2008 and beyond

i'm not a believer in new year's resolutions but i do enjoy taking a look back at the year and comparing to others... here's a quick run-down for ya, in no particular order.

i...

...did not:

1. get promoted again
2. get invited to any of the sales meetings... again
   
3. get the upgraded laptop so sorely needed for my job
4. get the mac i so desperately crave for my personal use
5. qualify for lasik surgery (eh, i'll have perfect eyesight when i'm mom's age - HAH!)
   
6. have a hangover on january 1 for TWO years running
7. watch nearly enough movie theater movies
8. read all of 2008's new yorker magazines
9. find a favorite indie bookstore in chicago
   
10. have the urge to bash my head against random bar bathroom stalls
11. solve all of my emotional or life issues... at all... in fact, i'm sure i've compounded them

...did:

1. vote for barack obama AND attend the election night rally
   
2. moved into a fabulous apartment in the city with an amazing roommate
3. get a facebook account
   
4. find a pretty cool guy to hang around with
   
5. read 27 books
6. read an estimated 70% of 2008's new yorker magazines cover-to-cover
   
7. work out regularly
8. try out and enjoyed regular bikram classes
   
9. (and hence) actually lost those 5 lbs!
10. survive bartending at the atov bistro
    
11. consequently: overworked myself
12. travel to san antonio, los angeles, san diego, twin cities, the dells, madison and davenport
    
13. thoroughly enjoyed more than my fair share of a $90 bottle of wine
    

i'm not quite sure what 2009 will bring... i'd like to start seeing a shrink again - especially now that i feel healthier, so that i have a good perspective of myself as a "happy, healthy individual" when the times of trial inevitably occur. i did want lasiks but the ki-bash was put on that... perhaps i'll nab myself a giant tv or that mac i really want (if i get the mac, do i really NEED the tv!?). i miss spending time with my grandparents, mom and sister. moving back to the city was what i needed for sanity and strength but i really love having my family touchstones so close. the biggest thing i want to accomplish is figuring out what to do with my career. the economy is scary right now and i'm simply thankful for a job, but i'm at a crux with my talent/desire/passion vs. actual wages/clout received. all i can do is be cliche - put my best foot forward and go with the flow....

this year's new year's cheers deserves a dusky, deep red, earthy merlot... here's to 2009!

december books and happy new year!

2008 was quite the roller coaster of a year for dr g... my reading list is about on par with '07 and the adventure list sure rivals any other year of life. this entry is dedicated to my book bragging rights though, so... onward!

the bad news of this book year is that i didnt quite live up to 2007 in the quantity of books read department. in '07 i managed to plow through 31 books. '08 accomplished 27. that's still more than 2 per month (2.25 to be exact). i attribute this slow down to my subscription to the new yorker, the move back into the city and nothing else. there is simply more for me to do than sit on my arse with a book (even if i'm desperately trying - and failing - to keep up to date on the ny's), and that makes me very happy.

twilight by stephanie meyer

ok... yes, i got totally suckered into this one. about two months ago i noticed a facebook wall-to-wall from CHP's editor and a CHP poet about how editor wanted to read series but was unsure of it's quality. poet came back with a quick comment about how anti-feminist the series is and recommended against reading it. i took no heed of this as i had previously decided not to read the series. that is... until all my gal pals started gushing about it. and i hate to be left out of a good gab session. with my quick reading skills and this series' obviously young audience, i figured i could belt it out all four books in two month's time. i finished twilight and started new moon, but am so absolutely frustrated with new moon that i wasnt able to pick it up enough to have two knocked off in december. yes, this series is incredibly anti-feminist and... after a rather inebriated chat with liz & john, i figured out that it's exactly the type of literature i usually ward off with a (pun intended) crucifix and garlic. victorian romance. AAAHHH!!!!! noooo!! powerless females who's fates are sealed by men who enter and leave the "heroin's" lives at will... women who are utterly naked against the world's cruel (and unnaturally persistant) vices and throes.

plot outline: bella swan moves to the gloomy, small town of forks, washington. all the boys are after her but she's having none of it, choosing instead to brood over her "brave, selfless choice" to leave her sunny phoenix hometown to give her mother alone time with her new hubby. the odd kids - the cullen family - avoid her like the plague; especially the cutest hunk of them all, edward, who seems truly repulsed by her physical presence. antics and misfortunes ensue and ohmygosh... turns out edward and his family are vampires! omg!! and get this - edward is not actually repulsed by bella, he's in LOVE with her! OMG!! can a quiet, introverted 17 year old regular gal survive her blood-thirsty vampire boyfriend???!! read more to find out!

... ok i'm sorry... i really do have to smile at the first book. it was cute and fun to read and quite predictable. i didnt put my finger on the helpless female thing until the 2nd book, but i'll expound on that more later. i heard from a few other folks that this is the least fave of the books so, i'm plugging through with the hope that 3 gets better...


bridget jones's diary by helen fielding

the year would not be complete without my present-wrapping indulgence of bjd audiobook! 3 hours of accented, happy-fun-girly-times is exactly what's needed for wrapping the inevitable oodles of gifts. hoorah!!


and so... thusly ends my 2008 reading year. i raise my glass of champagne to the ever-growing stack of amazingly tempting books that i will read in 2009 - to literature!!