Dawn of a Decade
It's almost incomprehensible to me that over 10 years have passed since Y2K. Although so many amazing things have happened since then, it still seems so recent. It was a time of such optimism for me; knowing that I would be graduating from college and moving to LA in a few months put me in one of the best mindsets of my life back when the ball dropped at New Year's Eve 1999. I remember that night very well - cavorting around Hays, Kansas with a white streak sprayed in my hair; glow-bowling with my brother Brandon, my cousin Andrea and our friends; and ending the night at Village Inn. On Jan. 1, 2000, I began a journal to keep track of every day of a year that I believed would live on in my mind forever.
Now, ten years later, I'm going to do it again.
Unlike back then, when I would write my thoughts down each night in a rose-scented diary (complete with a lock and key), this time around I'll be blogging each entry. In 2000, the Internet was fairly new and nobody had heard of a blog, or iTunes, YouTube or Facebook. We were yet to discover the impact that the Internet would have on our lives. I wonder, in 10 more years, what new things will have become indispensable parts of existence?
Just like I did on January 1, 2000, I will begin this diary with a recap of my New Year's Eve. I have to admit that NYE is my least favorite holiday and generally a night I despise. No matter how low I try to keep my hopes, the night always succeeds in falling below my meager expectations. So this year, in order to minimize the damage, Dylan and I decided just to walk to Fubar, our neighborhood bar, and celebrate with a few friends - most of whom all ended up leaving long before midnight to go to a "dirty Silverlake party." I tried to enjoy myself but it just wasn't in the cards. I ended up getting moody and upset, finally leaving the bar sometime before 1 am by myself (Dylan did chase after me and walk me the rest of the block home).
We ended up on the couch, with me complaining about how much I hate New Year's Eve, etc... etc... Dylan had mentioned that he had chatted with our neighbor Dominic out on the front porch before he came inside and that he was having a party. We decided we would go down to the second floor and see if the party was still going on. We heard music as we approached his door, so we decided to let ourselves in and join the party. Dominic and his girlfriend Andrea were both so friendly to us and we had such a great time visiting with them and their guests. There was awesome food, drinks, and music. Before we knew it, we were having a great time, and New Year's Eve was saved! And to think we didn't even have to leave our building. We stayed until nearly 4 or 5 am, when the party finally wound down and we felt like we had made the most of the holiday, happily going home and falling asleep while trying to watch Jersey Shore.
In the morning we were in for a bit of a surprise when Dylan walked out to the living room and found his mom there. Oddly enough, I had just asked him the night before whether she had our other set of spare keys. Apparently, she did. It was a little unnerving, especially for Dylan who was sans pants when he made the discovery.
Luckily, our friends Brad and Alf were out of town for New Year's and had given us their keys to house sit. We met Marc at IHOP for brunch before going up to their place to sit in the hot tub and enjoy their big screen TV. We ended up watching 5 episodes of Laverne and Shirley on DVD, more Jersey Shore, and I made Pineapple and Spam BBQ skewers and mashed potatoes for dinner. It was a low key but very fun way to start the new decade.
Hello 2010, goodbye junk!
NEW YEARS RESOLUTION LOG ENTRY 1
My resolution this year: to purge one item from my life each day, therefore reducing clutter and simplifying my life. So that I will never feel like the items have been lost for good, I will blog about the departure of each item. Here goes.
"Knee Deep In Paradise" by Brett Buttler, autobiographical novel. I bought this once at the Dollar Tree, thinking I'd read it. I have a problem buying things that have the word "Paradise" on or in them because it reminds me of my hometown. I did start reading it at one point, but put it down and never picked it back up again. It's set on my bookshelf gathering dust for the better part of a decade. So I removed it, and stuck it on a friend's bookshelf. Let's see if they discover it! The funny thing was, I noticed a folded piece of notebook paper stuffed inside which I thought was a bookmark. Upon inspection, I found that it was a note that I had written to my subconscious regarding the content of my dreams. Apparently, they were getting preachy. It was kind of weird, and Dylan suggested I add it to my blog; here, I will comply.
Dear Director of Programming,
Greetings from your master. While I do wish to commend you on your valiant efforts, I feel I must voice my concern over the, er, new "fall schedule." Several issues pertaining to the content and tone of recent episodes need to be resolved.
First and foremost, while reality shows are undeniably still a trend with both network and cable television, this type of programming is undesirable in my subconscious. I prefer the surreal, ethereal and outright bizarre.
Secondly, the "after school" type of presentation has always struck me as pretentious to say the least. The acting, writing, and directing usually falter due to the economical restraints that these types of programs generally fall victim to. However since there has never been any financial correlation to the limits of my imagination, this is irrelevant, so please immediately discontinue this method of broadcasting.
I have also witnessed a rise in "Lifetime-esque" plotlines recently. While said network has been dubbed "television for women and gay men," I think this refers more to its heavy rotation of "Designing Women" and "Golden Girls" reruns rather than those horrible Stockard Channing melodramas that get more depressing with each commercial break. I order you to halt production of any further dreams in this vein.
