Monday, December 31, 2007

2007: A Year in Review - Part 2: What I've Learned

LESSONS
I've learned many lessons in 2007. That is not to say these lessons are universal truths and should be applied to everyone's everyday life; simply items of concern that are applicable to my own life and have helped me grow as a person.

#1. Take what life has to offer as it comes/Live day to day - I've always been one to think ahead way too much and also to dwell on the past too much. In doing so, I believe that I miss out terribly on what happens in the present. This leads me to the next lesson.

#2. Regrets are useless - No matter how shitty things have been in the past, that is where they are best left; in the past. I waste too much time worrying about how terrible a person I've been or how things could have been different "if only...". Regrets are just a terrible waste of time that prevent me from getting on with my daily life. The things that make good stories are the stuff of the past we should focus on remembering, not the stuff we feel sorry about.

#3. One strike and you're out when it comes to first dates - No matter how much suspense and tension has built up leading to a first date, it can still all come crashing down in one night. This only reinforces an old lesson that I still don't learn: Don't put too much stock in one person, because no matter how much interest they have shown or pretended to show, they can turn it all off in an instant.

#4. Confidence is gold - Confidence is better than money when it comes to the social scene, gaining recognition, etc. Commanding attention instead of waiting for the attention to come to you is always the right thing to do. If it goes terribly wrong, what have you really got to lose but your own foolish pride?

#5. Obligation doesn't always lead you in the right direction - There are millions of little things that occur throughout your lifetime that will be stressful and just because you feel obligated to attend to these things, doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. This is really a weighing the consequences idea here. If you can rid yourself of stress without creating an even more stressful consequence; I say, do it. Don't feel obligated to please everyone; it'll never happen. Especially don't feel obligated toward those who are a great source of stress within your life. Start with what makes you happy and don't let others run your life for you.

ABOUT MYSELF
I've learned many things about myself that may contain lessons within themselves. I don't know what all of this means yet, so I suppose I can't make any lessons out of them yet.

#1. I have the ability to command attention, as long as I'm not trying too hard. I can actually carry a conversation with a stranger. Who knew? I have always felt that I am witty and charming, but have never put it to practical use until this year; and guess what...it works.

#2. For some reason, I want things more when I know I can't have them. I discovered a dangerous character trait in myself and have only broken the surface on what it means. Uh-oh! That is a scary thing to admit.

END
Well, that is my wrap up for the year. I hope you found it as interesting as I did. I had a fun time compiling all the events of my life for one year. I really hope that 2008 tops 2007. I have many things I want to accomplish and hope for many more fun times. Goodbye 2007!

Sunday, December 30, 2007

2007: A Year in Review - Part 1: By the Months

JANUARY
January is typically my favorite month. This year's was no different. I started the year in a very nervous frame of mind. My last semester of college was about to start as well as what I thought was going to be the most difficult class I have ever taken. I recall going out for my birthday and getting more drunk than I ever have before; and that was probably in part, due to my stress. It was a fun birthday weekend, but I don't intend on drinking as much as I did that night as the aftermath was not at all fun. The bands I was into at the time were King Crimson and Jethro Tull (among many others, I'm sure). I had begun dating Suzy again, although this time we started out in an unofficial capacity. This time things felt better than the last time. It felt right. Although, I did enjoy that "unofficial" business quite a bit.

FEBRUARY
February is typically my least favorite month. All the fun of winter is gone by this time and it seems to drag on forever. My dreaded class was a little less stressful than I had originally thought. It also marked the third Valentine's Day in which I actually had a valentine. I never have hated those twenty other Valentine's Days though. I think it is quite foolish to hate a holiday just because you don't/can't participate in it.

MARCH
It seems as though I have a lot of friends or even just acquaintances getting married in the past 3 years or so. To me, it seems like way too soon...oh well. Anyway, I traveled to Columbus with Suzy in March to go to my friend's wedding. That was the highlight of the month. Vacations are fun! I started to get a rather large craving for the end of college around this time. Also, I started training for a half-marathon: don't think that is for me; I think I gave up within the same month. College began to be a huge hassle again. I came as close as I ever have to winning an NCAA bracket tournament. This month also marked the tenth anniversary of U2's POP album, in which I entered to be on an iPod cast that celebrated it (and lost). It was great to hear other people praise the album for once.

APRIL
Surprise, Surprise. Car troubles again. Expensive ones, too. Not even sure what it was. I was still in the middle of watching LOST and the Shield in the evenings with some buddies. That was a great time; one I wish we could repeat with another series or two. I was seeking to buy a Tube Driver for my guitar on ebay. What a great piece of equipment. I started to spend way too much on sunglasses and I got into the Power Station thanks to another friend of mine. I learned that U2's POPmart concert was coming to DVD on June 26th. Happy news.

MAY
College came to an end and I was definitely ready for a change. I saw my second Porcupine Tree concert and it was great. I also learned that the POPmart release got pushed back until September 4th. I was sad to see college gone by, but also ready for what was next. My "unofficial" status with Suzy led to a night with two dates; which also led to grave disappointment and incredible frustration on one front. What a let-down. What a put-on. What a fakeout. A good year or so of suspense destroyed in an instant. I couldn't believe the wool that had been pulled over my eyes on that one. Oh well. Over it.

JUNE
I had a college graduation party. It was fun and quite an interesting mix of people, to say the least. I Started what I thought would be a somewhat exciting job search. I learned exciting news about two of my favorite bands. U2 was writing experimental music with two of their best producers in Morocco; and King Crimson announced a reuniting of sorts for its 40th anniversary in 2009.

JULY
POPmart was pushed back to September 18th. Also learned the a second X-files movie was finally going into production. Finally, got into recording an album; which proved to be a lot more difficult and frustrating that originally thought. Things were looking grim on the musical productivity front.

AUGUST
I wanted Suzy to aks me out officially again, but when she did, I had a terrible reaction of "Am I willing to shut that window of opportunity again?" Single life definitely has its perks, though I was never playing the field as much as I would have liked. I am always going to be a person who wonders how things would be if they had gone differently. Summer needed to go! It was way too hot outside for way too long. I felt in a sort of limbo state. No new job yet and nothing on the horizon; though I did get a job interview and still have not heard the result.

SEPTEMBER
I started worrying that things would never take off for me job-wise (they still have not). One of the world's great musical talents, Pavarotti, died. I finally got that POPmart DVD that I had been anticipating for years.

OCTOBER
The weather was still irritatingly hot. I had yet another interview that went nowhere. I saw Porcupine Tree for the third time; their weakest of the three, but that's not saying much. I began upgrading my DVD collection to the better versions. I started my Best of Bowie project which caused some major disappointments with iTunes (don't think I'll buy from them again.).

NOVEMBER
Started to get pumped for new things again, but I didn't really set much into motion. The recording process started again in a new way that turned out to be much more productive than the summer sessions. I also learned that Gavin Harrison (my current favorite drummer) was now a part of King Crimson.

DECEMBER
I had a few crazy nights out that probably gave me a little too much confidence; and one or two situations that made me ponder "what if", and made me realize that I can carry conversations with strangers fairly well. I also entered Adrian Belew's songwriting contest and so far have got a great compliment out of it. There are plenty of events coming in 2008 in which I have to do a lot of thinking and planning about.

Coming Tomorrow...Part 2