During one of my daydreams this morning I started to replay my 2009 in my head. I decided to try to come up with a top 5 best and worst things that happened this year for me. I thought long and hard about what highlighted, both good and bad, my 2009. I came up with 6 good things and 4 bad things; and the 4th bad thing is a stretch. I can honestly say that 2009 was full of many, many good times, few awkward moments, and even fewer bad moments. I've gained friends, met wonderful and sometimes amazing people and have a renewed sense of individuality that I haven't had in many years.
2010 (my 2010 outlook will be coming soon) looks to be a year of transition for me. As the life of a bachelor plays out, you come to notice that the very few down, unplanned moments of my life feel empty at times. At times, companionship is the missing piece to complete happiness. While not necessarily a requirement the personal connection, or bond, with another person is unrivaled when compared to similar possibilities of sharing with another person; I'm talking about love. My philosophy has always been, and most recently reinforced, that "Love will find you. There really isn't a need to go looking for it." But just as romance is about the possibility of love, the possibility of love is not without the opportunity for romance. Which is probably why I meet people seemingly everywhere I go. Not that there is an active search for love, but that there is always a willingness for opportunity. 2010 will be a year of opportunity. But that's a topic for another day. Without further delay, my best and worst moments of 2009!
Top 4 Worst Moments of 2009
4. A Misplace Step
When relationships end sometimes things are returned, personal possessions reclaimed and each person goes there own separate ways. This is not typically how things play out with me. I remain friends, or at least special day (birthdays & holidays) social with every ex I've had since college. It's just how things seems to be. One particular item from my last relationship was misplaced. In my "I haven't seen it in a few months" frantic search in my attic, I took a step between the beams and placed a perfect hole through my bedroom ceiling, sending a crack shooting in multiple directions. No, I still haven't found it or fixed the ceiling yet. 2010...2010...
2010 (my 2010 outlook will be coming soon) looks to be a year of transition for me. As the life of a bachelor plays out, you come to notice that the very few down, unplanned moments of my life feel empty at times. At times, companionship is the missing piece to complete happiness. While not necessarily a requirement the personal connection, or bond, with another person is unrivaled when compared to similar possibilities of sharing with another person; I'm talking about love. My philosophy has always been, and most recently reinforced, that "Love will find you. There really isn't a need to go looking for it." But just as romance is about the possibility of love, the possibility of love is not without the opportunity for romance. Which is probably why I meet people seemingly everywhere I go. Not that there is an active search for love, but that there is always a willingness for opportunity. 2010 will be a year of opportunity. But that's a topic for another day. Without further delay, my best and worst moments of 2009!
Top 4 Worst Moments of 2009
4. A Misplace Step
When relationships end sometimes things are returned, personal possessions reclaimed and each person goes there own separate ways. This is not typically how things play out with me. I remain friends, or at least special day (birthdays & holidays) social with every ex I've had since college. It's just how things seems to be. One particular item from my last relationship was misplaced. In my "I haven't seen it in a few months" frantic search in my attic, I took a step between the beams and placed a perfect hole through my bedroom ceiling, sending a crack shooting in multiple directions. No, I still haven't found it or fixed the ceiling yet. 2010...2010...
3. Ice Water in the Face
There comes a moment in your life when it seems like nothing can go wrong; your bank account looks obese, your personal life is flying high and your professional life is buzzing. You've got nothing to complain about. And then one fateful night your perfect little world stops spinning (or maybe it was spinning too much). And suddenly you find yourself doing something you rarely do (or at least it rarely negatively impacts your life), make a mistake. For the most part, my actions are deliberate and controlled, my reactions reserved and my world relatively peaceful. Every so often I find that I lose track of the Enjoyment of Life / Out of Control ratio and it gets too close to a 1:1 ratio; which is not good. On this night not only did I make a mistake, that actually was something I look at as a positive, that ratio was so bad that I didn't even realize it until days later.
There comes a moment in your life when it seems like nothing can go wrong; your bank account looks obese, your personal life is flying high and your professional life is buzzing. You've got nothing to complain about. And then one fateful night your perfect little world stops spinning (or maybe it was spinning too much). And suddenly you find yourself doing something you rarely do (or at least it rarely negatively impacts your life), make a mistake. For the most part, my actions are deliberate and controlled, my reactions reserved and my world relatively peaceful. Every so often I find that I lose track of the Enjoyment of Life / Out of Control ratio and it gets too close to a 1:1 ratio; which is not good. On this night not only did I make a mistake, that actually was something I look at as a positive, that ratio was so bad that I didn't even realize it until days later.
