly Clarkson (just got it today, and haven't heard enough to recommend it yet)

Natalie Imbruglia is my favorite singer, and "Come to Life" might be my favorite album of hers yet. I have an iPod dock in my car, but it's pretty much gone unused since I got this album in October, because I've just been playing the CD all the time. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

Amanda Leigh by Mandy Moore is fantastic. If you're only familiar with Mandy Moore's bubble gum pop phase, please give her another chance. Her album Wild Hope is one of the best in my collection. Amanda Leigh isn't QUITE Wild Hope in my eyes (although it was reviewed better by most critics), but it's still great.

I love The Bridges, and I wish they would get more attention. Limits of the Sky is their first album. (I bought their EP in 2008 after seeing them open for The Bangles). It's gorgeous music, and really fun. I would call them pop, but they have sort of a folk/country/pop sound. There are four female singers in the group (they're cousins) and a male drummer (who doesn't sing). And they are really worth checking out.


What's the best change you made to the place you live?
We hung up art. It looks like a real home now.


When did you get your best rush of the year?
The understudy run for The Winter's Tale, hands down. I had a great, powerful role (Paulina), and I knew I was rocking it. And it felt great. I wish there had been a full audience.


Word or phrase. A word that encapsulates your year. "2009 was _____."
2009 was full of disappointments. I had a terribly failed relationship. I had lousy casting. I had a bunch of things that I've already complained too much about, I'm sure. It was a learning experience, as all unhappy times are. But I'm hoping that 2010 makes things shape up a bit. (Even the number "2010" looks happier than "2009", don't you think?)


Shop. Online or offline, where did you spend most of your mad money this year?
I have friends who work at Express and who are happy to share discounts with me, so I bought more there than I normally would have. And I look hot in all of it.


New person. She came into your life and turned it upside down. He went out of his way to provide incredible customer service. Who is your unsung hero of 2009?
The person who had the greatest impact on my life was undoubtedly The Filmmaker. But the person I think I learned the most from was my boss from the store I worked at over the summer (and am working at again while I'm home on break). She's one of those people who can respond to anything you bring up with "I used to sell that", "I'm trained in that", "I know a guy who...", etc. She's trained in Feng Shui, handwriting analysis, and dog whispering. She's worked like 80 different jobs. And if she doesn't know how to do something, she knows a guy, guaranteed. I can't tell you how much I've learned from her.


Web tool. It came into your work flow this year and now you couldn't live without it. It has simplified or improved your online experience.
I have three buttons on my browser that make everything better. I've named them "Share", "Note", and "Wish". The "Share" button makes things shared on Facebook. The "Note" button makes things noted in Google Reader. The "Wish" button (the newest of the three) puts things on my Universal Amazon Wishlist (you can put stuff on even if it's not on Amazon). They make my life a lot easier.


What's a gift you gave yourself this year that has kept on giving?
I gave myself Joy when I needed it the most. Shopping therapy. I had a really terrible September. So in October, I bought the next book in the "Jessica Darling" series, and Natalie Imbruglia's latest album. And then I went out and bought myself a pretty new dress. Should I have been spending money? Absolutely not. And normally, I would have spread out the joy from the CD I knew I'd love and the joy from the book I knew I'd love. But I needed every ounce of happiness I could get at that moment in time, so I went for it. And I'm glad I did. I don't indulge my inner-child enough. Sometimes she needs to get her way and be healed with good music, good books, and pretty things.


What was your biggest belly laugh of the year?
I don't know if it's the biggest, but a recent one is from my youngest brother. While playing the song "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", he discovered that the lyric, "Maybe we'll have some pun'kin pie," sounds a lot like, "Maybe we'll have some f***in' pie". He's been playing that part of the song over and over again, and it makes me laugh every time.


Resolution you wish you'd stuck with. (You know, there's always next year...)
"Stop taking personal responsibility for the happiness of others." It was a goal at the beginning of the year, and I think I failed quite badly.






May you try to remember the "bests" instead of the "worsts".

~A~