The Year That Was

In a little over 24 hours, 2008 will be here. It's hard to believe another year has flown by. Time simply goes by way too fast. I'm not sure how I'd sum up the year 2007. It's had its ups and downs like every year and some seeds were definitely planted this year. I'm nowhere near where I'd like to be in my life and at times I wonder what the hell would make me happy. I think I know what I don't want, though. I don't want to settle or grow complacent or feel stuck or static or suffocated. I want to be always evolving and changing and doing great things for myself and others. I want to be a good person. I want to live my life. Certain obstacles keep me from doing this at times (like money), but overall I'd say I had fun this year. I made a lot of new and great friends who made this year memorable. I turned 30. I'm living in a different place than this time last year. I'm blonder than I was last year. I'm more in demand as a writer. Like I said before, I really want to calm down a little this year and feel less scattered and spread out. I'm so unfocused at times. I am also a master at multi-tasking and juggling.

Some goals for the new year: Travel to Europe. Read more books. See more local bands and more obscure concerts. Listen to even more music than I do now (particularly older stuff). Get a job I actually like. Make a living as a writer. Start working on my unfinished novel again. Write more fiction. Be less boy crazy. Eat healthier. Lose some lbs. Watch more movies. Have a better attention span. Be more grateful for my family. Get a new apartment, my very own with my own stuff. Spend less time on the internet. Discover Chicago more. Go to SXSW. Make and save lots of money. Drink less.

A lot of what I want to do in the new year is unfortunately wrapped up in money. I can't travel or move unless I have dinero. I gotta get financially stable in the new year. Money buys freedom, I suppose.

I don't know what it is about the end of the year that makes people want to hang out with me. In the past 2-3 weeks, it seems like everyone has been contacting me. They should be contacting me year round, not just in December.

I'm still not certain what tomorrow is going to be like. There are several parties I will attempt to go to. I think it's going to be one of those nights when anything and everything goes. It'll be interesting to see where (and who) I end up with. Ha. I wish I was in France right now like one of my friend's. Lucky bastard.

I guess 2007 wasn't all that bad. At least no one died this year and I didn't break up with anyone like last year. I'm really going to try to be optimistic in the new year and do things differently. But don't hold me to it. Here are some memorable highlights from the past 365 days:

Best things to happen: Interning for Time Out. All the free concerts I went to this year. All the bands I interviewed/met this year. Sneaking into Lolla again. Frenchie and Swedish David. Finally realizing I need to go to Europe. Getting my passport. Writing for My Open Bar and thus increasing my alcohol consumption by 200% (also see worst list). All the new friends I made this year (you know who you are). Reuniting with old friends. Visiting DC, NYC, and Galena. Finally realizing Chicago is an awesome city that I don't want to leave anytime soon. Getting my 20s over with.

Best song of the year: "All My Friends" by LCD Soundsystem

Worst of the year: Getting evicted in April. Drinking too much. Having no money. Not traveling enough. Getting dicked over by guys. Not seeing enough shows (30+ just isn't enough). Pissing people off with my blog. Struggling. Turning 30.

Where I'd like to be in a year: Financially stable with enough money to get by on, save, travel with and pay off some debt with. Have a great job I love (even if it's just freelancing for a living). Making a living as a writer/journalist. Have visited Europe. Traveled to many new places. Living in a kick ass apartment either with someone else or by myself. Learning a lot more about things. Be even more aware of the world. Maybe be in a stable relationship. I think stable is the key word for 2008. Making better decisions, too.

Where I'll probably be in a year: In an insane asylum.

Anyway, Happy New Year to everyone! All is quiet right now. In about 24 hours it'll be a different story.