2. A Farewell Concert
We all know that death is simply apart of life. I've have the unfortunate claim to having attended more funerals in my life than years alive. It's not a good life stat to have. This year one of my cousins, Lil Bobby, passed as a result of brain cancer. He kept it from just about everyone until the impact of having it was too obvious to hide. During what otherwise was a routine good day I received a text from one of my cousins telling me that he had been rushed to the hospital and subsequently transported to a hospice; and we all know what that means. By the time I arrived at the hospice all of my family had already left. For the next few hours I spent at the bedside of my heavily sedated cousin, a cousin who had seen me go from a young kid to a grown man, talking to him and eventually just sitting there playing the "Relax" playlist on my iPhone silent and listening. As I left I told him that everything was going to be ok and that I was happy to have had the moments we had together; and also to tell his father, who passed a few years ago, I said hello. It would turn out that I would be the last person to see him. Less than 12 hours later, he passed away. I decided not to attend his funeral. The effects of cancer had taken enough of a toll on him to where he weighed less than 100 pounds. Post mortem changes were not something I was interested in seeing. At the time of the start of his funeral, I closed my eyes and had a moment of recalling the good memories we had. That was a better way to remember him to me.
We all know that death is simply apart of life. I've have the unfortunate claim to having attended more funerals in my life than years alive. It's not a good life stat to have. This year one of my cousins, Lil Bobby, passed as a result of brain cancer. He kept it from just about everyone until the impact of having it was too obvious to hide. During what otherwise was a routine good day I received a text from one of my cousins telling me that he had been rushed to the hospital and subsequently transported to a hospice; and we all know what that means. By the time I arrived at the hospice all of my family had already left. For the next few hours I spent at the bedside of my heavily sedated cousin, a cousin who had seen me go from a young kid to a grown man, talking to him and eventually just sitting there playing the "Relax" playlist on my iPhone silent and listening. As I left I told him that everything was going to be ok and that I was happy to have had the moments we had together; and also to tell his father, who passed a few years ago, I said hello. It would turn out that I would be the last person to see him. Less than 12 hours later, he passed away. I decided not to attend his funeral. The effects of cancer had taken enough of a toll on him to where he weighed less than 100 pounds. Post mortem changes were not something I was interested in seeing. At the time of the start of his funeral, I closed my eyes and had a moment of recalling the good memories we had. That was a better way to remember him to me.
1. 45 Minutes of Nothing
The day for me was like many other days since I started taking Septa to work; early rise, a little less than 2 hour commute and an arrival at work at 8:56. At 8:58 that day my world stopped. I received a call from my aunt telling me that my uncle, someone I talk to practically every day, was in the hospital because he had discomfort in his back and chest around 4 that morning. Less than two days before, he along with a good number of my family had all been at my house for a Labor Day BBQ and great times. Less than 48 hours ago there was no indication that this day was coming. As I listened on the phone, it took about 10 minutes before I realized that this wasn't a typical trip to the ER. Ten minutes in I realized that at that very moment my uncle was not alive. That moment, or minute, in time would be one of 45 minutes that my uncle would be technically dead. ER doctors and nurses performed an amazing feat to not only stabilize him to fly him to a different hospital for emergency surgery, but to not give up. 45 minutes is a long time for anything; running on a treadmill, walking in the cold, good (or bad) sex, waiting for food when you're hungry. 45 minutes and 7, yes 7, shocks later he was stable and on a life saving helicopter ride. For me my world stopped but for my uncle, for 45 minutes, his world ceased to exist. The recovery and the medical treatment to get him back to his feisty self can only be described as amazing. There are things I didn't know you could do to the human body that I now know you can do. As this was the worst event for me in 2009, the outcome was probably the best.
The day for me was like many other days since I started taking Septa to work; early rise, a little less than 2 hour commute and an arrival at work at 8:56. At 8:58 that day my world stopped. I received a call from my aunt telling me that my uncle, someone I talk to practically every day, was in the hospital because he had discomfort in his back and chest around 4 that morning. Less than two days before, he along with a good number of my family had all been at my house for a Labor Day BBQ and great times. Less than 48 hours ago there was no indication that this day was coming. As I listened on the phone, it took about 10 minutes before I realized that this wasn't a typical trip to the ER. Ten minutes in I realized that at that very moment my uncle was not alive. That moment, or minute, in time would be one of 45 minutes that my uncle would be technically dead. ER doctors and nurses performed an amazing feat to not only stabilize him to fly him to a different hospital for emergency surgery, but to not give up. 45 minutes is a long time for anything; running on a treadmill, walking in the cold, good (or bad) sex, waiting for food when you're hungry. 45 minutes and 7, yes 7, shocks later he was stable and on a life saving helicopter ride. For me my world stopped but for my uncle, for 45 minutes, his world ceased to exist. The recovery and the medical treatment to get him back to his feisty self can only be described as amazing. There are things I didn't know you could do to the human body that I now know you can do. As this was the worst event for me in 2009, the outcome was probably the best.