While I do applaud the obvious intent to "make me a better person," I have grown extremely weary and frankly bored with this "holier than thou" attitude in the current lineup, and wish to make it clear that I only look to you for nocturnal entertainment, not enlightenment. So stop the preaching, or I'll stop sleeping, and I mean it.
You don't want to lose your entire viewing audience, I can assure you.
Sincerely,
Devin
Now, ten years later, I'm going to do it again.
Unlike back then, when I would write my thoughts down each night in a rose-scented diary (complete with a lock and key), this time around I'll be blogging each entry. In 2000, the Internet was fairly new and nobody had heard of a blog, or iTunes, YouTube or Facebook. We were yet to discover the impact that the Internet would have on our lives. I wonder, in 10 more years, what new things will have become indispensable parts of existence?
Just like I did on January 1, 2000, I will begin this diary with a recap of my New Year's Eve. I have to admit that NYE is my least favorite holiday and generally a night I despise. No matter how low I try to keep my hopes, the night always succeeds in falling below my meager expectations. So this year, in order to minimize the damage, Dylan and I decided just to walk to Fubar, our neighborhood bar, and celebrate with a few friends - most of whom all ended up leaving long before midnight to go to a "dirty Silverlake party." I tried to enjoy myself but it just wasn't in the cards. I ended up getting moody and upset, finally leaving the bar sometime before 1 am by myself (Dylan did chase after me and walk me the rest of the block home).
We ended up on the couch, with me complaining about how much I hate New Year's Eve, etc... etc... Dylan had mentioned that he had chatted with our neighbor Dominic out on the front porch before he came inside and that he was having a party. We decided we would go down to the second floor and see if the party was still going on. We heard music as we approached his door, so we decided to let ourselves in and join the party. Dominic and his girlfriend Andrea were both so friendly to us and we had such a great time visiting with them and their guests. There was awesome food, drinks, and music. Before we knew it, we were having a great time, and New Year's Eve was saved! And to think we didn't even have to leave our building. We stayed until nearly 4 or 5 am, when the party finally wound down and we felt like we had made the most of the holiday, happily going home and falling asleep while trying to watch Jersey Shore.
In the morning we were in for a bit of a surprise when Dylan walked out to the living room and found his mom there. Oddly enough, I had just asked him the night before whether she had our other set of spare keys. Apparently, she did. It was a little unnerving, especially for Dylan who was sans pants when he made the discovery.
Luckily, our friends Brad and Alf were out of town for New Year's and had given us their keys to house sit. We met Marc at IHOP for brunch before going up to their place to sit in the hot tub and enjoy their big screen TV. We ended up watching 5 episodes of Laverne and Shirley on DVD, more Jersey Shore, and I made Pineapple and Spam BBQ skewers and mashed potatoes for dinner. It was a low key but very fun way to start the new decade.
Hello 2010, goodbye junk!
NEW YEARS RESOLUTION LOG ENTRY 1
My resolution this year: to purge one item from my life each day, therefore reducing clutter and simplifying my life. So that I will never feel like the items have been lost for good, I will blog about the departure of each item. Here goes.
"Knee Deep In Paradise" by Brett Buttler, autobiographical novel. I bought this once at the Dollar Tree, thinking I'd read it. I have a problem buying things that have the word "Paradise" on or in them because it reminds me of my hometown. I did start reading it at one point, but put it down and never picked it back up again. It's set on my bookshelf gathering dust for the better part of a decade. So I removed it, and stuck it on a friend's bookshelf. Let's see if they discover it! The funny thing was, I noticed a folded piece of notebook paper stuffed inside which I thought was a bookmark. Upon inspection, I found that it was a note that I had written to my subconscious regarding the content of my dreams. Apparently, they were getting preachy. It was kind of weird, and Dylan suggested I add it to my blog; here, I will comply.
Dear Director of Programming,
Greetings from your master. While I do wish to commend you on your valiant efforts, I feel I must voice my concern over the, er, new "fall schedule." Several issues pertaining to the content and tone of recent episodes need to be resolved.
First and foremost, while reality shows are undeniably still a trend with both network and cable television, this type of programming is undesirable in my subconscious. I prefer the surreal, ethereal and outright bizarre.
Secondly, the "after school" type of presentation has always struck me as pretentious to say the least. The acting, writing, and directing usually falter due to the economical restraints that these types of programs generally fall victim to. However since there has never been any financial correlation to the limits of my imagination, this is irrelevant, so please immediately discontinue this method of broadcasting.
I have also witnessed a rise in "Lifetime-esque" plotlines recently. While said network has been dubbed "television for women and gay men," I think this refers more to its heavy rotation of "Designing Women" and "Golden Girls" reruns rather than those horrible Stockard Channing melodramas that get more depressing with each commercial break. I order you to halt production of any further dreams in this vein.
While I do applaud the obvious intent to "make me a better person," I have grown extremely weary and frankly bored with this "holier than thou" attitude in the current lineup, and wish to make it clear that I only look to you for nocturnal entertainment, not enlightenment. So stop the preaching, or I'll stop sleeping, and I mean it.
You don't want to lose your entire viewing audience, I can assure you.
Sincerely,
Devin
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