2008's rocky road

I never really cared about new year's eve or saw the point of celebrating. It just means you've got to buy a new date book or calendar which is the only fun part of the whole debacle if you ask me. Although this year I do feel a bit different. I'm still not in the mood to celebrate, just relieved that in a few hours time 2008 will officially be over.

It's been a very turbulent and slightly traumatic year. I've had to deal with a lot of personal issues which eventually lead to some very uncomfortable physical ordeals but I'm on the road to mental health as I've taken the first step and had my first appointment with a shrink yesterday. It was a very strange and moist experience. I'm not quite sure what to make of it really, I guess only time will tell.

2008's big event: I graduated, finally. I'm really happy that that part of my life is over to tell you the truth. It wasn't all bad but it just lasted a tad too long so it ended up being dull and tedious. I left the warm bosom of university and literal got spat out in a cold harsh universe named reality which led to a minor nervous breakdown especially when you realize you've wasted almost a quarter of your life, oh well. One of my new year's resolutions will be to no longer dwell on this depressing fact and just hope for the best. With this in mind I've decided to take that job in the bookstore, if they officially offer it to me at least.

2009 will be the year of a complete mental make over. The year I finally start living my own life and not have it lived by others as my shrink said. I'm gonna make my own decisions, take risks and if I fall flat on my face, who cares? At least I've tried. I'm going to try to stop being scared of losing control, losing my way or caring what others might think. Life's to short or at least that's what 2008's misery has taught me. Besides a mental make over and a job, a driver's license is also on my to do list of 2009, so drivers and pedestrians beware.

Don't get me wrong 2008 wasn't all bad just frustrating and very confrontational. It had it's highlights as well. I discovered that I love baking and haven't looked back since. I was introduced to the wonderful world of pilates and totally relish my work out every other day. I also plan on exercising a lot more in 2009 because it honestly brightens my day. And of course 2008's ultimate high, Disneyland Paris: terrifying, intoxicating, beautiful and freezing fun!

Now usually when people write these roundup posts they talk about their favorite movies, books, music,... of the past year. After a slight detour (resolutions are kicking in already), I'm back on track and will commence with my original plan, namely 2008's entertainment highs.

Usually the easiest part is my favorite movie although this year it's kinda difficult seeing as I've seen less movies than any other year in the history of, well me. For some reason I just wasn't in the mood. I did however see a lot more television series than I've ever have. Although I'm still a die hard fan of Boston Legal and House M.D., this year's highlights have got to be the fabulous Dexter, The Office: An American Workplace (I just want to claw at Ricky Gervais and Steve Carell is simply adorable) and although it's a much older and canceled series, I recommend you all watch Firefly which is simply brilliant.
OK, back to movies. I guess Wall-E was probably the best movie I saw all year. It was visually astounding, the characters were wonderfully heartbreaking and the story was meaningful and timeless. What more do you want? Juno was another winner in my opinion, funny, quirky and upbeat. And finally Leatherheads, George Clooney in a romantic comedy with a forties setting. A guilty pleasure if I do say so myself.

And now music which is a though one seeing as I'm not up to speed when it comes to contemporary music. I also never listen to a radio, nor do I have cable so any music that gets through is just by accident or force fed to me by my beloved. There was one album though that I bought on it's first day of release and it contains some of my most played songs if I take my Ipod's word for it at least. It's Melody by Sharleen Spiteri. For those of you who don't know her, she's the singer of Texas. For those of you who don't know Texas, shame on you! She wrote her first solo album after breaking up with her long term boyfriend and you'd probably expect a lot of depressing I hate you and hope you die a slow and painful death type of thing (or maybe that's just me) but nothing is further from the truth. The album is filled with fun, upbeat and hopeful tunes combined with a funky fifties sound. Trust me, you won't be blue much longer once you put this baby on, that's why Melody has now officially become my happy album.

And finally books. I haven't read as much this year as usual due to my disillusioned state of mind these past months but that hasn't stopped me from buying ridiculous amounts of books. To tell you the truth I haven't read a lot of 'new' books meaning published in 2008 so that makes this part a little harder. But there are two writers that I've been reading a lot of this year and they are Haruki Murakami and Michael Chabon. Murakami did publish After Dark this year (I think) so that covers it. Although After Dark was good, it wasn't one of his best. In my opinion and I can't emphasize it enough, Kafka on the Shore remains a classic and was one of the highlights of my reading year together with Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay. Chabon creates a spectacular atmosphere (a lot of his novels are set in the forties), peculiar characters and riveting tales. But Murakami with his fantastical stories, colorful characters and out of this world experiences is my biggest find of the year.

I just realized that this is one hell of a post so for those of you who have endured my ramblings and got this far, congratulations and thank you. Finally, I'd like to wish you all a spectacular 2009.