Top 5 Best Moments of 2009 (and 1 honorable mention)
Honorable Mention: Myrtle Beach
For the past two years my golf club has gone to Myrtle Beach for a few days of golf and good times. This year was full of tons of laughter, great golf and lots of clubbin. I can't wait for this years trip.
5. Labor of love
One thing I love to do from spring to fall is barbecue. Labor Day, my family came over to eat some good food, have some good fun and share many, many laughs. It was also the first time I had seen my youngest brother since he was a toddler. It was an amazing day. The only downside was losing a water fight with my little cousins after dominating them early. They decided to get smart and turn off the water supply to the hose. I was left defenseless; it was a massacre after that. To say I was exhausted after all that cooking and fun would be an understatement.
One thing I love to do from spring to fall is barbecue. Labor Day, my family came over to eat some good food, have some good fun and share many, many laughs. It was also the first time I had seen my youngest brother since he was a toddler. It was an amazing day. The only downside was losing a water fight with my little cousins after dominating them early. They decided to get smart and turn off the water supply to the hose. I was left defenseless; it was a massacre after that. To say I was exhausted after all that cooking and fun would be an understatement.
4. Chillin Weekend
If you know me, then you know that once Labor Day passes it's hit and miss (usually miss) trying to plan anything with me on the weekends before December. I'm simply all over the place, from Penn State games to Navy games to Phillies games to vacations; I'm a tough guy to get a hold of. Two weekends ago one of my best friends came down (or over) to hang out for the weekend. Friday night would be a trip to the Sixers game. He surprised me with court side seats to watch one of my favorite players of all time, Allen Iverson (I call him AI) up close. A bonus would be DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin sitting right in front of us most of the game. Saturday would be the Army-Navy game. From the 8am tailgate to passing out watching Blood and Bone it was a day full of good times and good fun. New and Old friends joined us for the tailgate and game and back at my place for more food and good times. The cap would be the Villanova-Temple game Sunday afternoon. As if we couldn't have a better weekend, we got to watch Temple shoot the lights out and upset a then undefeated Nova team. Eric and I have seen many games, had many tailgates and plenty of good times before this weekend. But this weekend sits easily among the best experiences we've had together.
If you know me, then you know that once Labor Day passes it's hit and miss (usually miss) trying to plan anything with me on the weekends before December. I'm simply all over the place, from Penn State games to Navy games to Phillies games to vacations; I'm a tough guy to get a hold of. Two weekends ago one of my best friends came down (or over) to hang out for the weekend. Friday night would be a trip to the Sixers game. He surprised me with court side seats to watch one of my favorite players of all time, Allen Iverson (I call him AI) up close. A bonus would be DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin sitting right in front of us most of the game. Saturday would be the Army-Navy game. From the 8am tailgate to passing out watching Blood and Bone it was a day full of good times and good fun. New and Old friends joined us for the tailgate and game and back at my place for more food and good times. The cap would be the Villanova-Temple game Sunday afternoon. As if we couldn't have a better weekend, we got to watch Temple shoot the lights out and upset a then undefeated Nova team. Eric and I have seen many games, had many tailgates and plenty of good times before this weekend. But this weekend sits easily among the best experiences we've had together.
3. Favrelujah!
A second trip to Minnesota this year would be the second installment of the Big 10 Tour that myself and my best friend Julie started last year. This year timed perfectly as we saw the Wisconsin Badgers - Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday after a surprisingly great "tailgate" at a local bar and then stayed for the Monday Night Packers - Vikings game. We even squeezed in a Christening on Sunday. But we had so much fun the entire weekend, and you couldn't ask for better company especially on Saturday LOL. I look forward to Wisconsin next year and the 5th quarter :-)
A second trip to Minnesota this year would be the second installment of the Big 10 Tour that myself and my best friend Julie started last year. This year timed perfectly as we saw the Wisconsin Badgers - Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday after a surprisingly great "tailgate" at a local bar and then stayed for the Monday Night Packers - Vikings game. We even squeezed in a Christening on Sunday. But we had so much fun the entire weekend, and you couldn't ask for better company especially on Saturday LOL. I look forward to Wisconsin next year and the 5th quarter :-)
