So this is the new year... and I don't feel any different.

I was originally saving my first blog entry of 2008 for some type of introspective "year in review" but next thing I knew, an entire week had already past without as much as a thought of how I was planning to conduct such an endeavor.

So I figured that before I let the entire month of January pass by (which I have a natural talent of doing) without writing anything, I should probably just get on with it in whatever manner comes spewing forth through my keyboard.

Here's 2007 in my self-imposed nutshell:

January
We went on our annual trip to Big Bear. It didn't come close to the first two trips back in 2003, but it was still fun... despite some unavoidable awkwardness and the overwhelming feeling of "missing my girls." On the 3rd night of the trip, I got drunker than I had ever been in my whole life and I insisted on smoking a cigarette in the 0-degree backyard in nothing but pjs, a tank top and my snowboard boots.

Josh moved to San Francisco... after all these years of living in the same house, it felt strange to say goodbye.

I quit my job at the Body Shop to focus on my final semester of college.

February through April
For the most part, I stopped talking to people who weren't directly involved in my day-to-day routine. All that mattered to me at this point was becoming an editor of the campus magazine and everything else school-related.

I spent less and less time with my regular group of friends, and more time with new people. In retrospect I attribute it to a subconscious "sorting" I was doing to weed out the bad "friends" and maybe also as an effort to surround myself with people who "understood" me. What was comfortable was falling apart... I had to do something different.

This attitude may have persisted throughout the rest of the year, but it was most significant during these few months.

Also in April - We went to New York City for Spring Break. It was wonderful. We had a laugh attack at the Paradise Cafe and wandered through Greenwich Village. We may have spent too much time at H&M.

May
I graduated from college with a bachelor's degree in magazine journalism. I was pleasantly surprised when you attended my graduation.

June-October
I got hired at The Acorn and started off immediately as the lead reporter of the Simi Valley edition. I was sucked in to the real world, perhaps too quickly to have really enjoyed it. I missed school.

The summer flew by without incident. Except for my birthday (which was exceptional this year), I hardly noticed it.

Halloween was mediocre. But Francis had fun as Harry Potter.

November-December
I was getting desperate and wanted very badly to move to San Francisco, or New York, or anywhere.
I couldn't move so instead, I spent a few days wandering SF by myself. I stayed with Josh but he had to work. Napa was great. Nothing bad happened in November - which was record-breaking compared to past years.

Thanksgiving reminded us of how important traditions were. As a family, we made the most of the holidays. We were all very much closer than usual.


"They" say that whoever you celebrate New Year's Eve with will be the same as those surrounding you in the coming year. On Dec. 31, 2006 - I didn't see any of my regular friends. On Dec. 31, 2007, I made it a point to see the really close ones.

So this is the new year... and I don't feel any different.
As Ben Gibbard continues to sing...
I wish the world was flat like the old days
Then i could travel just by folding a map
No more airplanes, or speed trains, or freeways
There'd be no distance that could hold us back.

I'm hoping 2008 will be better than 2007. And it'd be great if it was anything close to 2003. So this is the new year...