2. It's Your Birthabirthary, yeah...
I've been to Aruba before. The last time was over a year ago. I've been to Atlanta before. I was eight. It was undoubtedly the best 10 day period of 2009 for me, yet its just the 2nd best moment of the year; 2.7% of my year and yet only #2. But man was it an awesome 10 days. First Aruba provided daily laughter, great food, amazing sun, well made drinks, my typical one night of meal-skipping-inebriation and, what is becoming a frequent part of my travelling, a bobcat attack. But the best part has to be the on camera display of my lack of easy humiliation. That's right, karaoke. It started with "Fergalicious", moved on to "Stand By Your Man", then "My Heart Will Go On", mixed in some "Rump Shaker" and was capped off with "Anniversary" by Tony! Toni! Toné!. A few bars into the song I was reminded that this was about an anniversary, so I changed the word to "Birthabirthary" and walked about the bar singing with the other people whose birthday it was in addition to my best friend Julie. Gotta love tequila :-)....I flew from Aruba to Atlanta to meet up with my best friend Darren for our yearly Eagles Road Trip, and also to get together with my cousin who lives there. To say that the weekend was amazing is minimizing how much fun my cousin and I had and also Darren and I had. I don't think I was asleep before 4 any night I was there because my cousin has to be one of the few people I know who can party like I like to do; all night. And the game against the Falcons, ha! That was an emotional and amazing sight. I cried. I literally cried because that building was so full of emotion for the return of Vick. The love in that place was abundant and intentional. And the Eagles won, which is always a good thing. It was just 10 days out of the 365 1/4 days that made up my 2009. But these 10 days are days I will never forget.
I've been to Aruba before. The last time was over a year ago. I've been to Atlanta before. I was eight. It was undoubtedly the best 10 day period of 2009 for me, yet its just the 2nd best moment of the year; 2.7% of my year and yet only #2. But man was it an awesome 10 days. First Aruba provided daily laughter, great food, amazing sun, well made drinks, my typical one night of meal-skipping-inebriation and, what is becoming a frequent part of my travelling, a bobcat attack. But the best part has to be the on camera display of my lack of easy humiliation. That's right, karaoke. It started with "Fergalicious", moved on to "Stand By Your Man", then "My Heart Will Go On", mixed in some "Rump Shaker" and was capped off with "Anniversary" by Tony! Toni! Toné!. A few bars into the song I was reminded that this was about an anniversary, so I changed the word to "Birthabirthary" and walked about the bar singing with the other people whose birthday it was in addition to my best friend Julie. Gotta love tequila :-)....I flew from Aruba to Atlanta to meet up with my best friend Darren for our yearly Eagles Road Trip, and also to get together with my cousin who lives there. To say that the weekend was amazing is minimizing how much fun my cousin and I had and also Darren and I had. I don't think I was asleep before 4 any night I was there because my cousin has to be one of the few people I know who can party like I like to do; all night. And the game against the Falcons, ha! That was an emotional and amazing sight. I cried. I literally cried because that building was so full of emotion for the return of Vick. The love in that place was abundant and intentional. And the Eagles won, which is always a good thing. It was just 10 days out of the 365 1/4 days that made up my 2009. But these 10 days are days I will never forget.
1. Brotherly Love
A day of fun with siblings is always a good thing. A day of fun with siblings who had not all been together in the same place at the same time in almost 20 years is a great thing. A Friday late in the summer, my sister and my two younger brothers, with my nephew, all headed to Great Adventure in Jersey for a day of sibling (and nephew) fun. You just can't imagine the feelings that rush through you when it hits you that you are sharing a moment that you couldn't image happening a year ago. Although the skies opened late that afternoon and sent us running for cover and cut short our amusement, we all had a great time hanging out together and later eating pizza at my place. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I say a joyful smile is a never ending story.
A day of fun with siblings is always a good thing. A day of fun with siblings who had not all been together in the same place at the same time in almost 20 years is a great thing. A Friday late in the summer, my sister and my two younger brothers, with my nephew, all headed to Great Adventure in Jersey for a day of sibling (and nephew) fun. You just can't imagine the feelings that rush through you when it hits you that you are sharing a moment that you couldn't image happening a year ago. Although the skies opened late that afternoon and sent us running for cover and cut short our amusement, we all had a great time hanging out together and later eating pizza at my place. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I say a joyful smile is a never ending story.
Here's to a great conclusion to 2009 and an amazing 2010, not only for me but for all of my friends (near and far) and family....
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